There are three broad categories of car insurance :

Third Party

• This is the minimum level of insurance cover legally required to drive a car on the roads in UK
• In case of an accident it only covers for injury and damage to other person, their vehicle or property
• It does not cover any injury or damage to your car or yourself
• If your car is stolen and the thief has an accident, then any damages and injuries to the third party will be covered but damages to your vehicle will not be covered
• If you have an accident, your car is stolen or set on fire, you cannot claim any money for personal injuries or damage to your vehicle
• With this type of insurance you cannot drive any other car that does not belong to yourself

Third Party Fire and Theft

• This policy is same as the third party policy except that insurer will pay for repair or replacement of your car in case its destroyed, set on fire or stolen
• This type of insurance is generally used by young drivers who have cheap cars which are easily broken into or stolen
• Before you can claim any money from this insurance you need to report the incident to the police

Fully Comprehensive Insurance

• This is also known as all risk insurance, it covers you for almost all eventualities
• You can claim money for damages in case of an accident, theft, fire, or vandalism to your car
• You may get some extra benefits from this type of cover such as windscreen or window damage
• Often you will be given a replacement car when your car is taken for repair as result of an accident
• Some insurance companies will allow you to drive other cars with drivers consent, but this type of extended cover will only be third party
• Whenever you claim any damages you will have to pay an access even though it might not be your fault

Car Insurance Tips

Type of Car : The insurers categorise cars into groups, group 1 being the lowest and group 20 being the highest. If you have a high performance or a sports car, you pose more risk, you will be in a higher group and will pay more 

Age : Young drivers are often penalised with high premiums whereas over 50s are given discounts as they are considered less likely to make claims. Sometimes what families do is that they may have the mum or the dad as the main driver and the younger family members are added on as additional drivers to reduce the insurance premiums

Your Profession : People in sales or journalists or other professions where you drive a lot are considered high risk and are normally charge a higher premium. On the other hand teachers, nurses, civil servants or people working in offices are considered low risk and pay a lower premium

No Claim Bonus : People who do not claim as they are more sensible and safer on the roads will benefit from no claim bonus and end up paying lower car insurance premium

Male / Female Drivers : Women are considered safer drives and statistically have less accidents than men. Couples who drive the car equally would be advised to make the women as the main driver to bring down the premium

Married or Single : Single people are considered higher risk as opposed to somebody who is married. Since married people may have kids so they might be more calm and slow on the roads.

Annual Mileage : People who drive less are given discounts as they are less likely to be involved in an accident

Garage & Alarm : If you car is garaged, it has an immobiliser and an alarm you will be paying a smaller premium

Commute to Work : If you drive to work you will be driving more, have a higher mileage, probably drive at peak times and are more likely to have an accident. As a result you will be paying a higher premium.