What types of Motor Insurance Policy are available?

Since 1930 it has been a legal requirement for all drivers of motor vehicles to be covered by insurance for a minimum of third party claims, that means you have to be insured against accidents that are caused by you and have damaged a ‘third party’s’ vehicle.

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What to do if you have an accident: In many circumstances you will not be able to prevent an accident, especially if the accident is not your fault. If you are involved in an accident, there are several steps you need to undertake.
How can I lower my Motor insurance premiums?: Many factors influence the premiums of your Motor insurance policy. Your insurer will have asked you many questions whilst producing your quote - some of which will affect your premium and some will not. To name a few of the important variables, the vehicle you drive, your gender and your age are all important to the insurer whilst they calculate your quote. Below we have discussed several of these key variables that are within the policyholder's control.
Am I insured to drive someone else's car?: Many motor insurance providers will allow their comprehensive policy holders to drive any other vehicle, as long as it is already insured by another driver. This means that you can drive your friend's car BUT it is likely that you will only be insured to third party level.
As a result of the accident, my car has been damaged - can I go ahead and get it repaired?: If you have taken out comprehensive car insurance cover and wish to claim under the policy, a specific claims procedure will be given to you when you contact the Claims Line to notify them of the accident. You should not repair your vehicle without the approval of your insurer.
How to provide evidence of my No Claim Discount?: Accepted proof of the No Claim Discount would be as follows:

It is a legal responsibility of both the driver and the insurance company who covers the vehicle, to provide a current, upto date an accurate policy document or certificate of motor insurance. This document will prove not only that the insurance exists but also other details such as the level of cover afforded by the policy.

However, third party Motor insurance is the lowest form of cover available, there are several more extensive cover options. With more expensive models of car you will inevitably require a more comprehensive policy that will cover you for your own accidents as well as damage to other peoples cars. This is because the financial risk of an accident in a more expensive car is greater – consider

If you damage an old Lada the replacement cost could be around £1000, conversely if you damaged a Mercedes the replacement cost could be as much as £100,000. If the car was insured third party, if the fault was your own you must meet the replacement cost yourself.

There are four basic forms of car insurance available in the uk. The lowest form of cover is called 'Act Only', and very rare and hardly worth covering in detail. This will cover only third party risks and only on public roads.

Third party insurance is more comprehensive and it aims to cover the person insured when they are driving on private roads in addition to public ones. It also covers you for some Legal liabilities, passenger indemnity is an example. So, if you are driving an 3rd party insured vehicle and one of your passengers happens to knock over a cyclist with the vehicles door, you are fully covered.

Third party fire and theft is a still more comprehensive policy. This consists of third party insurance protection and damage or loss to the insured's vehicle that is caused by an theft, attempted theft or a fire.

You won’t be able to protect yourself against every eventuality, but should you wish to have the best possible policy, consider comprehensive cover. This is the complete form of car insurance and adds accidental damage cover to the 3 policies discussed above.

With comprehensive cover, should the policyholders' vehicles be damaged, they can get their vehicle repaired, even if the damage is not caused by theft or fire. You can also include personal accident within the policy so that, should you suffer certain injuries like a loss of sight or a limb or maybe death you will personally be covered for cost incurrent in treatment or even compensation.