Car insurance is a legal requirement for UK motorists and there are currently three levels of cover available; Third Party Only (TPO), Third Party Fire & Theft (TPFT) and Fully Comprehensive.

And, before you compare quotes with moneysupermarket.com, it's useful to know about the varying levels of cover to determine which type of car insurance policy best suits your needs.

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Third Party Only

Third Party Only (TPO) is the minimum level of cover required by UK law and is the most basic type of car insurance available to motorists.

This type of car insurance only covers the costs incurred by others (third parties) and does not offer any protection to you or your car. This means that, if you are at fault for an accident, your policy will pay out for repairs to any other vehicles involved but will not pay out for any damage to your vehicle.

TPO insurance has always been viewed as the cheapest way to insure your car, the logic being that the lowest level of cover is provided at the lowest price. But it's often the case that Fully Comprehensive polices are actually the cheaper option so it's well worth comparing the costs to ensure that you get the best level of cover at the best available price.

Read more about third party only car insurance. 

Third Party, Fire & Theft

The next level of cover is Third Party, Fire & Theft (TPFT) which offers the same protection as TPO car insurance but also covers your own vehicle in the event of it being stolen or damaged as a result of fire or theft.

But, as with TPO cover, if you are at fault for an accident then the policy only covers liability to any third parties involved and offers no protection for you or your vehicle.

TPFT is generally a good option for cheaper cars but, again, it's worth comparing the cost against a Fully Comprehensive policy as you may be able to obtain a better level of cover at a comparable price.

Read more about third party fire and theft car insurance. 

Fully Comprehensive

Fully Comprehensive car insurance offers all of the third party protection of TPFT and also includes cover for you and your vehicle should you be involved in an accident.

This means that, even if you're at fault for an accident, the policy will cover the cost of any repairs to your own vehicle as well covering any third party vehicles involved.

Fully Comprehensive car insurance is the most complete type of cover available and often comes with optional extras such as breakdown cover or courtesy car hire. But it's worth noting that no car insurance policy will cover every eventuality so it's always worth reading the terms and conditions of cover to ensure that any policy you take out meets all of your requirements.

It is also a common misconception that Fully Comprehensive policies are the most costly option simply because they offer the most complete level of cover. In actual fact it is often the case that they are cheaper than TPO and TPFT policies and so you can get more protection at a lower price.

Read more about fully comprehensive car insurance.