Third-party damage
You’ll be covered for damage you cause to another person, their vehicle or their property as a result of your actions
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1Accurate as of January 2022.
251% of consumers could save up to £319.82 on their annual car insurance premiums. Consumer Intelligence, May 2022. UK only.
Third party, fire and theft car insurance is the middle level of cover you can take out from most providers – it offers more protection than third-party only, but not as much as fully comprehensive.
Do I need third party, fire and theft car insurance?
You don’t strictly need third-party, fire and theft car insurance – the minimum legal requirement to drive on UK roads is that you have third-party only cover in place. However, third-party only doesn’t offer any protection for your own vehicle, so if you want that extra cover then you should consider third-party fire and theft or fully comprehensive cover.
Third-party, fire and theft policies offer the following cover:
You’ll be covered for damage you cause to another person, their vehicle or their property as a result of your actions
You’ll also be able to claim if your car is damaged by fire or an explosion, whether it’s accidental or caused by arson
Finally you’ll be protected should your car be stolen, and often also if it’s been damaged as a result of attempted theft
Third-party, fire and theft policies are usually the mid-way option both in terms of cost and cover. They’ll be cheaper on average than third-party only policies but pricier than fully comprehensive – between October and December 2021 third party, fire and theft policies cost on average £980 a year.
Policy type | Average annual premiums* |
|---|---|
Comprehensive | £641 |
Third Party, Fire & Theft | £980 |
Third Party Only | £1,348 |
*Based on policies with one driver holding a full UK licence. MoneySuperMarket data collected between October and December 2021, accurate as of January 2022.
"It’s always worth comparing car insurance quotes before you buy, even to check the difference between third-party, third-party fire and theft, and fully comprehensive policies. This way you get a better view of what’s on offer so can be confident you’re getting the car insurance policy you need.
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Our mission is to make finding cheap car insurance easier – and when you take out cover with MoneySuperMarket you can benefit from:
Everyone deserves to save money – in fact, almost a quarter of people comparing car insurance quotes with us received a MoneySuperMarket price cut in their results*
Our car monitor gives you reminders on your road tax and MOT, as well as showing your MOT history and car valuation – helping you stay up to date, so you never miss a renewal
Our live chat tool is there so our experts can guide you through the car insurance question set, offering tailored support during business hours to help you get the right policy for the right price
*24.43% of customers completing a quote through MoneySuperMarket received a price cut quote in their top 10 results. Based on MoneySuperMarket quotes between May 2021 and May 2022
If third-party, fire and theft insurance isn’t the right option for you, you may want to consider alternative options:
Third-party only car insurance only covers you for third-party damage you cause, but offers no cover for your own vehicle
Fully comprehensive policies offer everything included in third-party, fire and theft, but also adds extra cover for your car
Telematics policies are designed for young and high-risk drivers, letting you demonstrate good driving habits to earn cheaper cover
Short term car insurance is a cost-effective alternative for those who don’t need an annual policy, offering cover for days or weeks instead
While third-party, fire and theft car insurance only covers your vehicle for theft and fire damage, a fully comprehensive policy offers much more protection. This can include extra features like motor legal protection, personal accident cover and breakdown cover.
Some third-party fire and theft policies may give you the option of adding these extra policies, but they’re more likely to be included as standard in a fully comprehensive policy.
You may be able to lower the price of car insurance if you do the following:
Pay annually: If you’re able to, paying your full annual premium in one lump sum often works out cheaper than spreading the cost over 12 months
Volunteer a higher excess: Paying more in voluntary excess tells insurers you aren’t likely to make frivolous claims on your policy, so they’ll often give you a discount
Build up a no-claims bonus: If you can avoid making claims on your policy for a year or longer, you may earn a discount next time you look for cover
Pick a smaller vehicle: Providers sort cars into different insurance groups based on factors that affect their riskiness on the road – cars in lower groups are usually cheaper to insure
Improve your security: If your car has factory installed security features like alarms and immobilisers, this reduces the risk of theft – and can help you get cheaper cover
Store your car safely: Likewise parking your car in a garage or driveway rather than on the street also makes theft less likely, often bringing your premiums down at the same time
Most car insurance policies offer cover for driving in the EU as standard, whether you take out third-party, third-party, fire and theft, or fully comprehensive. However you may find that you’ll only be covered for third-party damage, even with fully comprehensive insurance – so you may need to pay extra for a more extensive policy.
Third-party, fire and theft car insurance is more expensive than fully comprehensive policies, though they offer less cover, because they’re associated with more high risk drivers – and therefore more car insurance claims.
It used to be the other way round, with fully comprehensive car insurance being the most expensive – but more and more high risk drivers took out the cheaper policies, driving the price up and causing the trend to reverse.
You work hard to earn your money, and we don’t think you should waste a penny of it paying over the odds on your household bills. That’s why at MoneySuperMarket, we’re on a mission to save Britain money.
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You might be wondering if we work with all the companies in the market, or if our commercial relationships with our partners might make us feature one company above another. We’ve got nothing to hide, and we want to give you clear answers when it comes to questions like these, so we’ve pulled together everything you need to know on this page.
