Some Advice for Young Drivers regarding their Level of Cover
It is often the case that more mature drivers opt for Fully Comprehensive cover, but what should a Young Driver do? Is it that the discounts generally achieved by taking out Third Party cover is worth it or would a younger driver be better off paying that bit extra and attaining the extra benefits of a Fully Comprehensive policy?
At the end of the day these are purely personal decisions made on a case by case basis, but there is certainly no harm in getting quoted for Comprehensive Cover as well , as on occasions it can sometimes end up being at a price not dissimilar to that of the other options, meaning it may be very tempting to upgrade to.
This can end up being a little misleading though as if you end up claiming from an accident on Comprehensive Cover you will end up having to pay an excess cost that will have been agreed when taking out the policy, as well as possibly losing your No Claims Bonus.
Consider the two scenarios that have been set out below to compare situations and costs that could end up being paid in both a Third Party or Comprehensive claim. In the following instance:
Third Party
£900 |
Premium |
Comprehensive
£1100 |
| £0 |
Excess after an accident |
£350* |
| £0 |
Additional Premium for Comprehensive in first year |
£200 |
| £0 |
Loss of No Claims Bonus in the subsequent year |
£360 |
| £0 |
Total Cost of incident |
£910 |
*Typical value
In this situation, whilst paying only more initially for the Comprehensive cover, consider the excess you would pay and the loss of your No Claims Bonus. This means that the claim must be at least £1000 to be worth the difference. Remember that this is only a crude example and that:
- A claim for Fire and Theft will also affect your Third Party, Fire and Theft policy.
- If the claim is not your fault and you have legal protection you should be able to cover your losses.
- If a third party claimed against you, you would lose your No Claims Bonus.
The best advice is to get Car Insurance quotes for both Third Party and Comprehensive policies and then weigh up the costs of both. |
