Comprehensive vs Third Party Insurance: what you need to know

1st May 2020

Bingle's Comprehensive Car Insurance is, well, comprehensive! It covers damage and loss caused by a wide range of insured events like accidents, theft and weather events (think hail, fire and storms). It also covers you if you cause damage to someone else's car or property (you've got legal liability for damage up to $20 million.)

Third Party Car Insurance, on the other hand, is typically cheaper but only covers damage to another person's vehicle or property. So, if for example you bump into someone else on the road, Third Party cover can help pay for repairs to their car - but won't cover repairs to your own car.

Because of the price difference, it might be tempting to downgrade to Third Party Car Insurance and save a bit of cash, especially if you've never had to make a claim, and/or if you think your own car isn't worth that much. Before you decide to downgrade, brush up on why Comprehensive Insurance could still come in handy.

• Loss or Damage to your car, up to the market value, including damage to your car from natural hazards like fire, hail and flood.
• Damage to someone else's car or property caused by the use of your car.
• Up to $20 legal liability insurance.

With Comprehensive cover you can also choose to add optional extras. These are windscreen and glass only cover, Keep Mobile cover which gives you a hire car while your car is being repaired/assessed, and New for Old cover (only for cars three years old and under).

Note, this isn't an exhaustive list of everything that Comprehensive Car Insurance covers. Find out more about Comprehensive Car Insurance.

• Up to $20m legal liability insurance for damage to someone else's car or property caused by the use of your car

• Basically, both types of insurance provide cover if you're responsible for a car accident that causes damage to another person's car or property. This could come in handy if you ever hit a fancy sports car – think about how expensive that could be to repair if you were paying for it yourself!
• But as mentioned above, Third Party Insurance doesn't cover for damage to your own car, while Comprehensive does.

When considering what may be appropriate cover it's important to compare the Bingle Third Party Car Insurance and Comprehensive Car Insurance Policy Documents for more info and exclusions on both types of cover.