Comprehensive Car Insurance - Full Protection for Your Vehicle

There are several considerations that need to be made when deciding if a comprehensive policy is for you. For instance:

• Your age and gender
• The value of your vehicle
• Your driving record
• The expected level of use of the vehicle, and
• The cost of the policy

Each of the first four points must be weighed up against the last, and you should ask yourself, is it worth the cost of insuring? Firstly if you’re a male under the age of 25, you can expect to pay exorbitant amounts for comprehensive insurance no matter the vehicle and your driving record.

For example, to insure a small car for as little as $5000 can cost a safe, male driver less than 25 years old with 2 years driving experience upwards of $1500 per year. After only three years of comprehensive insurance, the car has been paid for twice over, and if the driver isn’t likely to cause accidents, its money down the drain.

A 40 year old driver with 5 years driving experience however can expect to insure the same vehicle for as little as $600 per year.

This leads to the second point: whether the value of the car is significant to warrant insurance. If you’re driving a car that’s worth $5000, paying $1500 per year is not the most cost effective cover. It may be worthwhile investing in third party property, fire and theft. This policy will cover your vehicle and other road users for everything but a situation where the driver causes damage to their own vehicle.

What are the Benefits of Comprehensive Insurance?

The main benefit of comprehensive insurance is that in the event of an accident, you have a high level of cover, regardless of who was at fault. There are also other benefits to a comprehensive policy, dependant on your provider, these may include:

• Towing – the insurer may foot the bill for towing your car to the nearest repairer, or even to your home

• Personal property – many insurers will pay up to a fixed amount - usually $500 – for replacement of damaged property

• Windscreen replacement – some insurers have an option to replace a broken windscreen or window without the payment of the excess or diminishing your no claim bonus.

Who gets the most out of comprehensive insurance?

As previously mentioned, young male drivers get a pretty raw deal with comprehensive insurance policies, even if they are insuring small inexpensive cars. Conversely safe drivers over the age of 25, who have not made recent claims, get a lot out of comprehensive insurance. One of the biggest advantages of comprehensive insurance is the "no claim bonus" – a percentage taken off a premium for not making a claim for a number of years. Many insurers have a tier system, giving drivers a maximum no claim bonus of around 60% for 5 years of not making a claim.

What is comprehensive travel insurance and do you really need it?