You need to insure your car, you don't want to pay more for what you won't use, but you don't want to give up or even avoid services that you will soon miss. Knowing well the types of insurance that exist and what each of them entails is the first step to be able to choose the perfect insurance for your car.
1. Third-party insurance
This first type of policy is the simplest and most basic, as its name indicates. It is the minimum insurance that by law every car must have to be able to circulate. It is known as third-party insurance or basic insurance.
All third-party insurance must include the civil liability insurance required for driving. This type of coverage covers material and personal damages caused by the insured car to third parties. The insured car and the driver himself are outside the protection of the compulsory insurance.
This basic insurance usually includes an extension of the civil liability known as supplementary civil liability, which economically extends the civil liability insurance of the insured.
Third-party liability for trailers and caravans, and for objects transported in the vehicle, is also usually included in third-party insurance. Along with legal defense, damage claims, and travel assistance.
Driver's insurance is also starting to be included in third-party policies, but this is not always the case, so it is important that you take this into account when comparing and choosing your car insurance.
The claim to the Insurance Compensation Consortium for damages to the insured vehicle and/or personal damages, as a consequence of certain natural catastrophes, terrorism, or peacetime actions of the Armed Forces and the State Security Forces, completes the coverage enjoyed with third party insurance.
2. Extended third party insurance
In accordance with the needs and demands of today's drivers, insurance companies have increased their offer of third-party insurance by offering a type of policy that is somewhat less basic, but not as complete as the so-called all-risk policies.
In this group of extended or complete third-party car insurance policies, you will find a wide range of coverages that you can choose independently or in package format, according to the different companies.
The coverage of total or partial breakage of windows or windshields, fire insurance, or the repair of damages suffered by the car if it runs over an animal, for example, is the most common in extended third-party insurance.
The most complete third party policies offer the driver more specific services and assistance such as the civil liability of the policyholder and driver declared as a cyclist, civil liability of the minor child driving without a license, defense in traffic fines, subsidy for deprivation of driving license, theft of the vehicle, cleaning of the vehicle for the transfer of the injured or the interest and expenses of the loan for the repair of the vehicle.
This kind of third-party insurance with extended coverage is very interesting so that the driver can complete his protection and that of his vehicle according to his use, priorities, and needs, without having to give up anything essential, even if he chooses a third party policy.
3. Fully comprehensive
Fully comprehensive car insurance offers a complete range of coverage, assistance, and services for the driver and his vehicle. They include, of course, the obligatory ones such as civil liability insurance, but also all those that complete third-party policies such as glass breakage or theft of the vehicle.
Comprehensive policies include coverages that do cover both the driver and the insured car itself in the event of being involved in an accident regardless of whether or not the driver is the cause; likewise, even if there are no third parties, as in the case of blows or damage during parking, the fully comprehensive insured car is protected in these circumstances as well.
Practical services commonly used by drivers, such as the replacement vehicle or the defense of traffic fines, are also facilities enjoyed by holders of comprehensive car insurance.
There are two basic types of comprehensive insurance. You can find comprehensive policies with or without excess. Insurance with excess may be cheaper in principle, but they have the disadvantage that they only cover a part of the expenses related to the accident.
Provided that the repair or assistance costs are lower than the amount fixed -prime- in the contract - it is the policyholder who has to pay the bills.
Comprehensive insurance without excess is the most complete and effective insurance that can be contracted to protect a vehicle, the responsibility for the protection of the insured car falls exclusively and integrally on the insurance company.
The maximum coverage for any eventuality or possibility is included in this type of insurance that responds to all the needs and demands of drivers regardless of their circumstances.
To complete their car insurance offer, insurance companies market exclusive policies with different coverage for specific drivers, such as young drivers, experienced drivers, professional drivers, or ecological cars.
These types of contracts contain cheaper premiums or advantages for certain customers, as well as bonuses or exclusive coverages of great interest.
Car insurance can therefore be either fully comprehensive or third party but bear in mind that within each of these two options there are a large number of details that can change from one company to another.
On the other hand, policyholders must pay attention to the economic amounts that are insured -expense limits- in each of the coverages and that can mean an important difference in the final price, but also a very different degree of protection.