Is it still worth getting comprehensive insurance?

mel.b

It's that time of year again when i have to renew my car insurance policy. Thanks to the changes in the EU rules about anti discrimination of male drivers i had a nice €200 hike in my policy so i'm shopping around.

I have a mazda 323 '99 model with approx 120,000 miles on the clock. I've had it five years and it has given me no mechanical trouble at all but had to spend a bit to get through the NCT this year (all standard wear and tear for a car of its age). It's really not worth much (4 on car zone between €700-€1000) but i am not in the market for upgrading it atm.

I need class 2 insurance for work and the best comprehensive quote i had got was €469 of which the class two is €79 (which is refunded by work). I rang Liberty insurance tonight and they don't do comprehensive insurance for cars under €2000 and gave me a 3rd party quote for €351 which includes €20 for the class 2.

So with a car the age & value of mine is it still worth getting comp insurance? I've always just had comprehensive, so never really thought about it but wondering now.

Thanks heaps,
Mel

Idbatterim

go for TPFT, if you have an accident, you will usually have to pay an excess anyway or lose your ncb if you claim. The car is effectively worth nothing. Short of you writing it off, it would never be worth claiming either way...

also try 123.ie and nononsense.ie

mel.b

Thanks. Makes sense.

I tired 123 but they don't do class 2. Haven't tried nononense. Got thr best comp quote from Chill - will try them again for 3rd party.

dahamsta

It's not the car you have to worry about, it's yourself. Read your policy carefully with regard to personal injury.

mel.b

dahamsta wrote: »

It's not the car you have to worry about, it's yourself. Read your policy carefully with regard to personal injury.

Is there a difference there between 3rd party and comprehensive with regards to personal injury? I'm just getting quotes over the phone atm. Will they send out a product disclosure brochure before deciding?

colm_mcm

Things like windscreen cover and no claims protection, breakdown etc are handy to have, you may not get these on third party

Atlantic Dawn

Depends finincially how well you are and if you could afford to say shell out the price of a replacement car fairly handy. If you need your car for work and your cash is low it might be worth considering comprehensive.

For €200 it might be close to 25% of the worth of the car, main reason I would go for comprehensive is windscreen, breakdown cover and cover if you write your car off in frost. A windscreen can typically cost €250-€300 for most cars, a breakdown recovery might be €75 to €100 depending on where you are. €4 a week might be worth this, then again if you stick the €200 savings each year a side after a couple of years you could replace the car with it.

Make sure you call all other insurers and check a couple online 123.ie, Aviva.ie etc, you might find some will do for maybe just €50 more than your being quoted for third party.

Del2005

mel.b wrote: »

I need class 2 insurance for work and the best comprehensive quote i had got was €469 of which the class two is €79 (which is refunded by work). I rang Liberty insurance tonight and they don't do comprehensive insurance for cars under €2000 and gave me a 3rd party quote for €351 which includes €20 for the class 2.

So with a car the age & value of mine is it still worth getting comp insurance? I've always just had comprehensive, so never really thought about it but wondering now.

Thanks heaps,
Mel

Tell them the car is worth €4k, there is nothing wrong/illegal with over insuring as they'll only pay book value if you claim. Most insurance companies charge extra for lower valued cars, I assume they think the drivers care less about them. I found a big difference with some companies when I used to put the correct value of my old car down compared to €4k.