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So, I've been window-shopping for car insurance and one thing that really baffles me is how the quotes I get are always cheaper to get Fully Comprehensive cover as opposed to 3rd-Party Only...

When I rode a motorbike, the quotes made a hell of a lot more sense, 3rd Party Only would be the cheapest, followed by 3rd Party, Theft and Fire. Then the most expensive would be Fully Comprehensive.

Surely, it's more expensive for a company to provide Fully Comprehensive cover, as they have more potential liability, where in the worst-case-scenario: a driver crashes and it is his/her fault, the insurance company would have to pay for 2 vehicles as opposed to one if it were 3rd party only.

Maybe this only applies to me as I live in the UK and am a young man (age 22) but still there must be a logical explanation for this.

It would be really nice to hear from someone who has worked for an insurance company in the past, provided you're allowed to disclose this sort of information freely of course.

Edit: one thing I should point out is that the 3rd-party only cover is considerably more expensive when quoting for sporty/powerful cars, even the ones that are little with 2 litre engines.

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    If you were an insurer, which customer would you prefer - (1) the person who only wants 3rd party because their car isn't worth much and it doesn't matter if they crash it, or (2) the sort of person who thinks their car is really worth looking after? Bear in mind that the cost of replacing a car is very cheap compared with the potential liability if the driver seriously injures other people when they crash. – Simon B Apr 19 '17 at 23:43
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From what I understand from reading on the internet(see link below), In recent years, drivers with a more 'risky' profile, such as younger motorists or those with driving convictions have opted for this 3rd party only cover to keep the cost of motoring down. Providers have reacted to this perceived increase in risk by driving up the cost of third-party only cover.

http://www.moneysupermarket.com/c/news/why-more-car-insurance-can-cost-less/0009690/

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If you only want third party insurance it is likely that:

  1. You do not care much about your own car.
  2. You will not report bumps, scrapes, solo accidents to your insurer.

By far the biggest cost to insurers are medical bills/compensation of people you injure while driving. Therefore anything that increases this risk will raise the insurance price. The reduced risk of not having to pay for your own car is relatively insignificant.

Young men in sporty/powerful cars who never report any accident until they have a major crash are an insurer's worst nightmare.

The difference with motor bikes is that you are much less likely to injure someone else if you have a big crash.

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