By Nick H 
Buying a car is the dream of almost every Tom, Dick and Harry. Who wouldn’t want to live the life of convenience and comfort brought about by having a vehicle anyway? So when you finally get to purchase your car, ensuring that it is well protected should be one of your primary responsibilities. Now when it comes to protecting your dream car, your options boil down to taking a third party insurance policy or a comprehensive motor insurance policy. While most people often go for the first type of plan, it is more advisable that you opt for a comprehensive motor insurance cover, especially if your car is new. Here is why.
The differences between the two covers
Before we get down to the business of the day, it is vital that you grasp the difference between the two insurance policies.
Third party motor insurance policy
This is the most common policy among most motorists. It is rampant because it is mandatory by the law. Under this policy, any damages or injuries caused to third party members by the insured are often covered or paid off by the insurance company.
Comprehensive motor insurance
This type of cover is different from the standard third party policy in that first, it is the highest form of insurance, secondly, it is not mandatory by the law, and thirdly, it insures damage to your car. In other words, it’s more like a first party insurance cover, because when third party policies focus on compensating those who suffer loss in an accident that you are deemed the faulty one, comprehensive insurance, also known as comp cover focuses on restoring your car.
Why you should go for comprehensive motor insurance?
It protects you from non-motor calamities
Apart from motor-related accidents, there are also non-motor calamities that put your ride at risk. For instance, unpredictable weather is quite a common occurrence in the 21st century. You might pack your car in a well-protected area, but there’s nothing you can do when there is a flood, and it’s carried away or a hail storm that causes damage to it. In other cases, there might be a fire, an earthquake and other related natural events that you have no control over. However, in such circumstances having a comp cover saves the day because your insurer protects you from such occurrences and will compensate you if any of these non-motor calamities occur causing damage to your precious ride. Other non-motor accidents that this policy protects your car from include events of theft, terrorist or malicious acts which damage your vehicle.
Restores your car even in unproven faults
A comp cover also comes in handy when the fault can’t be proven. For instance, you might park your car at a public place only to return and find that someone has hit you and he/she is nowhere in sight. In such scenarios, if you only had third party insurance, then all the costly repairs that are related to the event are on your paycheck and might leave huge dents in your bank account. On the other hand, if you had a comp cover, then you have no reason to worry as your policy applies in such scenarios as well.
Prevents the disruption of life
The reason why comprehensive motor insurance is often referred to as a full coverage policy is that besides insuring your car, it also has a third party policy as part of it. This means that apart from restoring your vehicle in the event of an accident, it also covers any damages or injuries that might have happened to third party members if the crash is deemed to be your fault. While this might result in a slight increase in your premiums, it allows you to continue with your life as usual because all is taken care of by your insurer.
Excellent add-ons
Apart from offering coverage to your car and third parties, most comp insurance covers often come with add-ons that make your life smooth sailing. For instance, some covers often offer a courtesy car, where the insurer gives the insured another vehicle to use while the damaged one undergoes repairs. Other insurers also provide a breakdown cover, where the insured gets covered for any breakdowns that occur. Others offer windshield protection and loss of baggage cover among many others.
It is, however, vital to note that while some insurers throw in the add-ons as incentives, a majority of them offer the extras at an added costs.
Peace of mind
A major reason for you to have a comp cover is that it gives you total peace of mind. In other words, with this type of policy, you don’t have to worry about someone stealing or breaking into your car, you don’t have to stress over lousy weather or any other factor that might cause damage to your four-wheeler. Also, you don’t have to keep on dodging the police as you know you are on the safe side of the law with this cover. This allows you to go about your daily routine efficiently as nothing is disturbing your peace of mind.