Car insurance advice please?

[54isanopendoor]

Sorry to be a bit pathetic. I have Covid & I'm muddle headed.
I've not done this for years.

I've always had fully comp & H has been on policy.
He is now EX H (but poss useful for him to be on it still as then he could drive in an emergency - we share 2 disabled kids & my health isn't great - depends on £!)

I am insuring an older car, value about 1,500? (I paid 2K but 'meerkat' says its valued at 1200, ooof) I have an Automatic only licence, 21 years, no claims etc.

Would 3rd party fire & theft be enough?
Am i cheaper to approach the Co that I have house insurance with?
Do I do that online or via phone?
Do I take out independent breakdown ? (ie Green Flag?)

If anyone could advise I'd appreciate it (overwhelmed atm & need to sort this)

more often that not third party fire and theft will only be marginally less than fully comp so it’s better to go for fully comp. There’s no benefit to sticking with the same insurer as for home unless they offer a generous discount or if you like their service and want to stick with them.

having your Ex on the policy may in fact be cheaper than taking him off - another experienced driver lessens the risk of an accident so could reduce your premium. If it doesn’t and he’s costing you money most comprehensive policies will cover you (well him) to drive another car third party only. Provided of course he has his own car he’s insuring. If not you’ll need to add him as a named driver.

I would check a price comparison website but also check Churchill or direct line they are often reasonable but not on price comparison sites

You probably won't find much difference in cost between fully comp and TP, F& T these days.
Some companies do offer reduced rates for multiple policies, so always ask your house insurer.
I find, in practice, that the phone is easier, but they tend to direct you to their websites, so it might be better to start online. And prepare to fill in all your details on each website. You can start with the comparison sites but lots of companies don't use them.
You can look into their breakdown cover, but it's always worth comparing with the stand-alones.

I'd say that the most important thing is to make sure whoever you use has decent reviews. It doesn't seem so great saving £100 if you then have to spend ages and ages stressfully fighting them if you should have a claim. There are various threads on here about claims - do a search. Personally, I've always found Direct Line good to deal with.

You could also consider raising your excess to reduce your premium but that depends if you could afford the excess of a claim happened.

also you’ll pay more to pay by monthly DD so if you can make one annual payment then that would reduce the cost more - appreciate that might be difficult

If the car is already insured you don't need to do anything. Just keep it as. Making any changes will cost you and is unnecessary

If your policy is up for renewal just go on comparison sites for car insurance

Its a new car so it needs to be a new policy.

It’s actually possible for a 3rd Party F&T policy to be more expensive than fully comp, which sounds bizarre, I know. Insurance is all risk based, if there a lot of similar claims (type and age of car, area etc.) from people with 3rd party cover, then this can push up the risk profile for that type of policy, so that it ends up costing more, than fully comp, where there a fewer claims.

It doesn’t happen too often, but is more prevalent with cheaper cars like yours, who are more likely to by only insured 3rd Party than ones worth 10s of thousands. So worth checking when you’re putting your details into any online calculators to get quotes.

Would 3rd party fire & theft be enough?
Am i cheaper to approach the Co that I have house insurance with?
Do I do that online or via phone?
Do I take out independent breakdown ? (ie Green Flag?)

TPFT is probably about the same price. The question is, could you afford to replace your car if you damaged it or wrote it off? If not, then fully comprehensive is probably better. Also consider if you need business use; social, domestic and pleasure covers you commuting to and from work but not business travel (eg I travel to clients or other offices sometimes).

Your home insurance company may give you a discount for having more than one policy with them. In any case, I suggest putting your information into a comparison site (I use confused.com) to get many quotes in one go and to compare with theirs. Look for one with a five star DEFAQTO rating.

Breakdown cover depends if it's worth it to you. Do you do long journeys? Could you get home and arrange a recovery if you didn't have it? Do shop around.

Please do get fully comp. TPFT really isn't worth it. Also, make sure you have cover for social domestic AND commuting if you're using the car to get to and from work. My dh works in insurance and so many claims are turned down where people don't realise that if they have an accident on the way to or from work they are not covered, just because they haven't clicked the right button when buying their policy online. I always use confused.com or compare the market to search for prices, and always seem to get a good deal. As for breakdown, I have that through my bank, but would say go for the AA above any other companies whether it's part of your insurance or separate.

Also check Top Cashback website, there's often offers on for new insurance customers.

Money supermarket we're doing £250 excess cover last month.

I would put the details into a comparison site like compare the market, and see what costs are chuck out.
IF your car was written off byyou, could you replace it (would you need to?) without any money from the insurance company? You need fully comp if not.

social, domestic and pleasure covers you commuting to and from work

This isn't necessarily true, it's an add-on to lots of policies nowadays. As is cover to drive other cars. Don't assume that fully comp will cover you for this.

@PearlAlice you're absolutely right. Claims are being repudiated by lots of insurers due to the policyholder commuting at the time of the accident and not being covered for this. Worst case scenario is that, not only does the policyholder not get any satisfaction of their losses, but they are also held responsible for any damage to third party vehicles.

I would always start with Matin Lewis's Car Insurance guide www.moneysavingexpert.com/insurance/car-insurance/

Seems a bit of a faff to get the best deal but will genuinely pay dividends. Once you have the best price it can be worth seeing if your existing insurer/home insurer will match it

Will usually be as cheap or cheaper to include a partner/ex partner and go for comprehensive rather than TPFT