Car: 3rd party only?

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Do many of you insure your car third party only?
My reliable but old car is up for insurance. If was damaged last year and I bought it back from insurance as an economic write off for £600 and am living with the cosmetic damage.
I was thinking it's not worth insuring for more than 3rd party cover because the pay out would be so low (especially after any excess) it's not worth claiming. Especially when the impact on claims history and a long no claims discount is considered.

I'll check to see whichever cover is cheapest, but if it is TPO then it makes sense doesn't it?

Seems reasonable.
I would get a quote for TPFaT too just in case the difference in premium was so small it’s worth it for the extra cover.

Get quotes for all levels - comprehensive cover can actually be cheaper than TPO with some insurers. Sounds odd but the damage you can cause to another car is just as costly and comprehensively insured drivers are statistically less likely to be involved in an accident so the risk is actually less

Get some quotes but I've read of people finding 3rd party much the same as, in some cases more than, TPFT.

Comprehensive also usually adds things like windscreen cover that won't necessarily be part of third party.

I looked into this. I drive a 2009 car it can’t be worth more than 1k. I actually found 3rd party was more expensive so I stuck with comprehensive

I would in that position if the price was right, yes.

We got a quote for both TPO / comp on our elderly car a couple of years ago and the difference in cost was negligible so we went comp .

Agree with others who have said TPO/TPFT might not actually be cheaper.

Comprehensive insurance could also come with additional benefits eg a courtesy car if yours is off the road after an accident.

But in your case, I'd go with whatever is cheapest, you've already been paid out for the value of your car, so you're ahead for however long it lasts.

Thanks all. Confirmed my thoughts.
If hate for this car to be technically written off. It does what I need and new cars are crazy expensive!
14 years old, had it from new.

In that case, third party only, as long as it's not more expensive, might actually be the way to go as your insurance company won't be falling over themselves to take it away from you.

They seem very keen on that these days (DP thinks it's because they sell them at a profit for parts - his car was bumped while he wasn't driving it and before he knew it, the insurance company, without asking, had transferred him the write off money and were trying to make appointments to take the car away the next day - he accepted because it sounded like a generous deal but then started to think 'hang on, I've been screwed here' because with hindsight, he'd have liked to have kept the car for a lower payout but that option was now off the table).

In your case, as long as it's still passing MOTs and otherwise suits your needs, I'd be hanging onto it for even another 5/10 years. Imagine how much you could save in that time if you're not paying for car finance or having to refill a savings pot that's had a big lump taken out of it for a crazy expensive new car?

The other option is to use a high voluntary excess though of course it would apply if you damaged a third party vehicle but a high excess really reduces premium especially if you have a decent emergency fund so you can cope with it

Good point on the excess. if I don't intend to claim (and never had a personal claim against me in a lot of years) that could save a lot.

Breakdown cover is the non-negotiable.

@Bjorkdidit this car has been a very good buy. £11k new in 2012 so even initial depreciation was low.

It was economically written off last year (cat N) but I stalled and didn't let them take it away whilst I was using up the petrol and active insurance.

I bought it back from CoPart. The tricky part was that I couldn't get a confirmed buy-back price from Copart before I agreed to write it off with my insurer. So was a bit of a gamble.

I was checking out the huge number of cat N cars on their website trying to guess how much it would cost me.
https://www.copart.co.uk/

People who can self-mechanic an older car can have some really cheap motoring compared to modern complex cars.

People who can self-mechanic an older car can have some really cheap motoring compared to modern complex cars.

I know. I don't think we've ever paid more than £1k for a car in our lives. DH grew up tinkering with motorbikes and cars back in the early 1970s and will still do all that is needed on ours. I'm currently driving a 2005 Volvo estate that we've had for about 10 years. He's just put a new fuel pump in - about £70 and free labour.