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Comprehensive Car Insurance - What is it? Comprehensive Car Insurance - What is it?

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Comprehensive Car Insurance - What is it?

Published 21st September 2017Read Time 3 min

Comprehensive car insurance provides you with a greater level of protection, as any damage to your own vehicle resulting from an incident, a fire, or theft will be covered by your insurer, as well as any damage to other parties.

What does Comprehensive Car Insurance mean?

When it comes to insurance, the terminology can be tough to wrap your head around. To drive in Ireland you are legally required to have third party cover in place at a minimum. However, a comprehensive cover provides you with a greater level of protection as any damage to your own vehicle resulting from an incident will be covered by your insurer, as well as any damage to other parties or damage resulting from fire or theft.

What Should I Consider Before Purchasing Comprehensive Car Insurance?

The most important thing to consider before purchasing comprehensive cover is the value of your own car. Unlike third party or third party, fire and theft cover, a comprehensive car insurance policy affords you the additional peace of mind of knowing that if you are involved in an incident the cost of repairs or replacing your own car will be covered by your insurer, something which is particularly important if you have a new or more expensive car.

Will It Be More Expensive?

While a comprehensive car insurance policy will, in most cases, be more expensive than either a third party or third party, fire and theft policy, depending on your individual circumstances the difference in cost may be minimal. As a comprehensive cover policy means that your own car is also covered for any damage resulting from an incident, if your current car is particularly valuable it may be worth parting with some extra cash to ensure your needs are fully met.


If you’re looking to reduce the cost of your car insurance premiums it may be worth adding another driver to your policy. Some insurers will offer a discount of up to 20% if you add a spouse or partner to your car insurance policy, as long as they have a clean driving record.


As one of Ireland’s top insurance intermediaries, our aim at the AA is to provide you with the best value car insurance available, as well as making sure you get the cover that suits your needs. You can find out more and get a quote for car insurance here.

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