Third Party, Fire and Theft Insurance Explained

(applicable to the UK)

For a motorist to drive on UK roads, it is a legal requirement to have at least third party motor insurance. This ensures that any third parties, their vehicles or their property are covered in the event of an incident. Third party, fire & theft (TPFT) is a step up again, as it also covers you in the event of your car being stolen or damaged (even destroyed) by fire.

Third party, fire & theft car insurance will cover you for any injury or even death caused to third parties. It will also cover your legal costs in the event of such proceedings, but not any fines you may incur.

It will also cover you in the event that your car is stolen. Despite advances in alarms, immobilisers and other anti-theft technology, one cannot be certain that your car will not be stolen, or at least damaged in the attempt. If you have TPFT cover then you will be able to pursue a claim for any such damage or loss to your car, including the theft of your car stereo (subject to a maximum value). The fire provision is mainly for when a car is burnt by thieves to cover their tracks, but can apply any other fire damage a car may incur.

There will usually be an excess that one must pay before recovering any payment in the event of a fire or theft claim. This tends to be between £100 and £150 more often than not but can be higher or lower, depending on your vehicle. 

Third party, fire & theft tends to have less costly premiums than comprehensive but before opting for this cover, you should consider what you will not get from your insurance policy that you will under a comprehensive one.

The main difference is damage to your car. Comprehensive cover will repair your car after a collision (or pay you the market value for the car if it is uneconomical to repair), where third party, fire and theft is precisely that – covers you only for fire or theft incidents.

Plus, where a window is smashed in an attempted theft, but nothing is taken, it is likely to be seen as a windscreen/window claim rather than a theft, and as such will not be covered on a TPFT policy. Upgrading to comprehensive will ensure that you are covered against this eventuality. Plus the excess payable with comprehensive insurance in this situation (typically £50 - £75) would be less than excess payable for a theft claim (typically £100 - £150).

Not all insurers offer third party, fire and theft cover on vehicles over a certain value so if your car is worth £5,000 or more, you should consider upgrading to comprehensive cover. This is to ensure you do not have to deal with the financial burden of writing-off an expensive car in an accident and not being able to afford the repair bill.