16th August 2022
The Key Differences Between Comprehensive and Laid-Up Insurance Cover
Whatever the make and model of your car, motor insurance is a legal requirement if you intend to keep or use your vehicle on a public road. There are four types of car insurance available, with comprehensive plans offering the highest level of assurance and cover.
- Third-party
- Third-party Fire and Theft
- Comprehensive
- Laid-Up Cover
Ensuring your car is properly insured in line with your needs is important so that, should an accident or attempted theft occur, you are not left out of pocket. However, is comprehensive insurance necessary if your car is permanently parked or used exclusively on private land, and what are the key differences between the different types of cover? Let's look at the options in further detail:
Third-Party cover: the minimum protection you need
As its name suggests, third-party insurance protects other people or property from damage caused by your vehicle and provides compensation for their injuries.
In you are involved in an accident that is not your fault, you will be able to claim for damage or personal injury from the third-party's insurance. However, if you are judged to have caused an accident, only the third-party's vehicle (or property) will be covered by your insurance: you will have to pay for any repairs to your own vehicle. Consequently, third-party insurance is usually chosen for vehicles of low value.
Third-Party Fire and Theft insurance extends this cover to include:
- Accidental Damage to other vehicles not your own
- Fire damage
- Theft
Comprehensive cover: safeguarding against all eventualities
Comprehensive insurance is the highest level of protection you can purchase for your vehicle.
It includes all the benefits of Third-Party Fire and Theft insurance but will also pay for repairs or replacement to your car (excluding the agreed excess), repairs to property, or personal injury, even if an accident was deemed to be your fault.
Additional options include motor legal protection, Personal Possessions cover, No Claims Bonus protection, and Roadside Assistance (Breakdown).
What is a Laid-up Cover?
In some situations, your car may be parked or stored and not expected to cover any mileage during the term of the insurance. Alternatively, the vehicle may be a collectable car that is parked to minimise its mileage to increase its value. Whatever the reason, the car is likely to be declared SORN (Statutory Off-Road Notification) with the DVLA, which means it is exempt from tax and cannot be legally driven or stored on any public roads.
The car may not be at risk of a road traffic accident, but it remains vulnerable to theft and damage. Therefore, it is vital that you continue to insure it. Laid-up insurance provides cover for accidental damage, malicious damage, fire, and theft, at a vastly reduced premium, specifically for SORN vehicles.
To apply for Laid-up insurance, the vehicle must be registered as SORN with the DVLA and kept on private property, for example in a garage.
Contact us for more information
At ManningUK, we offer specialist insurance packages for premium vehicles that are tailored to meet our customers' specific needs, while keeping costs as low as possible. To obtain a competitive quote for your motor insurance, please contact us on 01491 578759 or click here.
