What is the difference between comprehensive and third party car insurance?

What it covers	Third party	Third party, fire and theft	Comprehensive
Damage you cause to other people's cars and property	Yes	Yes	Yes
Fire and theft of your own car	No	Yes, at market value	Yes, at agreed or market value
Windscreen and window glass	No	Yes	Yes, as sudden and accidental damage
A crash that damages your own car	No	No	Yes
Storm or flood damage to your own car	No	No	Assessed as sudden and accidental damage, with stand-downs (wording)
Damage by an uninsured driver at fault	Up to $4,000 (wording)	Up to $4,000 (wording)	Agreed or market value (wording)
Replacement with a new car within two years of buying it new	No	No	Yes

The table follows the comparison in Tower's own policy wordings (comprehensive, third party, fire and theft and third party only). Excesses, limits and exclusions still apply, and other insurers' wordings differ.

Each level has its own page: comprehensive car insurance and third party car insurance, which includes the middle option.

Two more things carry across the levels. An accident that was not your fault is excess free if you identified the party at fault and Tower is satisfied they were more than 50 per cent at fault (Tower). Anyone driving your car with your permission is covered (Tower's wording). At comprehensive level only, you can choose an optional no cover for drivers under 25 years old, which removes cover while anyone under 25 is driving (Tower's wording).

Third party, fire and theft adds loss to your own car caused by fire, theft or illegal conversion, including attempts, and loss to your windscreen or window glass (Tower's wording). A theft from a locked garage or secure parking building is excess free at this level and at comprehensive (Tower's wording). Crash damage you cause is still yours to pay.

Comprehensive covers sudden and accidental physical loss or damage to your car, which takes in a crash you cause. The wording does not list storm or flood as separate covers, so a weather claim is assessed against that general wording and your certificate (Tower's wording). It is also the only level with Tower's new vehicle replacement, which applies if you bought the car new, insured it with Tower from new and it is written off within two years (Tower's wording).

Storm cover has stand-downs. Tower's comprehensive wording has a 72-hour stand-down for storm, flood, wildfire, tsunami, volcanic activity or landslide at the start of a policy. It also has a stand-down for a cyclone named before the start date. Exceptions apply when a policy follows another one or is bought with the car (Tower's wording). The same stand-down also appears in the third party, fire and theft and third party only wordings.

For a stolen car, Tower waits at least 14 days from the Police report before settling a total loss, in case the car is found (Tower's wording).

In Tower's wording, agreed value is the value set when the cover starts, changes or renews and shown on your certificate. Market value is the reasonable retail cost of a car of the same make, model, kilometres, year and condition immediately before the loss, as assessed by a valuer Tower approves (Tower's wording). The comprehensive guide and the guide to car valuation for insurance explain how to choose between them.

Questions worth asking:

• Could you replace the car from savings if you wrote it off in a crash you caused? Only comprehensive pays for that.
• Is the car under finance? Comprehensive cover may be a condition of the loan, so check your agreement (Tower).
• Is theft a real risk where it is parked? Third party, fire and theft is the first level that pays for a stolen car. Consumer Protection says to tell your insurer if the car is kept in a locked garage or has an alarm (Consumer Protection).
• Who drives it? Consumer Protection says premiums are higher for drivers under 25 or without a full licence (Consumer Protection), a subject covered in the guide to car insurance for young drivers.

Consumer Protection describes third party as the least expensive policy type and comprehensive as generally the more expensive one (Consumer Protection). The guide to what sets the price of car insurance explains the other factors, and the guide to whether car insurance is compulsory covers the legal side.

These policies cover a car only while it is used for social, domestic or private purposes, which includes getting to and from work (Tower's wording). A car used for business needs a different type of policy, and Tower points to its commercial vehicle cover for that (Tower).

A car with modifications that differ from the manufacturer's standard specification is not covered unless Tower has agreed to insure them under the accessories and modifications option and they are listed on your certificate (Tower's wording). The guide to modified car insurance has the detail, and the Tower car insurance guide covers Tower's product more broadly.