Comprehensive vs Fire and Theft vs Third Party Calculator

This tool answers one question: for a given event, what does each level of cover leave you paying for your own car? All three types of private car insurance pay for damage you cause to other people's property, so the difference lies in your own car.

How to use it. Pick one scenario and enter the damage to your own car as the claim. Then, for each cover option, fill in what that cover would do in that scenario:

• If the cover pays for this event, enter its excess and the insured value as the limit.
• If the cover does not pay for this event, enter your car's value as the amount you pay yourself and 1 as the limit, so the tool treats the whole loss as yours.

At-fault accident: only comprehensive pays. Theft or fire: comprehensive and third party, fire and theft pay (fire and theft cover is often capped, so enter that cap as the limit). Hail, flood or storm: usually only comprehensive. Not-at-fault accident with an identified uninsured driver: third party covers often include a limited extension, commonly a few thousand dollars, so check the PDS.

Worked example (illustrative). A car worth $14,000, an at-fault accident causing $7,000 of damage. Comprehensive: $1,150 premium + $750 excess = $1,900. Fire and theft: $520 + $7,000 = $7,520. Third party property: $390 + $7,000 = $7,390. With no claim, third party property is $760 cheaper than comprehensive, so you are effectively paying $760 a year to cap an at-fault loss at $750.

Limits. Premiums are illustrative. The tool shows one event at a time; run it for several events and weigh how likely each is for you. It ignores the other driver's damage, which all three covers pay, and CTP, which covers injuries separately.