How to choose the right car insurance for you

What to look for beyond the price

1. The level of cover. Third party pays only for other people’s injuries and property. Third party, fire and theft adds your own car if it is stolen or burnt. Comprehensive adds accidental damage to your own car, whoever is at fault. The question is what the car is worth and whether you could replace it yourself after an accident you caused. Our third party, fire and theft and comprehensive pages go into each.

2. The excess. The first part of any claim you pay yourself. Check the standard excess, and whether a higher voluntary excess has been used to lower the price. You cannot claim for anything below it, so it should be an amount you could pay on the day.

3. No-claims bonus protection. An optional extra that keeps your bonus after a claim. The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC), the State’s consumer watchdog, advises checking the policy documents for exclusions: some policies protect the bonus only for fire and theft claims, or for a limited number of claims over a set period. Weigh its cost against the size of the discount it protects.

4. The extras. Windscreen and glass cover, breakdown and recovery, driving other cars, driver personal accident cover and items stolen from the car vary between insurers, the CCPC notes, and some, such as personal belongings and breakdown cover, are not standard. Some quotes include them and some do not. Decide which you would use, then compare quotes that include the same ones.

5. The conditions. Who may drive the car, what it may be used for, where it is kept at night, and what is excluded. Under the Consumer Protection Code, the CCPC says, the insurer must issue the policy document within five working days of cover starting, and you have a 14-day cooling-off period after agreeing to buy. Read the document in that window.

6. How the insurer handles claims. Price tells you nothing about this. The Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman publishes an annual overview of complaints and names every provider that had three or more complaints upheld, substantially upheld or partially upheld against it in the year. In 2025 motor insurance drew 968 complaints to the FSPO, the largest insurance category. Across all insurance complaints, claim handling and claim rejection were the two biggest causes. Check the FSPO’s list before you choose, and ask how a claim is reported and whether repairs go through approved repairers with a courtesy car.

Compare cover from 14 different insurers

The same details go to 14 different insurers, and the quotes that come back can differ on any of the six points above, not just on price. Compare them with the same cover level, the same excess and the same extras, and the lowest price for that cover is the right one for you. Answer every question honestly and with reasonable care: the CCPC warns that a policy can be cancelled for undisclosed details, and cover is then harder to get.

If price is the pressing question, our cheap car insurance page covers what moves a premium. If you have penalty points, a conviction or a claims history, start with our penalty points or convicted drivers pages and one of our agents will check which of the panel will quote. To talk it through, call 0818 92 92 42, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5.30pm.

Sources: CCPC – car insurance; FSPO – Overview of Complaints 2025; Citizens Information – motor insurance. Last reviewed September 2026.