In the UK today, you can insure everything from your car to your dog.  People choose to insure different things depending on what is important to them and how much they have to spend. However, some insurances are not just necessary, but some are a legal requirement.

Motor insurance

It is the law to insure your car or motorbike in the UK. So this is one of the most popular sorts of insurance policies British people have.

You must be insured on every vehicle you are going to drive. If you have two cars, or a car and a motorbike, you must insure them separately (although, some ‘fully-comprehensive’ policies allow you to drive someone else’s car from time to time).

Beware - police in the UK now have an electronic system which means they can scan the number plate on your car as you drive past, which tells them if you have insurance or not. So even if you think you are a great driver, and you will never have an accident, don’t risk driving without it, as you will probably end up in court!

Types of Policy

But before you call any insurance companies for a quote, you need to decide what type of policy you need. You can insure your car with a third party, third party fire and theft or fully comprehensive policy: third party, the cheapest level, means that in the event of an accident, your insurer will only pay for the damage to the other person’s car and not your own. If you add ‘fire and theft’ then, as it suggests, you will also be covered if your car catches fire, or is stolen.

‘Fully comprehensive’ is the most expensive cover , which will pay you for damages to your car and others involved in an accident, as well as for fire and theft, usually for windscreen damage, theft of personal items from the car, and also personal injury during an accident.

NOTE: You only have to make a claim if an accident was your fault. If you have an accident which you think was caused by another driver, you must take their insurance details so you can claim for damage to you or your car from them.

Cost of Cover

You will have to make a decision on what cover to have depending on the cost, and on the value of the car (it would not be worth insuring a 15-year-old car worth £500 fully comprehensive, because the insurance would probably cost more than the car!)

The cost of your insurance is calculated depending on the risk of you making a claim. So you will find that the more powerful or sporty your car is, and the younger you are, the more expensive the insurance quote will be because you are perceived to be higher risk by the insurance provider.

There are hundreds of different insurance companies, all of which claim to be the cheapest on their adverts! However, there are some useful (and independent) websites where you can type in your details once, and they come back with the best deals for you in minutes! This is a great way of saving precious time on the phone or on the internet contacting companies one after the other to find the cheapest quote.

For services relating to this topic, see our "Find a..." section.

Home insurance

Another thing that most people in the UK will insure is their home. There are two sections to this type of insurance: ‘building’ and ‘contents’. The first insures the permanent building (the bricks, the roof and windows i.e. the building itself), and the second covers you for burglary and for accidental damage to your possessions inside the house.

If you have a mortgage on your own home, it may be necessary for you to have your building insured. However, if you are new to the UK, you are most likely to be renting accommodation at first. So you will only need to insure the ‘contents’.

Of course, if you don’t have many possessions, then it won’t be worth doing this. But if you have anything worth a large amount of money then this is a good idea in case it gets stolen or damaged.

Car breakdown insurance

For car breakdown, the main companies provide good cover in the event that your car breaks down and prices start at around £30 per year. You can often get breakdown cover as an additional cost on your car insurance policy instead.

You can also get insurance for travel, dentists, health, pets, and even your own life!  

 

By Matt Taylor

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USEFUL WORDS

to be insured against = have an agreement with a company so that you will receive money if something happens to your car, your house, your health etc.
policy = a written statement of a contract of insurance
cover = to protect against something with insurance
make a claim = to request a sum of money from an insurance company
get a quote (quotation) = to be told how much money an insurance policy will cost you 
risk = the possibility of something bad happening at some time in the future
no claims bonus = a reduction in the cost of your insurance because you haven’t made a claim in the previous year

motor insurance
vehicle = a form of transportation (e.g. car, motorbike)
fully comprehensive = cover against most risks
third party = cover only against risk to other people or their cars, not your own car
fire and theft = cover against fire damage or if your car is stolen
personal injury = cover against accidents involving your body
breakdown = when a vehicle stops working

buildings insurance = cover against damage to the outside of your house – roof, windows etc.
contents insurance = cover against damage to your property inside your house or if it is stolen
personal items = items belonging to you e.g. camera, laptop, jewellery
burglary = the crime of entering a building illegally and stealing things from it

ENGLISH GRAMMAR

So and that way

So can replace an adjective after become and remain:
The situation is not yet serious, but it may become so (= it may become serious)
So is rather formal here.  Use get/stay that way in informal English:
The situation isn’t serious yet, but it may get that way

Also use so after more or less:
It’s usually quite busy here – more so in summer, of course