What is third party insurance?

If you drive a car, you have probably heard about “third party insurance”.  Third party insurance covers you for claims made against you by third parties – that is, other people.

There are two types of third party insurance:

• Third party insurance for claims for injury.  This is the compulsory insurance that is included with your car registration.  It means that if your driving causes an injury to someone else, there is an insurance company who will cover you for the claim made against you.
• Third party property damage insurance.  This is not compulsory in Queensland.  If you don’t have this insurance, and your driving causes damage to another vehicle, you will be liable for the costs of the repair of the damage to that vehicle.

If you have comprehensive insurance for your car, this includes third party property damage insurance.  If you don’t have comprehensive insurance, you can buy this third party insurance separately.

Even if you think your own car isn’t worth insuring, you should think about having third party property damage insurance.  We have seen cases where people face huge debts because they have been responsible for property damage to another vehicle, and they haven’t had this insurance.  Third party property damage insurance saves you from this, because your insurer pays for the damage to the other vehicle.

If you have a question about property damage from a collision, we can provide you with legal help.