If you want to go directly to another section of our guide to car insurance, you can click on one of the links below:

Part 2 - Where your car insurance premium goes
Part 3 - Liability and legal requirements
Part 4 - Car insurance jargon buster
Part 5 - Why car insurance costs so much
Part 6 - Optional extras
Part 7 - Cutting the cost of your car insurance
Part 8 - Shopping around for the best car insurance quote

Shopping for car insurance (often referred to as ‘motor insurance’) has traditionally been a painstaking but necessary task. From fully comp to third party, cost to liability, finding the right deal from numerous UK car insurance companies can prove to be an overwhelming challenge. Nowadays there’s no reason to labour over the search for the best quote. Our search tool allows you to compare car insurance quotes from more than 50 car insurance companies, including the AA, Budget and Asda. However, there’s more to a search than just finding cheap car insurance. You need to ensure you get the right cover to suit your needs as a motorist. Here are some factors you need to consider:

The right type of cover

What type of car insurance is right for you? It is illegal to drive in the UK without insurance and therefore the minimum standard of cover you can take out is ‘third party’. This covers:

· Liability for injuries to others, including passengers.
· Liability for damage to someone’s property.
· Liability of passengers for accidents caused by them.
· Liability arising from the use of a caravan or trailer while attached to the car.

Next comes ‘third party fire and theft’ which will also pay out if your vehicle is stolen or set on fire.

A comprehensive (normally known as ‘fully comprehensive’) car insurance policy will pay-out for all of the areas covered by third party fire and theft with the addition of paying for any damage to your own vehicle regardless of who caused the accident. It also covers loss of, or damage to, personal effects in the car.

Business car insurance (also known as ‘commercial car insurance’) meets the needs of small businesses with company vehicles.

Though polices vary between individual car insurance companies, benefits typically include a courtesy car, free cover for driving in Europe and, in some cases, legal aid when the accident is not your fault. These benefits may incur an extra cost.

In part two we take a look at where your money will go.