Glossary · UK
What is Third Party, Fire and Theft (Car Insurance)?
A car insurance level covering damage or injury to others, plus your own vehicle if it is stolen or damaged by fire, but not other damage to your own car.
Full Definition
Third Party, Fire and Theft (TPFT) is a mid-level tier of UK car insurance cover, sitting between the legal minimum of Third Party Only and full Comprehensive cover. It covers the same third-party protection as the basic legal minimum -- injury to other people and damage to their vehicle or property if the policyholder is at fault -- and additionally covers the policyholder's own vehicle if it is stolen, or damaged or destroyed by fire, but crucially does not cover damage to the policyholder's own car from an accident that is their fault, or generally from most other causes such as vandalism (unless specified) or accidental damage. Despite the name suggesting it should be cheaper than comprehensive cover, TPFT policies are sometimes priced similarly to, or even higher than, comprehensive cover for certain driver profiles, particularly younger or higher-risk drivers, because insurers have found that some higher-risk drivers disproportionately choose the cheaper-sounding TPFT option, which can distort the underlying pricing -- so it is always worth comparing quotes for both cover levels rather than assuming TPFT will automatically be the cheaper option. TPFT can suit owners of older or lower-value cars where the cost of comprehensive cover would not be justified relative to the vehicle's value, since a comprehensive policy would in any case only ever pay out up to the car's market value following an at-fault accident.