Almost every driver in Nigeria is sold motor insurance in the same two words: third-party or comprehensive. They sound like a basic option and a premium option, the way an economy seat differs from business class. They are not. They cover fundamentally different things, and the gap between them is where most motor disappointment lives.
What third-party actually covers
Third-party cover pays for harm you cause to other people — their vehicle, their property, their injuries. It is the legal minimum to drive on a Nigerian road, and it exists to protect everyone else from you.
It pays nothing at all towards your own vehicle. Not if you hit a wall, not if a tree falls on it, not if it is stolen, not if it burns. If you are the only one who suffered, the policy does not respond.
What comprehensive adds
Comprehensive includes everything third-party does, then adds damage to your own vehicle — accident, fire, theft, and usually malicious damage. It is the only version that responds when nobody else is involved, which is the majority of everyday incidents.
- Reversing into a pillar in a car park
- Skidding into a ditch during heavy rain
- Your car being stolen from outside your house
- Flood damage while parked
- A tree or signboard falling onto the bonnet
Under third-party cover, every one of those costs you the full repair or replacement.
How to decide
The honest test is not what you can afford in premium. It is what would happen if the car were written off tomorrow and nobody else was involved.
- 1Could you replace the vehicle out of savings without serious disruption? If yes, third-party may be a rational choice.
- 2Is the car financed, or needed to earn a living? Comprehensive is close to essential — losing it stops your income as well as your transport.
- 3Is the vehicle old and low in value? At some point comprehensive stops being economic, because the maximum payout falls towards the premium.
What to check before you sign
- The sum insured — comprehensive pays the vehicle's value, so if that figure is wrong the cover is wrong
- The excess, which is the first part of every claim you pay yourself
- Whether the policy restricts you to particular repairers
- Whether flood is included, which matters more in Lagos than almost anywhere
If a broker cannot tell you in one sentence what your policy will not pay for, you do not yet know what you have bought.
Still your situation?
General guidance only takes you so far.
This article cannot know your circumstances. A free consultation can — bring your questions, your current policy, or nothing at all.