by Richard Dredge

We all hate having to go through the annual rigmarole of tracking down decent insurance cover, but sadly it's a necessary evil. You might think you're not going to crash, but how do you know that your car won't be nicked or that some daft clot isn't going to pile into you, then drive off into the sunset?

The whole point of insurance is that it's to cover you for whatever life throws at you - and unless you can see into the future, you don't know what that might be.

To stay on the right side of the law, you need third-party insurance at the very least - but if your car is worth more than £2000 you really ought to go for comprehensive cover. This often costs little more than the lower level of cover, but gives you far greater protection. However, if you're a young driver, a high risk or a motorist on a tight budget, you may have little choice as to how you insure your car.

Something that frrequently seems unfair is a £2000 premium on a £500 car; an issue that many young drivers have to contend with. The thing is, the value of the car being insured is immaterial; with third party insurance only, it won't even be covered.

But what happens if the driver of that car smashes into a Bentley, causing serious damage to the car and its occupants? A couple of heavy personal injury claims won't be cheap; if you were given £2000 on the basis that you might have to fork out a million pounds because of somebody's carelessness, would you take the risk?

Next: Types Of Cover