Car insurance may well be the last thing you want to think about when buying your first car, but it is nonetheless a crucial step on the road to getting on the road. Above all else, driving a car without insurance is illegal. The reason why driving without insurance is against the law is that third parties have to be protected against the potential financial implications of any accident that you might cause while driving a car. If you run into a parked car, for example, causing bodywork damage, then your insurer is liable to pay for that damage if you do not. If you did not have any insurance, then you would be liable for the costs yourself, and if you could not or did not pay up, then the owner of that vehicle would have to pay them, despite doing nothing to cause the accident. If you are caught driving without a valid insurance policy, you will be hit with a hefty fine and penalty points on your license even if it is your first offence. If you cause an accident while driving an uninsured vehicle, then you will face an even heftier fine, and may well lose your license. There are three main types of motor insurance: third party, third party fire and theft, and fully comprehensive. The first type, third party insurance, is the minimum that you will require before taking to the road, and merely covers you in the event of your causing damage to other people or their property while you are out on the road. The second type, third party fire and theft insurance, covers you for this as well as insuring you against the financial implications of your vehicle being stolen or destroyed by fire. The third type, fully comprehensive, often shortened to fully comp, covers you for virtually all eventualities. The main advantage of fully comprehensive insurance over third party insurance is that, in the event of an accident that is your fault, the insurance company will be liable to pay out for damages to your own vehicle as well as any third party damages. Due to the fact that first time drivers cause more accidents than any other group, buying car insurance for the first time can be an expensive business, so it is important to make sure that you shop around online for the best deals. While fully comprehensive insurance can offer more in the way of peace of mind than any other type of policy, the difference in price between fully comp and third party policies can be quite high. If you have an inexpensive second hand vehicle, then you may well be better off financially just getting third party fire and theft insurance, and just buying a replacement vehicle if yours gets damaged in any particularly expensive way.