Throughout the next two columns I'll be discussing the

`must knows' on the hot topic of car insurance.

Got any plans for next weekend? Catching a game of footy, visiting friends, spending time with the family, or planning on a day trip?

Chances are you'll be doing one of the mentioned activities and it's just about certain your car will get you there.

Could you even begin to imagine the impact on your life

if your set of wheels is one of the thousands of cars that will be stolen or involved in a crash this year?

Still, you're not worried because you're covered with

car insurance - right?

But do you know exactly what it covers you for?

Did you go over the policy with a fine-tooth comb, reading the fine print word for word?

Fact number one - one in 10 vehicles on Victorian roads are uninsured and if you're one of the 20 per cent with only third-party property coverage you're gambling with one of your most expensive possessions.

In Victoria, only third-party personal insurance is compulsory.

It insures you for injuries you cause to other road users but not to their property or yours.

After that, it's up to you to choose between the three main levels of car insurance: third-party property; third-party property, fire and theft; and comprehensive.

Third-party property covers any damage your vehicle

causes to other peoples' property, but there is a limit to how much an insurance company will pay out and damage to your own vehicle is not covered.

Adding fire and theft coverage increases your premium

and your cover but most insurance companies also

impose a limit on their payout, even if your vehicle is totally destroyed by fire or theft.

This policy option does not cover items in your car such as mobile phones, CD players or briefcases, so it may be worth asking if the added premium is worth it.

Thankfully, statistics do show crashes involving uninsured vehicles are not too frequent - and you've got comprehensive insurance, right?

The dictionary definition of comprehensive says "complete'', but in the case of car insurance, it shouldn't be taken so literally.

Next week in Making Cents I'll give you some valuable

information about just what comprehensive insurance does mean and some of the surprising things it doesn't cover.

Sara Morrison is client services manager at South West

Credit.