My brother had his car hit by someone else and he's 3rd p f&a. He just rung and said he won't get a pay out because he's 3rd party - is this right? Surely if it's the other party's fault then their insurance covers it?

Thanks

Quick answer - Yes. Someone else hits you, their insurance will cover your loss. Assuming they are insured, that is....

That's what I thought.

make sure his insurance company aint trying to pull a fast

true..... BUT only if you havent got motor legal protection!... It goes hand in hand really, if you go 3rd party, you need motor legal protection.
If he hasnt got it on the policy, then that is correct. If he has (and its normally 30 quid or so more), then you get a payout for your car (if its a write off), or a repair, or a percentage if it is classed as partial blame.

I am going to get round to writing an article up about insurance. So confusing. Ive learnt through experience. good luck

But ... if you are 3rd party fire/theft ONLY, then no, you get nothing for your car... regardless of who is to blame.

well thats wrong ^
If the other person is at 100 fault, your claming off the other persons insurance not your own. 3rd party insures covers you for the damage that you may cause to some one else's car, not your own, if indeed the accident is your fault.

That said however, if your 3rd party the other insurance company will likely treat you like scum as they know you have no one batting for your side and will likely get away with it

sorry yeah of course... got carried away there.
I was just thinking if it was say 50% blame for each party.
I guess if your car was a write off, youd get 50 % of the write off cost.
If it's repairable, you'd have to pay half the total cost to fix it.
that right??

If the blame for the accident is 50/50, or anywhere close to that, then the two insurance companies are almost certain to go for a knock-for-knock settlement - this means that you pay for your own repairs and the other party pays for theirs. In this scenario you'd get no money at all if you were 3rd party and the relative amount of damage wouldn't matter - i.e. they won't give a damn if your car is written off, but the other party's has just a small ding on the bumper.

On the other hand, even if you are 3rd party only with no legal cover, your insurance company should be prepared to represent you when dealing with the other insurer. It's in their own best interests to do so, because it minimises the possibility of a claim against them by the other party.