In its most recent rating in May 2016, Canstar rated 51 Victorian car insurance policies from 46 providers. You can view the star ratings for car insurance policies available in Victoria for your age and gender by hitting the compare car insurance button below.
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You can also view a snapshot of the policies currently available in our database below, with links direct to the providers’ website. Please note that this table has been generated based on a 30-39-year-old male seeking car insurance in Victoria without an extra driver under 25.
Average Cost of Comprehensive Car Insurance in Victoria
New Car Insurance in Victoria
According to Canstar research in May 2016, these are the average comprehensive car insurance premiums in Victoria with a new car (registered in 2014 or more recently):
 |
|
| Average comprehensive car insurance premiums for VIC drivers (new car) | |
|---|---|
| Driver profile | Annual premium |
| Family | $2,174 |
| 45+ years old | $759 |
| 30-44 years old | $845 |
| 25-29 Female | $1,059 |
| 25-29 Male | $1,152 |
| Under 25 Female | $2,082 |
| Under 25 Male | $2,305 |
Source: Canstar, May 2016. Premiums rounded down to nearest dollar.
Older Car Insurance in Victoria
Our researchers also calculated the average Victorian comprehensive car insurance premiums for drivers who own an older car (pre-2008).
 |
|
| Average comprehensive car insurance premiums for VIC drivers (older car) | |
|---|---|
| Driver profile | Annual premium |
| Family | $2,108 |
| 45+ years old | $669 |
| 30-44 years old | $796 |
| 25-29 Female | $723 |
| 25-29 Male | $779 |
| Under 25 Female | $1,812 |
| Under 25 Male | $2,029 |
Source: Canstar, May 2016. Premiums rounded down to nearest dollar
See Canstar’s Car Insurance Ratings Methodology for more details.
Victoria Comprehensive Car Insurance vs Other Levels of Cover
All car owners in Victoria are required to have compulsory third party (CTP) insurance as a bare minimum level of coverage.
But only a comprehensive car insurance policy can give you the most peace of mind; here’s a general summary of what types of damage or loss are covered across the different levels of car insurance:
| Type | Damage to your car | Damage to other people’s property (e.g. other cars) | Damage/loss caused by theft of your car | Injuries/death to other people in an accident |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Compulsory third party |  |
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| Third party property | |
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| Third party property, fire & theft | |
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| Comprehensive | |
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Don’t forget – comprehensive coverage often varies between providers. Canstar takes into account coverage along with price and features when rating Victorian car insurance policies.
Comprehensive car insurance – features Canstar looks for
Car insurance isn’t just about price – the cheapest car insurance policy isn’t necessarily going to give you the level of insurance cover you need. Some of the features that Canstar looks for when assessing the value of car insurance in Victoria includes:
| Policy Benefits & Options | |
|---|---|
| After Accident Care | Towing after accident, vehicle returned after repairs, Taxi fares covered after accident, Emergency accommodation after accident, Accident cleanup benefit/public liability cover, max |
| Repairs | Repair for excess outlay, lifetime guarantee, choose own licenced repairer, genuine parts, help locating spare parts |
| Windscreen Cover | No-excess windscreen claim, extra cost |
| Other Cover | Personal effects covered in accident, Key replacement/recoding benefit if lost/damaged, Trailer/contents cover, Baby capsule/child seat cover, Death benefit. |
| Rental Car | Rental car included – after theft/accident, additional cost, max days/cost daily for rental car |
| Roadside Assistance | Roadside Assist offered, extra cost |
| Standard Company Terms | |
| Exclusions | Accidental damage, vandalism, fire/explosion, theft/attempted, hail, flood, storm, war |
| Company Terms | Agreed/Market value, New-for-new, Same cover for substitute car |
| Application/Claims Process & Support | |
| Application Process | Can apply online, over phone, in branch |
| Claims Process | Can lodge claim online, over phone, in branch, via mobile app |
| Support | 24 hour helpline, phone assistance no of days per week/hours per day for claims/application, weather alerts |
| Policy Terms | |
| Excess Options | Min/Max excess, default excess in each state, nil excess, non-nominated driver excess, windscreen excess, discount for higher excess |
| Premiums | Monthly payment, discount for additional driver age restriction, online discount, low km discount, no claims discount, multi-policy discount, discount for good driving |
| Eligibility | Minimum/Maximum entry age (These are new questions this rating required for information purposes only –whether to score them and the weight to assign, if any, is to be raised next rating) |
| Customer Claims Satisfaction | |
| Customer Claims Satisfaction | A survey is conducted measuring quality of service provided during claims |
You can find out more about car insurance claims satisfaction here
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Car Insurance Providers in Victoria
In alphabetical order, these are the 46 car insurance providers that Canstar rates for Victoria:
| 1300 Insurance | Bupa Insurance | National Seniors |
| 1Cover Direct Insurance | cashback | OnePath |
| 1st for Women | CGU | Over Fifty Insurance |
| AAMI | Coles Insurance | Ozicare |
| AI Insurance | Commonwealth Bank | People’s Choice Credit Union |
| Allianz Australia | GE Money | Progressive Direct |
| ANZ | GIO | QBE |
| AON | Guild Insurance | RACV |
| APIA | HBF Financial Services | Real Insurance |
| Aust Seniors Insurance Agency | HSBC | St.George Bank |
| Australia Post | Hume Bank | Suncorp Bank |
| Bendigo Bank | ibuyeco | Virgin Money |
| Bingle | Just Car Insurance | Westpac |
| BOQ | Kmart Tyre & Auto Service | Woolworths |
| Budget Direct | NAB | Youi |
2016 VIC Award Winner – Budget Direct
In the 2016 rating for Car Insurance, Budget Direct was the State Award Winner for Victoria. This award recognises insurers that offer outstanding value across all the different star ratings profiles (e.g family, male 25-29 etc.) within Victoria.
For 10 years running, Budget Direct is also Canstar’s National Award Winner. You can read more about what drives Budget Direct’s performance here.
For more information on how we do our ratings and judge our awards, read our car insurance methodology here (PDF).
What do Victorian drivers want in a car insurance policy?
Based on the thousands of searches on Canstar’s car insurance comparison table each year, our data demonstrates that Victorian drivers really appreciate policies that allow them to insure their cars at either agreed or market value. With regards to after accident care, Victorian drivers strongly value a free repair service in their policy.
Features:
Victorian usage of the features filter on Canstar’s car insurance comparison table between 1st January 2016 to the 10th of September 2016:
- Agreed or market value: 25.49%
- Pay monthly at no extra cost: 21.27%
- Roadside Assistance: 20.61%
- Cover for unnamed drivers: 10.58%
- Reduction for driver’s age: 9.77%
- Extra cost for roadside assist: 5.75%
- 24 hour help line: 5.43%
Note: Percentage values represent the distribution of usage of this filter
| Feature | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Agreed or market value | The policy allows the driver to insure their car at either agreed or market value. |
| Pay monthly at no extra cost | The premium can be paid in monthly installments without costing you more than it would if you were paying it annually. |
| Cover for unnamed drivers | The insurance covers drivers of the vehicle that aren’t named on the policy. |
| Reduction for driver’s age | The policy allows holders to reduce the premium by putting an age restriction on who’s insured to drive the car. |
| 24 hour help line | The insurance provider has someone to speak to over the phone at any time of the day. |
After Accident Care:
Victorian usage of the after accident care filter on Canstar’s car insurance comparison table between 10th January 2016 to the 15th of July 2016:
- Free repair service: 38.02%
- Can lodge claim online: 37.28%
- Emergency repairs available: 24.70%
Note: Percentage values represent the distribution of usage of this filter
| Feature | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Free repair service | Other than the excess payment, there’s no cost for repair when you make a claim. |
| Can lodge claim online | A claim on the policy can be made over the internet through the provider’s website/app. |
| Emergency repairs available | The policy allows immediate repairs to be made to the car (up to a certain cost) to help you get home or to a service station. |
Victoria Road statistics
Do you drive in Victoria? Here are some figures you should know about Victorian roads:
How many cars?
There were around 4.7 million registered motor vehicles in Victoria as at the 31st of January 2016.
- This is the second-highest number in the country, after NSW which has around 5.4 million.
- Victoria makes up for around 25 percent of the 18.4 million motor vehicles in Australia.
Source: ABS
How many road deaths?
Victoria has the second most road fatalities in Australia, after NSW.
- In the year ending July 2016, there were 278 deaths on Victorian roads.
- This represented almost 22 percent of the total fatalities around the country (1,292).
Source: Commonwealth Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development.
Road fatality factors
Out of the 252 people killed on Victorian roads in 2015:
- Speeding was a factor in 59 deaths (23%)
- Driving under the influence of drugs/alcohol accounted for 25 deaths (10&)
- Drug-driving in particular is becoming a serious problem in Victoria. According to Victorian Police, 2013 was the first year that the number of drug-drivers killed (39) was more than the number of drink drivers killed (24). This trend continued in 2014, with drugs killing 32 drivers and alcohol killing 22 drivers.
Source: Vic Roads
Mobile phone usage
According to a 2015 Canstar Blue survey:
- 28% of Victorian drivers admit to texting while driving (above the national rate of 26%)
- 17% admit to using social media while driving (above the national rate of 15%)
- 34% have made/received a phone call (without hands free) while driving (above the national rate of 32%).
Source: Canstar Blue
Where do serious crashes usually happen?
Out of the 252 Victorian road fatalities in 2015, a staggering 105 (42%) occurred on high speed rural roads, compared to 23 at intersections in 60 zones (9%) and 22 on residential streets (9%).
For serious injures over the 2014-15 financial year (4,951 persons), it was a more even split between high speed rural roads (927 persons – 19%), intersections in 60 zones (930 persons – 19%) and residential streets (954 persons – 19%).
Source: Vic Roads
Crash hotspots
These were the top 5 local government areas (LGAs) for serious road injuries over the 2015-16 financial year in Victoria:
| LGA | No. of serious road injuries in 2014-15 |
|---|---|
| City of Melbourne | 241 |
| City of Dandenong | 213 |
| City of Geelong | 187 |
| Shire of Yarra Ranges | 181 |
| City of Casey | 175 |
Source: Vic Roads
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Car Theft
Recent figures suggest that Victoria is the worst state in Australia when it comes to car theft. In the year ending March 2016, there were 16,656 reported car thefts in the state. The next worst state was NSW with 12,503 car thefts.
If the suburb you live in has a high rate of car thefts, you can probably expect to pay higher car insurance premiums.
These were the worst areas in the state for car theft:
| 10 Worst Areas for VIC Car Theft (year ending Mar 2016) | |
|---|---|
| LGA | Number of car thefts |
| Hume | 1,030 |
| Greater Geelong | 906 |
| Casey | 808 |
| Greater Dandenong | 738 |
| Whittlesea | 714 |
| Brimbank | 704 |
| Darebin | 697 |
| Moreland | 645 |
| Wyndham | 643 |
| Melbourne | 593 |
Source: National Motor Vehicle Theft Reduction Council
Victoria Road Weather Dangers
Victoria is known for its unpredictable weather. In Melbourne they say the city experiences four seasons in one day. But when it comes to destructive weather events, Victoria can endure storms, floods, hail and bushfires. These are all major threats to our vehicles.
Victoria is probably the worst state in Australia for bushfires, particularly in the regional areas. The tragic Black Saturday bushfires in 2009 claimed the lives of 173 people and cost insurers $1.2 billion.
As one of the coldest states in Australia, snow and ice can be a road hazard in parts of Victoria during winter.
According to AAMI, these were the top 10 suburbs in Victoria for natural hazard (storm, flood, hail and bushfire) insurance claims in 2014:
- Hoppers Crossing
- Altona Meadows
- Point Cook
- Reservoir
- Bentleigh East
- Werribee
- Berwick
- Rowville
- Altona
- Coburg
Compare Comprehensive Car Insurance in Victoria
Canstar compares and rates comprehensive car insurance policies available in Victoria by taking into account both price and features. Following in-depth analysis and assessment, Canstar gives out a star rating to the policies each year.Canstar researchers award five stars to the comprehensive car insurance policies that offer outstanding value to consumers.
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