Question 1

How do I check if my car is insured in Australia?

Accepted Answer

Checking if your car is insured will depend on the type of car insurances you wish to check. For CTP insurance, because this is often included with your registration or closely linked with it, you would need to check with your state or territory government whether your vehicle is currently registered. Follow the links below to check your vehicle’s current registration status in your state or territory.
New South Wales
Northern Territory
Queensland
South Australia
Tasmania
Victoria
Western Australia
For other, non-mandatory forms of cover, you can check your policy documents for the start and end date of the policy, or contact your insurance provider directly to check if your vehicle is currently insured, for what events and for how much.

Question 2

What is comprehensive car insurance?

Accepted Answer

Comprehensive car insurance is the highest level of car insurance coverage in Australia. It provides a level of financial cover for damage caused to other people’s cars and property in an accident caused by you, damage to your own vehicle caused by fire or theft, and accidental damage to your own vehicle, regardless of who caused the damage. It may also provide additional types of cover, depending on the insurer and policy you choose.

Question 3

How do you compare comprehensive car insurance policies?

Accepted Answer

Canstar’s Star Ratings are one factor you could use to help you compare comprehensive car insurance policies before getting a quote. Our Ratings process uses a sophisticated and unique methodology that compares both price and features across products on our database.

Canstar’s Star Ratings represent a shortlist of comprehensive car insurance policies, enabling consumers to narrow their search to products that have been assessed and ranked. The results depend on which state or territory in Australia you are in and vary based on the age of the driver too. The Ratings are reflected in a consumer-friendly one to five-star system, with a 5-Star Rating representing outstanding value to the consumer.

Even if you decide on a higher level of cover, like comprehensive, there may be ways to keep the cost down. Some insurers offer discounts if you pay your premium annually or take out the policy online as opposed to over the phone, or you could opt to pay a higher excess if you need to make a claim. It can also help to shop around and compare quotes from a number of insurers. These techniques may help you get value for your money, while still getting a higher level of cover than the cheapest car insurance might offer.

Question 4

How do you find the cheapest car insurance?

Accepted Answer

When you’re shopping around for cover, you may simply want to get the cheapest car insurance policy you can find. It can be important to also keep in mind the level of protection you’re getting for your money. For example, with optional forms of cover, third party property may be the cheapest car insurance in some situations, but it won’t cover you if your car is damaged in an accident or stolen. Even if you decide on a higher level of cover, like comprehensive car insurance, there may be ways to keep the cost down. Some insurers offer discounts if you pay your premium annually or take out the policy online as opposed to over the phone, or you could opt to pay a higher excess if you need to make a claim. It can also help to shop around and compare quotes from a number of insurers. These techniques may help you get value for your money, while still getting a higher level of cover than the cheapest car insurance might offer. However, comprehensive car insurance does not cover you for injury or death caused to other people in an accident – that’s where compulsory third party (CTP) insurance comes in.

Question 5

What is ‘agreed value’ cover?

Accepted Answer

In car insurance, agreed value cover is where the amount a vehicle is insured for is fixed by agreement between the insurer and the policyholder. The other main option is to insure your vehicle for its market value (see ‘market value’ below).

Question 6

What are the different types of car insurance?

Accepted Answer

There are four main types of car insurance in Australia. These are:

- Compulsory Third Party (CTP): Covers legal costs for injuries caused to other people in an accident. It is compulsory to have CTP in order to register your vehicle, wherever you live in Australia.

- Third Party Property (TPP): Covers damage to other people’s property, including their vehicle.
Third Party, Fire and Theft: Covers damage to your own vehicle caused by fire or theft, and damage to other people’s property, including their vehicle.

- Comprehensive car insurance: Covers damage caused to your own vehicle in accidents and a wide range of insured events (e.g. natural disasters, fire and theft), and damage to other people’s property (including their car).

Question 7

What is ‘compulsory third party (CTP) insurance’?

Accepted Answer

CTP is a compulsory policy that covers you if you injure or kill someone in a motor vehicle accident. The specific conditions on this type of cover are different from state to state, but no matter where in Australia you are, it is compulsory to hold CTP in order to register your vehicle.

Question 8

What is an ‘excess’?

Accepted Answer

An excess is an amount of money you pay your insurer towards the cost of your claim. Different excesses might apply to different types of claim, so you should check your policy for details. You may be able to pay a lower premium if you have a higher excess, but you need to be sure that you could afford to pay the excess unexpectedly in an emergency.

Question 9

What are ‘exclusions’?

Accepted Answer

An exclusion is anything that is not covered by your policy. Exclusions may vary between providers, so it is a wise idea to read policy documents carefully when obtaining any quotes.

Question 10

What are ‘inclusions’?

Accepted Answer

Inclusions are anything that is covered by your policy. When a particular event is listed as being included in your policy, the insurer will cover the whole expense (minus your excess) or a listed percentage of the cost involved.

Question 11

What is ‘market value’?

Accepted Answer

Market value is what your vehicle would be worth on the market, or what it would cost to replace your vehicle with one of the same make, model, age, and condition that your vehicle was in before the loss or damage. This is one option for your sum insured; the other option is to insure your vehicle for an agreed amount (see ‘agreed value’ above).

Question 12

What is a ‘no-claim bonus’?

Accepted Answer

A no-claim bonus is a discount on premiums that some insurers may offer drivers who haven’t made any claims so far on their policy. Some providers may have a ‘protected no-claim bonus option’, where they will let you keep your no-claim bonus after you make your first claim in any one period of cover, under certain conditions.

Question 13

What is a ‘nominated driver’?

Accepted Answer

When you sign up for a policy, you must advise the insurer who will be listed on your policy as being allowed to drive your vehicle (usually yourself and one or more family members). These people are the nominated drivers. Other people who drive your car but are not nominated drivers would be required to pay an additional excess if they were in an accident while driving your vehicle and you needed to make a claim as a result.

Question 14

What is a ‘premium’?

Accepted Answer

A car insurance premium is a regular amount of money you pay for the cover your policy provides. Depending on your insurer, it may be paid once annually or more frequently (e.g. monthly or fortnightly). Your premium must be paid on time for your car to remain covered.

Question 15

What is a ‘third party property’ policy?

Accepted Answer

This is a policy that covers the cost to repair damage caused by your vehicle to other people’s property, such as their car. It will also cover your legal costs if they sue you over that damage. It does not cover damage to your own car, however.

Question 16

What is a ‘third party, fire and theft’ policy?

Accepted Answer

This is a policy that covers damage to the property of others, and some limited cover for your own vehicle if it is damaged or lost because of fire or theft. It generally does not cover damage to your own car caused by a car accident.

Question 17

How can you compare car insurance quotes?

Accepted Answer

Canstar enables consumers to compare providers and narrow their search for policies before seeking car insurance quotes. As premiums are based on your personal circumstances and the insurer’s policies, you can generally obtain a more accurate car insurance quote by visiting the provider’s website.

With dozens of providers offering a range of products, it is often a good idea to have a clear understanding of the cover you require before you seek car insurance quotes. This can help you save time by narrowing your search and ensuring you only receive quotes for products that may be more suited to your needs. Keep in mind that there are a number of factors to consider when selecting a policy, and that the one that quotes the cheapest premium may not necessarily offer the best value for your circumstances. Aside from the quoted premium, you may also want to consider factors such as what is included (and not included) in the cover, how much the excess is and the quality of customer service on offer.

Question 18

Does car insurance cover vehicles for business use?

Accepted Answer

Yes, car insurance can cover vehicles used for business, usually under specific business car insurance policies. Obtaining this type of coverage can involve extending your personal car insurance to cover your vehicle for business use (often at an increased premium) or through a specific commercial vehicle policy—which covers a vehicle or fleet of vehicles used only for business related purposes.

Question 19

Are learner drivers covered by car insurance?

Accepted Answer

All learner drivers operating registered vehicles should at least be covered by CTP insurance. For optional levels of car insurance, a learner driver can usually either take out their own car insurance or be added to their parent or guardian’s insurance policy. 
Whether you can add a learner driver to your policy will ultimately depend on your insurance provider. You may need to list them on your policy in order for them to be covered by your car insurance. Having a learner driver on your policy may increase your premiums or incur an age excess if they were to be involved in an accident that required a claim to be made. You can contact your insurance provider directly for more information on how a learner driver could affect your policy.

Question 20

Can you insure a hail-damaged car?

Accepted Answer

When taking out car insurance in Australia, the provider will generally ask whether the car has been damaged by hail in the past. If it has, this may limit the insurance you can take out. For example, according to Queensland-based insurer RACQ: “most insurers won’t cover vehicles with existing hail damage, or at best, they’ll limit the cover”.
It’s important to disclose up front with the insurer if your car has hail damage, as it may refuse to pay out on a claim if it later discovers the car was already damaged when the policy was taken out.
As long as your vehicle is eligible to be registered in Australia, you will be able to get CTP insurance, even if your car has existing hail damage.

Question 21

Which car insurance company is the best in Australia?

Accepted Answer

The car insurance company and policy best suited to you will depend on your personal circumstances and what type of cover you need. It’s also worth bearing in mind that some insurers only operate in certain states and territories, so the best car insurer may be different depending on where you live.
One way of assessing car insurance providers is to look at the winners of Canstar’s Car Insurance Star Ratings and Awards. Each year Canstar names national Outstanding Value Award winners, as well as winners in a variety of states and territories.

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