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What does car insurance cover?

Your car insurance coverage will vary based on the level of cover you've purchased and who the provider is. Comprehensive car insurance is the highest level of cover and may cover you for things such as damage to your own vehicle, storm damage and theft. Third party policies may cover you for damage to someone else's vehicle but not your own. You can use the table below to understand the different levels of cover and what may be included in each.

What's included in car insurance?

The table below outlines the differences between the 4 types of car insurance you can get in Australia.

Car insurance benefits
CTP/Green Slip
Third party property damage
Third party fire and theft
Comprehensive
Damage to your own vehicleNoNoNoYes
Damage to someone else's vehicle (third party property)NoYes (for example, up to $20 million)Yes (for example, up to $20 million)Yes (for example, up to $20 million)
Weather events (storm, flood, hail)NoNoNoYes
TheftNoNoYesYes
Hire car after theftNoSometimes optionalSometimes optionalYes (for example, $70 per day for 14 days)
FireNoNoYesYes
Personal effectsNoNoNoYes (for example, up to $1,000)
Emergency transport/accommodationNoNoNoYes (for example, $100 per day, $900 in total)
TowingNoSometimes optionalSometimes optionalYes
Key replacementNoNoNoYes (for example, up to $1,000)
Death benefitNoYesYesYes
Legal liability for injuries or death to other peopleYesNoNoNo

Optional extras on car insurance

Optional extras
CTP/Green Slip
Third party property damage
Third party fire and theft
Comprehensive
Reduced or no windscreen excessNoNoNoYes
Roadside assistanceNoSometimes optionalSometimes optionalYes
Choice of repairerNoNoNoYes
Hire car after accidentNoNoNoYes

How do the different types of car insurance compare?

Comprehensive car insurance

Comprehensive car insurance

This is the only level of car insurance that covers damage to your own car as well as other people's vehicles and property. Additionally, you'll be covered if your car is damaged by hail, fire or storm or if it's stolen or vandalised. It can also help pay for key replacements, a hire car if yours is stolen and more.

third party, fire and theft

Third party, fire and theft car insurance

This level of car insurance covers costs if you damage someone else's vehicle or property and can pay to repair or replace your car if it's damaged by fire or stolen. However, it doesn't cover you for damage to your own car due to an accident, storm or flood.

Third party

Third party property car insurance

This level of car insurance only covers you for costs if you damage someone else's vehicle or property. It won't cover repair costs for your car.

Compulsory third party

Compulsory third party

Often called Green Slip insurance, compulsory third party car insurance is mandatory for every registered driver in Australia. In many states, it's included in your car registration. It helps cover compensation costs, such as hospital expenses, if you kill or injure someone in a car accident. It won't cover your car or someone else's car.

Why compare car insurance?

In a cost of living crisis, it pays to compare car insurance to make sure you're not paying more than you need to. Prices can differ a lot – in fact, here's a real-life example of 2 comprehensive car insurance policies that share similar features, yet are priced $245 apart.

Policy APolicy B
Excess$850$800/$850
Market or agreed valueMarket value (insurer decides payout figure on date of claim)Market value (insurer decides payout figure on date of claim)
Hire car after theftYes – up to $75/day (max 14 days)Yes – up to $75/day (max 14 days)
New car replacementYes – if written off in first 2 yearsYes – if written off in first 2 years
Personal effects$500$500
Roadside assistanceOptional extra (not included in this premium)Optional extra (not included in this premium)
Average annual cost$1,216$971.72 ($244.28 less)

Real people, real savings

Comparing car insurance: what you'll need and why

1. Personal details

Car insurance companies will need to know your name, address, age and gender. This is because where you live, how old you are and whether you're male or female determines how at risk of an accident you are. High crime areas, young drivers and males are all typically charged higher premiums due to their risk profile.

2. Driver history

This includes things like if and when you've had to make a claim before and for what reason, how many demerit points you've got and how long you've held insurance for (if at all). Again, this determines your risk profile. For example, a driver with multiple speeding tickets or a history of at-fault accident claims may be seen as riskier to insure.

3. Car details

This will include the make, model, colour, exisiting damages and modifications. Additionally, insurers will want to know if the car is used for private or business use, the estimated kilometres you'll travel annually and if you've got a car loan. All of this will help insurers determine the value of the car.

4. Insurance details

You'll need to know level of coverage you want, what excess you're willing to pay and if you want to add on any optional extras. This lets the insurer accurately estimate the cost of your premium.

Tried and tested: Tips on comparing car insurance

Tim Bennett's headshot

"Look around for insurers who offer sign-up discounts – this can be a great way to save! Often, the sign-up discounts will only be available if you're a new customer but that's typically no problem if you're looking at switching providers. Some offer up to 15% off which can help you save around $100 in some cases."

Insurance expert
Peta Taylor's headshot

"If you like the look of a specific policy but it's too expensive for you, check who the underwriter is. Brands with shared underwriters have identical policies but some brands are cheaper than others. This means you can enjoy the same policy at a more affordable price point. You can find a policy's underwriter with a simple Google search or look at the product disclosure statement."

Publisher of Insurance
Gary Ross Hunter's headshot

"Good to know – if your windscreen is broken and that's the only thing that's been damaged, it's not always worth making an insurance claim. This is because your excess is usually more than the cost of the repairs. To avoid this, lots of insurers let you upgrade your cover to include no-excess windscreen cover. It'll usually cost you a couple more bucks a month which is substantially cheaper than paying for the repairs yourself."

Editor, Insurance

How much are Aussies spending on car insurance?

Every month, we ask hundreds of Australians what they're paying for car insurance. To show you how age impacts the cost of your monthly premium, we've broken these numbers down by generation. Here's what their bill looked like in September 2024.
  • Baby boomers: $100
  • Gen X: $117
  • Gen Y: $169
  • Gen Z: $161
Price based on 700+ responses about their monthly premium in September 2024.

How to save money on car insurance

Number 1

Consider a pay-as-you-drive car insurance policy

If you don't use your car that often, it can be much cheaper to get pay-as-you-drive car insurance. Alternatively, some insurers, including Budget Direct, Youi and Woolworths, reward you with cheaper premiums the less you drive. For example, if you drive less than 5,000km per year, you could save over $300 annually.

Number 2

Take advantage of sign-up offers

Car insurers will often have an online sign up discount for new customers. This could be in the form of 15% off or $50 off.

Number 3

Opt for fewer features

If you're after a cheap car insurance policy that covers the essentials, opt for a budget car insurer like Bingle. Other insurers cost more because they come with additional benefits such as cover for stolen keys, cover for personal belongings and cover for a hire car if yours is stolen.

Number 4

Increase your excess

You have to pay an excess when you make a claim on your car insurance. Choosing a higher excess when you get a quote will lower your car insurance premiums. However, it can make claiming for smaller events pointless – for example, if you have around $1,000 worth of damage but need to pay a $1,000 excess.

Number 5

Pay annually

Most car insurers will charge you at least $200 less if you're able to pay for the full year instead of monthly.

Compare our car insurance award winners

To help you find the best car insurance, Finder's insurance team gathered 1,800+ car insurance quotes from 30 of Australia's car insurers - that's over 90% of the most popular providers. From there, we compared over 814 features and scored them to find our winners.

Why is my car insurance premium so much more expensive than last year?

"This is one of the most common questions we're hearing from customers at the moment. A lot of people are getting to their renewal date and finding that their premiums have gone up by a couple hundred dollars – which really bites at a challenging time like this. In short, this premium increase is due to a few factors: increased parts and repair costs, increasing crime rates, natural disasters and increased claims processing costs. It's a crucial time to compare your car insurance options to see where you can save." Gary Ross Hunter, car insurance specialist.

Compare car insurance by state

Finder sourced 1,800+ quotes across over 30 different providers to help you compare car insurance in your state. The providers listed in the table below were the top 5 cheapest of the providers researched and reflect the estimated annual cost based on the profile used. Keep in mind, your own cost will vary depending on your personal circumstances and it's always best to compare a range of providers.

Truck crush

Comprehensive car insurance

ProviderAverage priceApply
Hume Bank Logo$899.86More info
St. George$929.28More info
Westpac$929.28More info
Bingle logo$934.75More info
Picture not described$1,079.01More info
Truck crush

Comprehensive car insurance

ProviderPriceApply
Rollin' car insurance$842.81Get quote
Bingle logo$871.90More info
PD Logo$933.57More info
Budget direct logo$940.92Get quote
Virgin Money$1,013.17More info

Truck crush

Comprehensive car insurance

ProviderPriceApply
Bingle logo$1,155.57More info
Budget direct logo$1,180.17Get quote
Rollin' car insurance$1,247.56Get quote
Virgin Money$1,254.01More info
Hume Bank Logo$1,280.42More info

Truck crush

Comprehensive car insurance

ProviderPriceApply
Rollin' car insurance$709.46Get quote
Bingle logo$726.41More info
Hume Bank Logo$782.57More info
PD Logo$825.31More info
Budget direct logo$828.74Get quote

Truck crush

Comprehensive car insurance

ProviderPriceApply
Rollin' car insurance$673.72Get quote
Bingle logo$760.75More info
Hume Bank Logo$830.92More info
St. George$871.32More info
Westpac$871.32More info

Truck crush

Comprehensive car insurance

ProviderPriceApply
Rollin' car insurance$690.30Get quote
Bingle logo$724.08More info
Hume Bank Logo$921.65More info
Picture not described$947.66More info
Budget direct logo$977.59Get quote

We didn't include quotes for NT and ACT because the sample size was too small.

Why you can trust Finder's car insurance experts

helpCut through the jargon - whether you've just got a new car, or new renewel reminder. We put hours into this guide so you can tick insurance off your list today.
freeLook under the hood - car insurance may all look the same, but there's often little perks in some of the optional add ons, think roadside assist, and hire cars if yours is bust. We've dug out the details for you.
independentNo BS - You won't get any annoying calls, because we don't have a call centre. We're not owned by an insurer and we aim to add real human experience to all our research.

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