Best car insurance Australia: July 2024

Youi car insurance is the editor's pick for customer satisfaction because it's highly rated for: customer service, features and benefits, ease of application and value for money. 93% of Australians surveyed said they'd recommend Youi car insurance to a friend.

• Pros and cons

  • Includes roadside assistance. It's the only car insurance provider out of 32 to do this.
  • Is willing to negotiate on price. Multiple Finder staff have called Youi and negotiated a cheaper car insurance policy than the one they were originally quoted.
  • Australian customers of Youi scored it 4.38/5 for customer satisfaction.

  • Youi roadside assistance only pays for the first 2 call-outs in a year.
  • You usually need to finalise your car insurance quote over the phone.
  • It can be more expensive than other insurers.

• How Youi compares

  All comprehensive car insurance policies include cover for accidental damage, legal liability, theft and weather events. This table shows where policies often differ.

  Provider	Average cost	Roadside assistance	Personal items	Locks & keys replacement	New car replacement	Customer satisfaction rating
  Youi	$1,359	Included	Up to $750	Up to $1,000	Yes - see PDS for limits	4.38/5
  AAMI	$1,218	Optional	Up to $1,000	Optional	Yes - see PDS for limits	4.32/5
  NRMA	$1,043	Optional	Up to $500	Up to $1,000	Yes - see PDS for limits	N/A

  Our average pricing is based on research of 1,800+ quotes from 30 insurers in Australia across 60 customer profiles. See our methodology.

• How customers rate Youi

  Customer service: 4.5/5
  ★★★★★

  Value for money: 4.25/5
  ★★★★★

  Features and benefits: 4.25/5
  ★★★★★

  Recommend to friend: 4.6/5
  ★★★★★

  Ease of application: 4.35/5
  ★★★★★

  Based on 385 customer reviews taken from the Finder Customer Satisfaction Awards.

• Why we picked it

  It's an award winner

  Youi is the highest rated well known Australian car insurer by customers. It was voted by over 5,700 Australians as the best car insurer in the Finder Customer Satisfaction awards, scoring 4.38/5. We asked Australians across all major states (NSW, VIC, QLD, WA, SA) for their opinion about their current car insurer. Each customer rated the insurer out of 5 for:

  • Features and benefits
  • Customer service
  • Value for money
  • Ease of application

  We also looked at other popular review websites. Youi scored higher than any other large car insurer, including Budget Direct, NRMA, Allianz and AAMI. Additionally, Youi only received 103 complaints to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA). By comparison, other very large insurers AAI Limited (AAMI), Insurance Australia Limited (NRMA), Allianz and QBE received much more – 935, 623, 275 and 177 respectively.

  Free roadside assistance

  Youi is the only insurer to automatically include roadside assistance when you take out a comprehensive car insurance policy. We could not find any other online insurer on the market that offered this benefit. You typically have to pay around $100 per year for roadside assistance cover.

• See similar policies

  We've outlined the key features of a Youi policy and included policies with similar benefits. Keep in mind, this is a snapshot only and the full product can only be understood by reading the product disclosure statement.

  Provider	Roadside assistance	Personal items	Locks & keys	New car replacement	Average cost
  Youi	Included	Up to $750	Up to $1,000	Yes - see PDS for limits	$1,359
  Budget Direct	Optional	Up to $500	Up to $1,000	Yes - see PDS for limits	$992
  Virgin	Optional	$500	Yes	Yes - See PDS for limits	$1,057
  NRMA	Optional	Up to $500	Up to $1,000	Yes - see PDS for limits	$1,043
  Qantas	Optional	$750	Up to $1,500	Yes - see PDS for limits	$1,125

Budget Direct car insurance is our best value pick because it's one of the cheapest comprehensive car insurers for all age groups. Despite that, it doesn't cut corners with its coverage. It also has a better customer service record than its main competitors.

• Pros and cons

  • It's cheap. The average policy costs $992 a year, according to our research – $371 less than average.
  • It doesn't compromise on cover. It's very similar to major insurers like NRMA, Allianz and AAMI.
  • High customer ratings. It scored highly in the Finder Customer Satisfaction awards (4.32/5) and on other popular review websites.

  • Budget Direct isn't the cheapest insurer. Bingle is cheaper – but it doesn't include as many benefits.
  • It has a $500 limit for stolen or damaged personal items. AAMI's is $1,000.
  • It's product disclosure statement (PDS) is split over 2 documents, creating unnecessary admin.

• How Budget Direct compares

  All comprehensive car insurance policies include cover for accidental damage, legal liability, theft and weather events. The table below shows how Budget Direct stacks up against 2 other popular insurers.

  Provider	Average cost	Roadside assistance	Personal items	Locks & keys replacement	New car replacement	Customer satisfaction rating
  Budget Direct	$992	Optional	Up to $500	Up to $1,000	Yes - see PDS for limits	4.32/5
  AAMI	$1,218	Optional	Up to $1,000	Optional	Yes - see PDS for limits	4.32/5
  NRMA	$1,043	Optional	Up to $500	Up to $1,000	Yes - see PDS for limits	N/A

  Our average pricing is based on research of 1,800+ quotes from 30 insurers in Australia across 60 customer profiles.

• How customers rate Budget Direct

  Customer service: 4.2/5
  ★★★★★

  Value for money: 4.1/5
  ★★★★★

  Features and benefits: 4.1/5
  ★★★★★

  Recommend to friend: 4.6/5
  ★★★★★

  Ease of application: 4.3/5
  ★★★★★

  Based on 398 customer reviews taken from the Finder Customer Satisfaction Awards.

• Why we picked it

  It's an award winner

  Budget Direct won the 2024 Finder Car Insurance Award for best value. To determine our winners, we got 1,800 quotes for 30 eligible comprehensive car insurance policies based on 60 different customer profiles.

  Our experts then researched and rated a total of 814 features. The final score for the best value winner was based on a 30:70 split of the price and features score. Budget Direct came in first place because it offered similar cover to other insurers but at a lower price.

  It's cheap

  Budget Direct was cheaper than average across Australia. Despite this, it still offers a thorough policy that is competitive with much more expensive policies.

  Customer reviews and AFCA complaints data

  Australians rated Budget Direct 4.32/5 stars in the 2023 Finder Customer Satisfaction awards. This places it in the top 5 best rated car insurers of the 15 that were assessed. To determine these scores, we asked 5,787 Australians across all major states (NSW, VIC, QLD, WA, SA) for their opinion about their current car insurer. Each customer rated the insurer out of 5 for:

  • Features and benefits
  • Customer service
  • Value for money
  • Ease of application

  We also looked at external customer reviews. Budget Direct ranked higher than all other popular car insurer including NRMA, AAMI, Allianz and Coles. Only Youi is rated slightly higher.

  Additionally, when looking at compliants data from the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA), Auto & General (which issues Budget Direct policies) received significantly less (706) complaints than AAMI, though it does have a smaller market share (meaning it's likely to get less complaints). AAI (which issues AAMI's policies) received the largest number of motor insurance-related complaints (1,698) during the most recent financial period.

• See similar policies

  We've outlined the key features of a Budget Direct policy and included policies with similar benefits. Keep in mind, this is a snapshot only and the full product can only be understood by reading the product disclosure statement.

  Provider	Roadside assistance	Personal items	Locks & keys	New car replacement	Average cost
  Budget Direct	Optional extra	Up to $500	Up to $1,000	Yes - see PDS for limits	$992
  Virgin	Optional	$500	Yes	Yes - If your car is written off in the first 2 years or is under 40,000 km	$1,057
  NRMA Comprehensive	Optional extra	Up to $500	Up to $1,000	Yes - see PDS for limits	$1,043
  ahm	Optional	$500	Yes	Yes - If your car is written off in the first 2 years	$1,469
  Coles	Optional	$500	Yes	Yes - If your car is written off in the first 2 years	$1,287

• Pros and cons

  • Typically the cheapest comprehensive car insurer available.
  • It covers accidental loss or damage to your car, including theft and weather events.
  • Can cover ridesharing.

  • New for old car replacement isn't automatically included. Most comprehensive policies cover this.
  • It's online only with some customers complaining it is difficult to contact.
  • You can't choose your own repairer.

• How Bingle compares

  All comprehensive car insurance policies include cover for accidental damage, legal liability, theft and weather events. The table below shows where policies often differ. As you can see, Bingle is cheap because it doesn't cover you for as much. If you're not concerned about cover for these events, then it could be a good policy for you.

  Provider	Average cost	Roadside assistance	Personal items	Locks & keys replacement	New car replacement	Customer satisfaction rating
  Bingle	$862	No	No	Yes - limit not disclosed	Optional	N/A
  AAMI	$1,218	Optional	Up to $1,000	Optional	Yes - see PDS for limits	4.32/5
  NRMA	$1,043	Optional	Up to $500	Up to $1,000	Yes - see PDS for limits	N/A

  Our average pricing is based on research of 1,800+ quotes from 30 insurers in Australia across 60 customer profiles.

• Why we picked it

  Bingle won the Finder Car Insurance Award for low-cost. That's because it offers the cheapest comprehensive car insurance on average across Australia.

  We selected this top pick based on over 1,800 quotes we collected for 60 different driver profiles ranging from 20 to 60 year-olds, across all major states. The car model we used for all quotes was a 2019 Toyota Corolla Ascent 4 Door Sedan.

• See similar policies

  We've outlined the key features of a Bingle policy and included policies with similar benefits. Keep in mind, this is a snapshot only and the full product can only be understood by reading the product disclosure statement.

  Provider	Roadside assistance	Personal items	Locks & keys	New car replacement	Average cost
  Bingle	No	No	Yes - limit not disclosed	Optional	$862
  Australia Post	No	$1,000	Yes	Yes - see PDS for limits	$1,668
  Kogan	No	$1,000	Yes	Yes see PDS for limits	$2,105
  CGU	No	$1,000	$1,000	Yes - see PDS for limits	$1,209
  Bendigo Bank	No	$1,000	Yes	Yes - see PDS for limits	$1,596

NRMA car insurance offers two different comprehensive options and Veteran, Vintage and Classic Car Insurance cover. It's good if you want a trusted insurer (it's won Roy Morgan's most trusted insurer award since 2018) and the flexibility to choose from a range of options depending on your budget. Most insurers just have one comprehensive car insurance option.

• Pros and cons

  • $0 excess for glass damage with NRMA Comprehensive Plus – most insurers make you pay extra for this feature.
  • Lots of optional add-ons to help you adjust your price.
  • One of the only brands to offer vintage car cover.

  • There are at least 6 cheaper insurers according to our Finder Awards.
  • It has lots of negative online reviews.
  • The Vintage car insurance option won't cover you if you use the vehicle regularly.

• How NRMA compares

  All comprehensive car insurance policies include cover for accidental damage, legal liability, theft and weather events. This table shows where policies often differ.

  Provider	Average cost	Roadside assistance	Personal items	Locks & keys replacement	New car replacement	Customer satisfaction rating
  NRMA	$1,043	Optional	Up to $500	Up to $1,000	Yes - see PDS for limits	N/A
  AAMI	$1,218	Optional	Up to $1,000	Optional	Yes - see PDS for limits	4.32/5
  Budget Direct	$992	Optional	Up to $500	Up to $1,000	Yes - see PDS for limits	4.32/5

  Our average pricing is based on research of 1,800+ quotes from 30 insurers in Australia across 60 customer profiles.

• Why we picked it

  NRMA is one of the only major insurance providers to offer multiple comprehensive car insurance options. Typically, insurers only offer one level of cover. This makes it a good option for multiple budgets. It has also won Roy Morgan's most trusted brand in insurance award since 2018.

• See similar policies

  We've outlined the key features of a standard NRMA comprehensive policy and included policies with similar benefits. Keep in mind, this is a snapshot only and the full product can only be understood by reading the product disclosure statement.

  Provider	Roadside assistance	Personal items	Locks & keys	New car replacement	Average cost
  NRMA comprehensive	Optional	Up to $500	Up to $1,000	Yes - see PDS for limits	$1,043
  Virgin	Optional	$500	Yes	Yes - see PDS for limits	$1,057
  Budget Direct	Optional extra	Up to $500	Up to $1,000	Yes - see PDS for limits	$992
  Real Insurance	Optional	$500	Yes	New car replacement Yes - see PDS for limits	$1,463
  ahm	Optional	$500	Yes	Yes - see PDS for limits	$1,469