Best car insurance Australia – 7 expert picks

We analysed 30+ car insurance policies and spent over 300 hours researching the best providers. These are the ones that rev us up.

Compare Car insurance
Customer satisfaction

Youi Comprehensive

Finder Award
  • Winner in Finder's 2024 customer satisfaction awards
  • Automatically includes roadside assistance
  • Cover for collisions, weather damage and more

Get help finding the best car insurance

All the car insurance policies below will cover you for legal liability and damage to your own car. Every policy has a maximum payout in the event of a write-off (this is based on whether you choose agreed or market value) and a set of sub-limits for other policy benefits (e.g up to $500 for personal effects).

To select our top picks, we used our Finder Awards data and research over 30 car insurance policies (that's nearly all popular policies available in Australia), looking at features including personal effects, hire car after an accident cover, choice of repairer, emergency transport and accommodation, fire & theft, new car replacement and more. Remember, there's no single best car insurance policy that suits each person, since we all have different vehicles, budgets and priorities.

Why you can trust our research

30+ car insurance policies analysed

1,800+ car insurance quotes collected

300+ hours of research

Top pick for customer satisfaction: Youi comprehensive car insurance

Youi car insurance

Best customer satisfaction winner 2023

Pros

  • 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.
  • Winner of 12 out of the 22 categories in Finder's 2024 customer satisfaction awards. Yes, that many.

Cons

  • 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.
Get a quote

Top pick for value: Budget Direct comprehensive car insurance

Budget Direct comprehensive car insurance
Best value car insurance 2024

Pros

  • 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.

Cons

  • 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.
  • Its product disclosure statement (PDS) is split over 2 documents, creating unnecessary admin.
Get a quote

Top pick for points lovers: Qantas comprehensive car insurance

Qantas car insurance

Pros

  • Qantas's comprehensive policy offers a similar level of coverage to more expensive insurers, yet remains comparatively cheap.
  • It includes higher coverage limits than others like up to $1,500 for key replacement (others offer up to $1,000).
  • You can save 15% on your first year's premium when you purchase online. T&Cs apply.

Cons

  • If you choose to cancel your policy early, you may be charged a fee of $40. Some other policies don't charge you to cancel early.
  • If points aren't important to you then there are other, more well-known brands available for cheaper.
  • Its product disclosure statement (PDS) is split over 2 documents, creating unnecessary admin.
Get a quote

Top pick for quality service: Australia Post comprehensive car insurance


australia post mobile logo

Pros

  • Its policies are issued by QBE which has one of the best complaints records of all the very large insurers. Why not just go with QBE then? Because Australia Post's policies tend to be cheaper.
  • It's one of the only insurers to include excess-free repairs if your windscreen is damaged. Many providers will make you pay extra for this.
  • No stressing if someone else drives your car. Cover applies to anyone who gets behind the wheel.

Cons

  • It's not cheap. Based on our research of 30+ comprehensive car insurance policies, it's in the top 5 most expensive.
  • Roadside assistance isn't available via Australia Post. If you want this, you'll need to pay for it separately.
More info

Top pick for price: Bingle comprehensive car insurance

Bingle car insurance logo
Best low cost car insurance 2024

Pros

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

Cons

  • 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.
Get a quote

Top pick for variety: NRMA comprehensive car insurance

NRMA car insurance

Pros

  • $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.

Cons

  • There are at least 6 cheaper insurers according to our Finder Awards.
  • It has lots of negative online reviews.
More info

Top pick for features: Hume Bank comprehensive car insurance

Hume Bank car insurance

Best Car Insurance - Features

Pros

  • Cover for accidental loss of or damage to your vehicle.
  • New for old car replacement, trailer and caravan cover, rental car after theft and more.
  • It typically costs less than $1,000 a year – over $300 less than the average comprehensive policy.

Cons

  • Budget Direct, Bingle, ROLLiN and more are cheaper.
  • Maybe you don't need lots of features.
  • Rental car following an accident is an optional extra.
More info

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 January 2025.
  • Baby boomers: $97
  • Gen X: $129
  • Gen Y: $142
  • Gen Z: $162
Price based on 700+ responses about their monthly premium in January 2025.

Tips to find the best car insurance policy

Keep these 3 tips top of mind and it'll be much easier for you to find a good car insurance policy:

Number 1

Call your insurer to negotiate

Many people don't know that your car insurance provider is usually willing to negotiate on price. If you call up and ask if there's any flexibility on your premium, they'll often come back with a discounted amount. This is because they're more interested in keeping you as a customer than seeing you go. I did this recently and saved myself $200.

Number 2

Look for sign up discounts

I've seen sign up discounts of up to 30% off - that could mean hundreds of dollars in savings! If you're already looking to switch, you may as well grab a quote from a provider with a generous sign up discount - you could find yourself saving a few hundred dollars.

Number 3

Compare your options

Contrary to popular belief, loyalty does not pay. You can't know what better deals are out there if you don't look (and this is exactly what your current insurer is banking on!). Do your research, compare a few options and be prepared to save some serious money when you switch to a different car insurance provider.

Hand stop

Pumping the brakes on your insurance? Yikes

16% of Aussies have cancelled or lowered their car insurance due to cost of living pressures, according to a new survey by Finder. While this could save you in the short-term, it can cost an eye watering amount if you find yourself in an accident.

Top 3 car insurance brands for customer satisfaction in 2024

Customer Satisfaction rating

Each year, our experts and insights team asks Australians to score their car insurance provider. As part of the Car Insurance Customer Satisfaction Awards for 2024, we asked Australians to rate their car insurer on value for money, features and benefits, ease of application and customer service. Of the insurers scored, these were the top 3. See our methodology for how each provider was scored.
Brand Overall satisfaction rating
Youi car insurance ★★★★★ 4.44/5
Budget Direct car insurance ★★★★★ 4.30/5
AAMI car insurance ★★★★★ 4.19/5

Frequently asked questions

Jason Loewenthal's headshot
To make sure you get accurate and helpful information, this guide has been edited by Jason Loewenthal as part of our fact-checking process.
Gary Ross Hunter's headshot
Journalist

Gary Ross Hunter has over 6 years of expertise writing about insurance, including life, health, home, and car insurance. Having reviewed hundreds of product disclosure statements and published over 800 articles, he loves simplifying complex insurance topics for everyday readers. Gary has contributed to major outlets like Yahoo Finance, The Sydney Morning Herald, and news.com.au, and holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in English Literature from the University of Glasgow, along with a Tier 2 General Advice certification, ensuring his work adheres to ASIC’s RG146 standards. See full bio

Gary Ross's expertise
Gary Ross has written 637 Finder guides across topics including:
  • Health, home, life, car, pet and travel insurance
  • Managing the cost of living
Peta Taylor's headshot
Co-written by

Publisher of Insurance

Peta Taylor is a publisher at Finder, working across all of insurance. She's been analysing product disclosure statements and publishing articles for over 2 years. Peta is passionate about demystifying complex insurance products to help users make well educated decisions with confidence. Peta is part of Finder's insurance awards team and works alongside editorial and insights experts to bring users the best insurance products every year. See full bio

More guides on Finder

Go to site