Best car insurance Australia: February 2026

Youi Comprehensive Car Insurance received the 2026 Finder Award for Best Features Car Insurance. The insurer automatically includes roadside assistance and offers competitive cover limits for divers.

• 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 a renowned car insurer in the eyes of our judges and Aussie drivers. Youi also picked up a 2025 Finder Customer Satisfaction Award as the National Most Recommended Car Insurer. The insurer picked up high customer ratings across several categories, including customer service, value and ease of claims.

  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 (4.30/5) 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	4.30/5
  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 was awarded the 2026 Finder Award for Best Value Car Insurance. Its comprehensive policy is incredibly generous in terms of cover while offering flexible excess options and an online sign-up discount. Budget Direct was also a 2025 Finder Customer Satisfaction Award winner for Top Value Car Insurance in NSW.

  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 4.30/5 stars in the 2024 Finder Customer Satisfaction awards. This places it in the top 3 best rated car insurers that were assessed. To determine these scores, 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 external customer reviews. Budget Direct ranked higher than all other popular car insurer including NRMA, AAMI and Allianz. 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 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 2,231 complaints while Auto & General received 1,431, 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	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	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

What we like about Bingle:

Pros:

• At an average of $862 per year, Bingle had the cheapest comprehensive car insurance premiums out of the 30+ providers we reviewed in our Finder Awards. That's why it won the 2025 Finder car insurance award for low cost.
• It's cheaper than other insurers because it covers you for the essentials and nothing more – for example, it'll cover damage to your car, from bad weather to accidents, plus damage to other people's cars and property. If you want cover for agreed value then you'll need to look elsewhere.

Cons:

• Bingle isn't the best policy if you want lots of extras. For example, windscreen cover and a hire car after an accident aren't automatically included.
• Bingle is all online and its customer service can be difficult to get through to, according to customer reviews.

• Pros and cons

  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.

• How Qantas compares

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

  Provider	Average cost	Roadside assistance	Personal items	Locks & keys replacement	New car replacement	Customer satisfaction rating
  Qantas	$1,125	Optional	$750	Up to $1,500	Yes - see PDS for limits	N/A
  Budget Direct	$992	Optional	Up to $500	Up to $1,000	Yes - see PDS for limits	4.30/5
  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

  We picked Qantas car insurance for the points lovers category because it regularly runs promotions where points are up for grabs.

  With many loving to travel but struggling for the funds, the ability to earn points while spending on mundane insurance items is appealing. This is because it can help with the affordability of travel while taking care of life admin tasks.

• See similar policies

  We've outlined the key features of a Qantas car insurance 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
  Qantas	Optional	$750	Up to $1,500	Yes - see PDS for limits	$1,125
  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

• 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	4.30/5

  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	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