Important note: Many of the discounts on this page, such as online signup discounts, are only available with comprehensive car insurance policies.
What kinds of car insurance discounts can I get?
No-claims bonus (NCB)
The longer you go without making a claim, the more of a discount you get on premiums.
The maximum discount is typically reached after five or six years.
This discount is typically transferred across when switching car insurance policies, even if you change to a new insurer.
Some insurers may have options to preserve your no-claims discount for a limited number of claims per year, or in situations such as no-fault claims, or for storm damage.
Online discounts
These are typically only available when you take out comprehensive car insurance. The largest discount you can typically get is up to 15% off.
Top savings tip: You usually only get the first 12 months discounted. After that, insurers often increase your premium significantly to make up for the discount. (For general car insurance, insurers are more or less able to set their prices as desired, and change them without notice.) You can dodge this though by contacting your insurer when prices go up to ask why or switching again.
Multi-policy discounts
Many of the bigger insurers, such as Youi, QBE and ahm, will give existing customers discounts on additional policies – for example, if you take out car and home insurance with one brand, you'll often get a discount of up to 15% off.
Restricted driver discounts
These limit who can drive your car. For example, Budget Direct, Coles, Virgin, CGU all come with options to restrict drivers under a certain age. In return, they lower your premium. This type of discount isn't available with all insurers, or with all policies, but if nobody under 25 is driving your car, it can lower costs by a couple hundred dollars a year or more in some cases.
Raise your excess
Some insurers let you raise your excess (this is the amount you need to pay when you make a claim). A higher excess means lower premiums. However, raising it means less costly claims can be pointless. For example, paying a $1000 excess for a $1000 repair is probably not worth it.
How else can I lower my car insurance in Australia?
Pay premiums annually if possible: Insurers will generally charge more overall if you pay premiums monthly instead of one annual payment.
Nominate drivers: Specify exactly who is allowed to drive your car, and prevent anyone else from getting behind the wheel.
Park safely: Many insurers will offer lower prices for a car that is kept in a garage rather than on the street.
Drive less: Car insurers including Budget Direct, Qantas and QBE ask you how many km per year your car is driven. The less you drive, the cheaper prices tend to be.
When I was relooking at my car insurance plan I found a cheaper policy than the one I was on. When I rang up my current provider to cancel they offered me a 9% discount off my current policy on the spot. It's definitely worth picking up the phone and asking for a better deal.
Gary Ross Hunter is an editor at Finder, specialising in insurance. He’s been writing about life, travel, home, car, pet and health insurance for over 6 years and regularly appears as an insurance expert in publications including The Sydney Morning Herald, The Guardian and news.com.au. Gary holds a Kaplan Tier 2 General Advice General Insurance certification which meets the requirements of ASIC Regulatory Guide 146 (RG146).
Compare Australia Post car insurance policies and get the right cover.
Feedback
How likely would you be to recommend finder to a friend or colleague?
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Very UnlikelyExtremely Likely
Required
Thank you for your feedback.
Our goal is to create the best possible product, and your thoughts, ideas and suggestions play a major role in helping us identify opportunities to improve.
Important information about this website
finder.com.au is one of Australia's leading comparison websites. We are committed to our readers and stands by our editorial principles
We try to take an open and transparent approach and provide a broad-based comparison service. However, you should be aware that while we are an independently owned service, our comparison service does not include all providers or all products available in the market.
Some product issuers may provide products or offer services through multiple brands, associated companies or different labeling arrangements. This can make it difficult for consumers to compare alternatives or identify the companies behind the products. However, we aim to provide information to enable consumers to understand these issues.
We make money by featuring products on our site. Compensation received from the providers featured on our site can influence which products we write about as well as where and how products appear on our page, but the order or placement of these products does not influence our assessment or opinions of them, nor is it an endorsement or recommendation for them.
Products marked as 'Top Pick', 'Promoted' or 'Advertisement' are prominently displayed either as a result of a commercial advertising arrangement or to highlight a particular product, provider or feature. Finder may receive remuneration from the Provider if you click on the related link, purchase or enquire about the product. Finder's decision to show a 'promoted' product is neither a recommendation that the product is appropriate for you nor an indication that the product is the best in its category. We encourage you to use the tools and information we provide to compare your options.
Where our site links to particular products or displays 'Go to site' buttons, we may receive a commission, referral fee or payment when you click on those buttons or apply for a product. You can learn more about how we make money.
When products are grouped in a table or list, the order in which they are initially sorted may be influenced by a range of factors including price, fees and discounts; commercial partnerships; product features; and brand popularity. We provide tools so you can sort and filter these lists to highlight features that matter to you.
Please read our website terms of use and privacy policy for more information about our services and our approach to privacy.
We update our data regularly, but information can change between updates. Confirm details with the provider you're interested in before making a decision.
