Car insurance: loaned, leased or owned

Your guide to understanding the costs of car insurance for your car, whether it’s been financed, leased or you own it outright.

Key takeaways

  • Car insurance costs often increase if your vehicle is financed or leased. For example, AAMI premiums for owned cars averaged $295 less than financed ones.
  • Insurers often price financed cars higher due to historical claims data. This suggests a perceived higher risk factor.
  • To potentially save on your premium, compare multiple quotes increase your excess and contact insurers to negotiate.

How does ownership affect the cost of car insurance?

Whether you own your car, lease it or have a loan on it will affect what you pay for car insurance. Typically, if your car is financed in one way or another (lease, loan) then your insurance quote will be more expensive.

5 of 5 results
Car loan Car lease Owns the car
$1,346.19
$1,346.19
$1,263.37
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$1,298.92
$1,305.48
$1,286.47
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QBE logo
$2,424.54
$2,424.54
$2,163.72
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NRMA logo
$1,889.53
$1,889.53
$1,886.04
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AAMI logo
$2,032.47
$2,032.47
$1,733.56
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Showing 5 of 5 results

Why is it more expensive to insure a financed car?

There doesn't seem to be a lot of rhyme or reason for this but it's usually based on the insurer's historical data. When we see pricing shifts like this, it's usually because the insurer has determined this specific factor to be riskier. It could be that of all the claims they've had to process, people with finance owing on their car tend to make more claims than people without finance on their car, and therefore the overall premium for financed cars is higher.

Don't own your car outright? Here's a few other ways to save on your insurance

Lying to your insurer isn't an option so you'll have to save on your premium in other ways. Lucky for you, there's a few options.

  1. Increase your excess. The higher your excess, the lower your premium will be. Just do this responsibly — you need to be able to afford it in the event you actually have to pay it.
  2. Get on the phone. Time and time again, I have been able to save hundreds by simply asking "Is there any flexibility on that price?". The worst they can do is say no. Usually though, they'll tweak the quote and you'll end up saving cash. I promise you, it's not as cringey as it seems.
  3. Compare your options. You can't know if there's a better offer available if you never bother to check. There can be hundreds, even thousands of dollars difference between insurers for almost identical policies. Be sure to get at least 3-5 quotes so you've got an idea of what's out there.

Compare car insurance

Whether your car is financed with a car loan, a lease or you own it outright — it'll need insurance. Compare options below.

11 of 71 results
Finder Score Accidental damage Roadside Assistance Agreed or market value Storm & Flood
Finder Score
Agreed or Market
Summary: A great value policy with exceptional customer service. It also automatically includes roadside assistance with comprehensive policies in its price - a feature that typically costs upwards of $90 per year.
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Finder Score
Market
Summary: Bingle car insurance delivers decent coverage across the basics, such as damage to your car, theft and storms.

Who it might be good for: Drivers looking for a no-frills policy with accessible coverage options.
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Finder Score
Optional add-on
Agreed or Market
Discount: Receive 15% off your first year's premium when you purchase cover online. T&Cs apply.
Summary: Budget Direct Comprehensive is highly commended as a feature-packed car insurance. It's cheaper than most, plus you can lower costs by adding age restrictions.

Who it might be good for: Anyone who wants a good value policy.
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QBE logo
Finder Score
Finder Score
Agreed or Market
Discount: Save $75 when you purchase a new comprehensive policy online. T&Cs apply.
Who it might be good for: Those who want a trustworthy insurer and more cover than other brands, such as 3-year new car replacement (e.g. they'll give you money for a new car for up to 3 years if yours is written off).
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RACV logo
Finder Score
Finder Score
Optional add-on
Agreed or Market
Summary: RACV Comprehensive offers member-based car insurance with flexible cover options and solid inclusions, depending on your level of cover.

Who it might be good for: VIC drivers seeking customisable cover with strong benefits and potential member perks.
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ROLLiN' logo
Finder Score
Finder Score
Agreed
Discount: Get 10% off the base premium for the first 2 consecutive monthly policies and up to a 15% potential monthly discount from your 3rd month for being a safer driver. Minimum premiums may apply. T&Cs apply.
Summary: One of the most cost-effective insurers for under 25s, according to Finder research, with no aged-based excess.

Who it might be good for: Young drivers looking to keep costs down and anyone who’d like to get more flexibility from their car insurance.
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Kogan logo
Finder Score
Finder Score
Agreed or Market
Discount: Up to 10% off your first year's premium when you apply online and $10 monthly Kogan credit (valid on $100+ purchases) for active policyholders. T&Cs apply.
Summary: Kogan comes with all the perks that most comprehensive car insurance policies include, but you’ll also be entitled to some benefits from its online store. This usually comes in the form of a gift voucher or discount if you buy online.

Who it might be good for: Kogan shoppers and those after a good range of policy options.
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Qantas Car Insurance logo
Finder Score
Finder Score
Optional add-on
Agreed or Market
Points: Earn up to 40,000 Qantas Points with every car insurance policy. Ends 27 May 2026. Plus save 15% on your 1st year’s premium when you purchase online. T&Cs apply.
Summary: You need car insurance so why not get one that lets you earn Qantas Points? It's good value too (it's underwritten by the same insurer as Budget Direct).

Who it might be good for: People who want more bang for their buck with Qantas Points.
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ING logo
Finder Score
Finder Score
Optional add-on
Agreed or Market
Discount: Save 15% on your first year’s premium when you buy a new ING comprehensive car insurance online. T&Cs apply.
Summary: A policy with high benefit limits included as standard with plenty of optional add-ons.

Who it might be good for: Drivers who like the ability to tailor their cover with lots of optional extras like windscreen damage and roadside assistance.
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Australian Seniors logo
Finder Score
Finder Score
Optional add-on
Agreed
Discount: Save 5% on your first year's car insurance premium by holding a valid Seniors Card. T&Cs apply.
Finder’s summary: Australian Seniors’ comprehensive policy includes complimentary hire car for a stolen car, up to $1,000 for a damaged trailer or caravan, up to $500 for emergency travel and accommodation cover.

Who it might be good for: People over 50 years old looking for flexible cover options.
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Huddle logo
Finder Score
Finder Score
Optional add-on
Agreed or Market
Summary: Huddle's comprehensive policy will cover you if your vehicle is damaged or lost as a result of a collision, a natural event, a malicious act, theft or fire. It also includes up to $500 for essential repairs.

Who it might be good for: Someone who drives less than 15,000 km a year can opt for Pay As You Drive cover.
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Showing 11 of 11 results

Finder Score for car insurance

We analyse over 30 car insurance products across insurance providers, and rate each one for price and features. We collect up to 36 quotes per product, for male and female drivers in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania and Western Australia. Quotes are collected for 20 year olds, 30 year olds and 60 year olds, assuming an excess of $850 for a 2020 Toyota Corolla 4 door sedan model, with an average 15,000 kms driven each year. While we are not allowed to display actual quotes, our Finder Score aims to serve as an indicative guide to how cost and feature competitive a product might be for you.

Our feature score assesses each product for more than 15 features across loss and damage coverage, repairs and assistance coverage, personal items coverage and policy coverage. Features we assess include but are not limited to legal liability, essential repairs, new car replacement, car hire events, roadside assistance, agreed or market value, windscreen damage and natural disaster coverage.

Read the full methodology

FAQs

Sources

Peta Taylor's headshot
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

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