Getting comprehensive car insurance in Australia means you’ll be covered for most eventualities with crashes and accidents. Great news for those of us who are risk averse and don’t have a ton of cash to spare if we or someone else slips up on the road! Or driveway/garage/parking lot/during bad weather… because thieves like the look of our car… or…
You get the drift. Comprehensive coverage isn’t required by law for Australians unless they have finance owing on their vehicle. Some drivers do opt to go for lesser cover and take the risk of having to replace their car out of their own pocket. Or getting used to taking the bus if something goes wrong.
Only you can make that decision. To help, here’s our guide to what exactly comprehensive insurance covers when it comes to you and your vehicle.
In this article
Types of car insurance in Australia
If you own a car in Australia, there are a few types of insurance available to you. Of the four different types of car insurance available, compulsory third party insurance is the only one that’s mandatory for everyone who registers a vehicle. Check out our piece Comprehensive vs Compulsory Third Party Insurance Explained for more on this.
Here’s a brief overview of the main types of car insurance on the market:
Compulsory Third Party (CTP)
Your CTP covers legal costs for injuries caused to other people in an accident you’re involved in. This is mandatory insurance in Australia and you can’t register a vehicle without having it in place. Regardless of what state or territory you live in.
Third Party Property
Third party property damage you cause to other people’s property in an accident, including their vehicle. However, it generally doesn’t provide cover for damage to your own vehicle… Depending on your insurer, you may be covered if you’re not at fault in an accident and the third party driver is uninsured).
Third Party, Fire and Theft
Third party, fire and theft covers the same as third party property insurance, as well as providing cover for your vehicle in the event it’s stolen or catches fire.
Comprehensive Car Insurance
Comprehensive car insurance covers damage for everything mentioned above including extensive cover for your own vehicle, whether you’re at fault or not in an accident. Additionally, getting comprehensive car cover in Australia will mean that you’re covered for a wide variety of other insured events.
What does comprehensive car insurance cover?
Comprehensive insurance, as the name suggests, gives the most comprehensive cover available. Your policy will cover you for repair or replacement of your car in the event of a collision, theft of your vehicle, malicious damage, fire, and weather-related damage.
That’s serious coverage.
What else does comprehensive car insurance cover?
On top of cover for your own vehicle, it should cover repair or replacement of other vehicles or property damaged by your car during an accident or collision.
What about if you’re the party that caused the accident, does car insurance pay even if you’re at fault?
Cover if you’re at fault or not
One of the big bonuses of comprehensive car insurance in Australia is that you’re safeguarded even if it’s your mistake that resulted in the claim. As long the insurer deems it a claimable event, of course. You’re still up for paying a car insurance excess, but that’s a much softer financial landing than paying for the repair or replacement of any cars involved.
This offers drivers peace of mind that if they have an error of judgement making a turn in traffic, or accidentally back into someone in a carpark, they’re still covered. Yep, even if you’re at fault.
After all, mistakes happen to the best of us. But still, why not check out our tips on defensive driving to help keep that driving record squeaky clean?
Extra goodies with your cover
It’s important to also note, comprehensive car cover often comes with added inclusions and optional extras. These can range from roadside assistance to the use of hire cars when your vehicle needs repairing or replacing.
One of PD Insurance’s most popular add-ons is our Excess Buster. With this, we’ll pay your excess once a year if you need it.
How much is comprehensive car insurance in Australia?
Car insurance premiums are calculated on a huge variety of individual factors, which we look at in our article, How Much is Car Insurance? The easiest way to get a figure tailored to you is to go through the quoting process.
Your individual premium will depend firstly on the car itself. It takes into consideration things like how old your car is, the mileage, the value, its safety rating and whether you’ve had any modifications or improvements made to it.
On top of that, your individual profile will also be taken into account. A variety of different factors will decide the premium of your comprehensive car insurance in Australia, including:
- The area where your car is parked
- Whether you’ve had previous claims or accidents
- Your demographics such as age, sex, marital status and so on
- Your excess
- Whether you’ve gone with market value or agreed value
These factors come together to decide your risk profile. The more of a risk you are deemed to be to the insurer, the higher your premium. It’s important to note that, along with policyholder variables, the underwriting processes are different at each insurer.
So while you might get a great price at Insurer A and a much higher price at Insurer B, your friend might have the opposite experience.
When you need to make a claim
So, what happens if you need to claim from your comprehensive car insurance in Australia? We’ve got the lowdown in our piece that explains how to make a comprehensive car insurance claim but here’s a brief synopsis:
- Collect the right information. Gather as much information as possible about the accident, including the names and contact information of everyone involved, the location of the accident, and a description of the damage.
- Check your policy for out-of-pocket expense. Find out how much your insurance deductible is and what is not covered by your policy.
- Make your claim. File a claim with your insurance company as soon as possible.
- Wait for your insurer to accept or deny your claim. Your insurer will investigate the accident and let you know their decision within 10 days.
- Decide whether to continue with the claim. If your claim is accepted, you’ll need to decide whether to have it repaired or written off.
- Let your insurer advise next steps: If your claim is accepted, your insurer will advise you of the next steps. This includes which repair shop to use or how much they will pay you for your car.
Big NB!
As a side note – albeit a very important one – when you submit your details for a quote for comprehensive car insurance in Australia, be truthful, accurate and complete with your application. This helps ensure you’ll have appropriate insurance coverage in your time of need and your insurer can easily process your claim once they have all the requisite details and documentation.
Falsifying information on an insurance policy can result in non-payment of a claim and cancellation of your policy (eeek). No one wants to be in that position. When you’re mid car crisis you simply want your claim resolved without a hitch, right?
Is comprehensive car insurance worth it?
If you’re wondering this, ask yourself what not having comprehensive cover could mean if your damage someone’s car with yours? Or if your car is stolen? Or any number of car-related events. Ask yourself, is not having comprehensive car insurance worth it?
Of course, when choosing comprehensive car insurance, there are a few things you should keep in mind.
In no particular order, here they are:
The level of coverage
This is the amount of money that your insurance company will pay out if your car is damaged or stolen. You can choose a higher level of coverage for more protection, but it will also cost more.
The deductible
This is the amount of money you will have to pay out of pocket before your insurance company will pay anything. A lower deductible will mean higher premiums, and vice versa.
The premium
This is the monthly or annual amount you will pay for your insurance. It will depend on a number of factors, including the level of coverage you choose, your deductible, your driving record and the make and model of your car.
The customer service
This is important because you may need to file a claim at some point. Make sure to choose an insurance company with good customer service ratings.
Weigh all of these factors carefully when choosing comprehensive car insurance. By doing your research, you can find a policy that meets your needs AND budget.
Get comprehensive car insurance in Australia with an award-winner
Decided that comprehensive cover might be the best option for you? Find out more about PD Insurance’s comprehensive car insurance.
We’re an award-winning brand that offers low cost, quality protection. We also offer several valuable discounts, for instance if you have no claims in the past few years, you’ll qualify for a Claims Free Discount. Why not get a quote today?