Welcome to
Australian Car Insurance

This is where you can come to find the very best of deals when insuring your motor car.

Choosing Car Insurance – Comprehensive or Third Party?

Should you always take out comprehensive car insurance if you can afford it? Not necessarily. Sometimes the cost of comprehensively insuring a vehicle outweighs any benefit you might obtain from it.  Should you drive without any insurance? Definitely not! You must at the minimum have Compulsory Third Party insurance which is obtained when you register your vehicle. Over and above that, the type of car insurance you need will depend on your circumstances and your vehicle. Here are your options and some of the factors you should consider:

 Third Party Property

This type of insurance is designed to protect you financially when you have a collision and accidentally cause damage to the vehicle or property of another person. It won’t pay for damage to your vehicle or property.

While this type of insurance isn’t compulsory, having it could save you thousands of dollars in the event of an accident. If you hit another vehicle, it’s your fault, and you aren’t covered, the other person or their insurer will expect you to pay for the damages. A small rear end collision that damages an expensive car could cost you several thousand dollars so you can imagine the cost involved if you were to have a serious accident or cause damage to a shop or residence. It could be difficult to recover financially from an accident if you are not insured.

Comprehensive Insurance

At the opposite end of the scale is comprehensive car insurance. This type of policy covers your vehicle in the event of an accident, as well as providing coverage for any accidental damage you cause. Theft and fire are also covered. If your vehicle is reasonably new or you simply could not afford to replace or repair it if it was damaged, a comprehensive policy is a good idea.
If your vehicle is under finance, it’s likely that you are obligated by your contract with the lender to maintain a comprehensive insurance policy until you’ve paid off the vehicle.If however, your vehicle is of low value, isn’t under finance, and the premium for comprehensively insuring it is high, then you need to consider whether it is worth purchasing this type of policy. For example, if your vehicle is valued at $1500, when you consider the cost of the premium and the amount of the excess, you might decide that this level of insurance just isn’t viable.

 Third Party Property Plus Fire & Theft

This intermediate level of cover offers the benefits of third party property insurance and also covers your car in the event that it is stolen or damaged by fire. If your vehicle isn’t worth a large amount of money and isn’t under finance, then this type of policy might be ideal.

Motor Vehicle Insurance – a Guide for Teenagers

So, you’ve obtained your license and you’re ready to hit the road. Whether you’ve already purchased your wheels, or you’re still looking, understanding a few things about motor vehicle insurance can save you a lot of money – now and in the future.
Motor vehicle insurance premiums for new drivers are expensive. The reason for that is simple – statistics show that younger, less experienced drivers are more likely to be involved in vehicle accidents. To insurers, that means that you’re more likely to cost them money than their older, more experienced policy holders.

 Here are a few tips that can save you money on your first motor vehicle insurance policy:

1. Shop online for quotes. Quotes will vary from one insurance company to another so obtain several quotes could save you a substantial sum.
    

2. If one or both of your parents have a good driving history and haven’t made many or any claims, ask them to speak to their insurer about a policy that covers you. Their good track record can help reduce the cost of your motor vehicle insurance.
    

3. Choose your car wisely. Vehicles with poor safety features or post-factory modifications, models that are statistically popular with car thieves and ones that are expensive to repair will cost more to insure. Make a short list of cars you like and obtain motor vehicle insurance quotes for them before you make a final decision.

 As you become a more experienced driver and establish a driving and insurance history, there’s every chance your premiums will become more reasonable. There are some things you can do to help that happen:

• Don’t incur traffic infringements. Your driving record is one of the risk factors motor vehicle insurers consider when setting your premium. A good driving record lowers the insurer’s risk, statistically, whereas a bad record increases it – and the higher risk you are, the more you will pay.
   

• Drive safely and reduce the risk of being involved in an accident. If your driving history is accident free, you’ll begin to build up a “no claim bonus” with your insurer which can decrease your premiums by up to 60% in future years.
   

• If you have a minor accident where the repairs are only slightly higher than your policy excess, consider whether it might be more beneficial for you to pay the cost of repairs rather than make a claim on your car insurance policy.
   

• Consider taking a defensive driving course – many accidents come about because a safe driver is unable to avoid a vehicle that suddenly swerves or brakes in front of them. These courses give you the skills to deal with a variety of situations - and they’re usually a lot of fun too.

 You’ve many places to go and things to see in the years to come – keep your motor vehicle insurance costs down and you’ll have more dollars to spend along the way!

Ouch! Why Has My Auto Insurance Premium Gone Up?

 Has the cost of your comprehensive auto insurance premium increased recently? There are many factors that insurers use to determine the cost of your policy. Knowing what they are may help you to understand why your premium has increased and possibly assist you to reduce your auto insurance costs in the future.

 Generally, anything that increases the risk for the insurer increases your premium. Here are some of the factors that may have made you a bigger risk:

• Have you changed vehicles? Even if your new vehicle is similar in value to your previous one, it may have fewer safety or security features, be a make or model of choice for car thieves, or be very expensive to repair. Good safety features not only make you safer as a vehicle occupant, they can make a vehicle less likely to be seriously damaged in an accident, while anti-theft devices reduce the risk of theft. When it comes to panel and part replacement, some makes and models can be significantly more expensive for the insurer to have repaired, so naturally, this can increase the amount they charge you.
   

• Where you moved house? Theft rates in the area you’ve moved to may be higher than your previous location. Whether or not your car is garaged or parked on the street can also affect your premium. Traffic and population density in the area you’ve moved to also have an impact - if you’ve moved from a quiet country town to the city, the risk factors have changed.
   

• Have you made a claim or two recently? If you don’t have a guaranteed lifetime no-claim bonus, an at-fault accident may lead to an increase in your auto insurance premium.
   

• Has your good driving record deteriorated?  When you take out a car insurance policy you’re usually asked about your driving record. If you’ve received a number of traffic infringements, been charged with driving offences or had your license suspended since the last policy you took out, you’re starting to look like a greater risk to insurers.
   

• Have you added other drivers to your policy? Including another regular driver on your policy can also result in an increase if that driver has a poor driving record, a history of accident claims, or is under 25 years of age you’ve increased the risk factors for the insurer.
   

• Have you cancelled another insurance policy with the insurance company? You may have been receiving a multi-policy discount of 10-30% that has now been removed.

 You may not be able to immediately change any of the factors that have caused your insurance premium to increase but it’s worth keeping them in mind for the future – in the meantime, you can make use of the Internet to shop around for the best deal on auto insurance.

Reducing the Cost of Your Car Insurance

 For most of us car insurance is an essential expense. In the event of an accident, few of us would have the cash at hand to pay for significant repairs to our own vehicle, let alone pay for the other driver’s repairs if the accident was our fault. Replacing a stolen vehicle from our own funds would also present a problem.

 Car insurance is a “must have” item for many, but there are several ways you can reduce the current cost of your premium if money is tight:

• Obtain quotes online. The rates across insurers for the same driver and vehicle can vary quite a bit. You don’t need to wait until policy renewal time to shop around – if you find a much better deal, you can take out a new policy and cancel your old one.

 Increasing the excess that applies to your policy can also reduce the premiums as it reduces the amount your insurer will have to pay out in the event of a claim.

• Is your vehicle insured for agreed value or market value? If it’s agreed value and you’ve had your vehicle for several years, the amount your car is insured for may be much higher than its market value. Of course, an agreed value car insurance policy is a handy thing to have if your vehicle is written off in an accident or stolen – you’ll receive a larger amount and be better able to replace it with a more recent model – but you are paying a higher premium for it. Consider your circumstances and decide whether you would prefer a reduced premium for a market value policy, or the increased financial protection of an agreed value policy.
   

• Do you have other insurance policies with different insurance companies? Most companies offer multi-policy discounts so it can be well worth asking your car insurer about any premium reduction you could obtain if you insured other assets with them.

When times are tough it can be tempting to do everything you can to conserve funds but there are two things you should never do to reduce your car insurance costs:

• Never insure a business vehicle as a private one. If the vehicle is damaged or stolen and it becomes evident it was not correctly insured, at best your claim may be delayed and the additional premiums deducted from any payment – and at worst, your claim may be denied.

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  Don’t be tempted to misrepresent your driving or insurance claims history to obtain a cheaper premium - your deception is likely to come to light in the event of a claim and it could result in your claim being denied, particularly if the insurer may not have offered you insurance had they been aware of your history.

 If you can’t afford to replace your vehicle you can’t afford to be uninsured – but you can take steps to reduce the cost of your car insurance.

Truck Insurance – You Can’t Afford to Get it Wrong

Looking for truck insurance? Whether you’re an owner driver with a single truck or a business operator with a fleet of trucks, obtaining the correct type of insurance policy and the right level of cover is vital if you want to ensure your assets are properly protected. An error of any kind can be a costly matter – particularly if it’s one that results in the insurer advising you that you aren’t covered.

 What type of truck insurance policy do you need?

In general, if your vehicle weighs less than 5 tonnes it’s likely that a commercial vehicle policy will be appropriate. Heavy motor insurance policies are available for trucks over that weight. If your vehicles carry hazardous materials or dangerous goods, you’ll need a policy that particularly offers that type of coverage - these types of goods are not covered under most standard commercial vehicle or truck insurance policies.

What are your risks?

 It’s important to know your risks and ensure that you have everything covered. Depending on the type of business you operate and the goods you carry the risks you need to cover might include:

• Vehicle theft

• Accident

• Replacement trucks

• Towing

• Damage to property caused by your vehicle

• Goods in transit/freight

• Sign writing on the vehicle

• Special equipment installed in the truck/s

• Liability

• 3^rd party property damage

  Dangerous Goods & Hazardous Materials

 If you regularly transport chemicals, highly flammable products or any other potentially toxic or dangerous substances you’ll require a level of liability coverage that a standard truck insurance or commercial vehicle policy does not offer. Not all insurers are prepared to offer this type of coverage.

 Failure to take out the appropriate insurance could prove to be a costly error in the event of an accident involving these types of goods. A post-accident clean up bill alone can be significant if the contents spill or leak from the truck but a serious truck accident can result in a variety of “damages” that your business could be found liable for including property damage and loss of trade claims, death and injury claims, and even health related claims after substance exposure.

 If you carry these types of materials only occasionally, you can obtain temporary coverage for the required period or particular journey. That way, you’ll be covered in the event of an accident but won’t have to pay the higher premium on a regular basis.

 Keeping the Cost of Truck Insurance Down

 Like other insurance policies, the excess you nominate influences the level of the premium. A higher excess can reduce your premium as it protects the insurer from having to pay out on minor claims and reduces their liability for larger ones.   

 Every business owner wants to keep costs down but to protect your assets, it’s important to have the right truck insurance in place in the event of an accident.