How much can you save on car insurance by using a garage?

Methods for calculating car insurance costs are complicated. Every insurer can approach it as they choose, applying different weights to various factors.

On this long list of influences is whether you park your car in a secure garage or not. Like most things that affect the cost of car insurance, this is related to risk. 

Essentially, if you park your car in the street, it’s more likely to get stolen or damaged and so insurers increase premiums to offset this risk. 

Mozo’s data team found drivers can save approximately 8.5% on yearly premiums by parking their car on their property instead of the street. The savings are slightly higher for night parking (9.9%) and lower during the day (7.1%).

Similar cost benefits were found for parking in a driveway, carport and garage, but this may also be impacted by the value of your car and other variables.

Let’s dive into the details of what this could mean for your policy if you’re considering a move.

How can moving house affect my car insurance?

It can impact your premium on two levels. Firstly, if you move to a different suburb or city, it’ll likely have different rates of crime, traffic accidents and the number of cars on the road. Insurers use these statistics to help calculate your risk as a customer, so before you even decide where to park your car your premium may change.

Then, if you go from leaving your car in a secure garage to parking your wheels kerbside, you could see a premium increase. If you’re moving from a regional area to a city address, you’ll want to closely consider where you park at night. 

Mozo’s analysis found car insurance customers in metropolitan areas could save 10.2% on their premiums by parking on their property at night, compared to the 2% savings for regional customers.

But don’t be tempted to say your car is garaged if it isn’t at your new address or to register it at a ‘cheaper’ postcode. Lying about this and other policy details is known as ‘insurance fronting’ and it can invalidate your cover, meaning you won’t be able to make a car insurance claim.

If you do need to make a claim after moving and in all honesty just haven’t got around to updating your residential address with your car insurer, some providers may give you a little leeway. This often depends on how risky your new location is or how long you’ve lived there without updating your car insurance details.

How else can I save money on car insurance in Australia?

There are a lot of other ways to save money on comprehensive car insurance, from accessing discounts to updating policy details. A few money-saving moves include:

• Buying your policy online, as many providers offer a discount on your first yearly premium for doing so
• Building up a no claims bonus. You can often get a discount for not making car insurance claims. It usually increases the longer you retain your good driving record and is often transferable between insurers.
• Staying loyal to your provider. You can usually build up a loyalty discount the longer you stay with the one provider. So, if you’re happy with your policy or can haggle for a better deal with your current provider, simply sticking around could save you cash
• Choosing pay-as-you-drive car insurance, which is a good option for people who don’t drive often. Details differ between providers but you generally nominate a certain number of kilometres and limit your driving to that within a policy period for a discounted rate.
• Insuring your car for its market value. This can score you a lower premium than electing an agreed value. Just remember, it could mean you don’t get as big a payout if your car is written-off or stolen, as market value is based on the price it would sell for at the time of the incident. 
• Opting for a higher excess will generally lower your premium, but don’t forget it’ll mean you have to fork out more cash before your cover kicks in when you make a claim.

If you’ve moved and your car insurance is no longer affordable, compare it against some of the comprehensive policies below, or investigate if third party property car insurance is a better option.