Car insurance features

Having car insurance can help you out of an awkward post-accident bill, but how much car insurance suits your budget?

One way to figure that out is to read this snapshot of what you need to know before making a decision on coverage levels. There’s a lot to consider, which is why we’re here to help on the research front with our car insurance comparison tool. Start with some of the options below to see important features, fees and discounts.

Comprehensive car insurance devotees likely want all their basis covered for their prized ride, while the third party property gang probably just want to avoid footing the bill for other people's vehicles and property. 

If you’ve got no idea what we're talking about, then let's investigate typical features of each and see what might suit your personal situation.

Comprehensive car insurance

As the name suggests, a comprehensive policy covers you more... comprehensively. You'll be sorted if you’re at fault in an accident (so long as the claim is accepted by your insurance provider), which should cover the repair or replacement of your car and damage you cause to other people’s property and vehicles.

You’ll need to check what the base of the comprehensive policy covers you for, then ask what features you can add on top. Things like windscreen cover, roadside assistance and hire car cover after an accident are usually extra features you can purchase in addition to your basic premium rate. 

Remember, because comprehensive insurance covers a whole lot more damage than third party property (often in the tens of millions) your premium is going to cost more. If your vehicle is worth more than $5,000 and you can budget in comprehensive insurance, it's definitely worth considering comprehensive cover.

Third party property damage car insurance

This insurance provides a limited level of cover for damaged you cause to other cars or property. It's usually an option for people who feel their vehicle isn't worth a comprehensive premium, or if comprehensive car insurance is simply out of budget. It's important to note most policies have a fairly low limit on what they'll pay out to cover costs (often as little as $5,000)

However, you can usually buy extra features on top of your third party property insurance. For a premium bump you can get fire and theft insurance in case you park your car in a high crime rate area, or windscreen cover for regular unsealed road driving.

Before you throw these extras on top, ask how much they are, see what it would cost to repair or replace the features yourself, and do the maths to see if it's worth the annual fee.

Across both of these policy types there are often conditions where your claim won't be accepted or dollar limits on certain features. Make sure you read your product disclosure statement (PDS) carefully to know where you stand.

Whether you choose a comprehensive or third party property policy, some optional extras are similar. Here are some of the features you can expect to add at extra cost:

• malicious damage and vandalism (usually a comprehensive basic)
• natural disasters like flood and hail
• fire and theft (usually a comprehensive basic)
• choice of repairer
• lifetime guarantee on repairs
• emergency repair (usually a comprehensive basic)
• 24-hour roadside assistance
• excess-free windscreen repair
• rental car if car after an incident (post-theft usually a comprehensive basic)
• multiple drivers

If you’ve ever made a claim before, you’d know the excess is the amount you pay to unlock your insurance policy. How does it work?

Say your excess is $600. If you’ve elected to purchase a comprehensive car insurance policy, and your repair cost is $3,000, your insurance company will fork out $2,400 on your behalf to cover the repair after you've paid the gap.

Premium vs Excess

The absolute number one rule when it comes to how much excess you pay is this: the higher your premium, the less excess you pay and vice versa. Some providers even offer a feature where you can pay a super high premium and avoid paying excess at all.

So if you’re accident prone you might want to check if this feature is available to you, budget permitting.

Purchasing, reviewing or adding features online cuts down personal admin time and could even save you some cash. Insurance companies will often reward proactive customers with a handsome discount of 5-30% if they apply for their policy online.  If in doubt or confused about an element of your policy, make your initial purchase online, then call during hours of operation to sort it all out.

We understand when people get confused about this. The explanation is quite literal, just lacking punctuation. Think of it like this: ‘No claim? Bonus!’ 

Basically, your premium may be reduced by a certain percentage every policy period (or over a number of years) you go without making a claim.

I’ve got a great no claim bonus – will it be affected if I change insurance providers?

The good news is, if you’ve built up your bonus with one company and you want to change providers, most of the time you can carry over your bonus to the new provider. All you need is a letter from your current insurance provider detailing your insurance history.

Need a hand in making choosing between insurance providers? Read through a few customer reviews to get a personal understanding of experiences with different companies.