Car insurance discounts: A complete guide
There’s no question that having your own car can open up possibilities. Think last minute road trips, travelling further for work and not having to lug your shopping home on the bus. The problem is maintaining your wheels can be pricey. Getting cover for your vehicle, fuel and registration all adds up.
With all that in mind, we’ve come up with a list of car insurance discounts to help you cut costs.
1. Online discounts
If you’re looking for a more low maintenance way to save money on insurance, then look no further than online discounts. Most insurance providers these days will offer a percentage off your premium, simply for signing up to a policy online.
It almost seems too good to be true that you can be rewarded for taking care of your finances from the comfort of your sofa, but you can! Online discounts usually count for the first year’s premium and can range anywhere from 5% to 15% off.
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Gold Comprehensive Car Insurance
- Monthly premiums
- Yes Costs Extra
- Choice of repairer
- Optional Extra
- Choice of excess
- $500 - $1,850
- Agreed or market value
- Agreed Or Market
Available discounts
- Online Discount Up To 15%
Gold Comprehensive Car Insurance
Get award winning Car Insurance. Save 15% ^ on your first year’s premium when you purchase a new policy online. Budget Direct offers tailor-made cover, new-for-old replacement, 24/7 claims, a highly-rated claims service, and get a hire car following a theft.
- New car if written off
- Yes - within 2 years or 40,000 kilometres of original registration, whichever comes first
- Rental car after theft
- Yes - Up to 14 days, max $1,000 total.
- Rental car after accident
- Not at fault - Yes. At fault - Optional Extra. Up to 14 days for at fault accidents.
- Windscreen cover
- Yes - standard excess. Option to reduce windscreen excess to $40 on every windscreen claim for an additional premium.
- Modifications
- Covered only if agreed in writing.
- Young driver excess imposed
- $600 for drivers under 21, $500 for drivers under 24, $600 for unlisted drivers, $500 for inexperienced drivers over 24.
- Roadside assistance
- Optional Extra
- Other benefits
- -
- Other restrictions
- -
Read our Mozo Review to learn more about Budget Direct Gold Comprehensive Car Insurance
Comprehensive Car Insurance
- Monthly premiums
- Yes Costs Extra
- Choice of repairer
- Optional Extra
- Choice of excess
- $400 - $1,850 (varies By State)
- Agreed or market value
- Agreed Or Market
Available discounts
- No Claim Discount
Comprehensive Car Insurance
Get on the road with car insurance you can depend on. Now with up to 30,000 Qantas Points when you join by 2 May (points awarded will be based on your premium). T&Cs & eligibility apply.
- New car if written off
- Yes - within 2 years and 40,000 km of original registration
- Rental car after theft
- Yes - Up to 14 days, max $1,000
- Rental car after accident
- Not at fault - Yes. At fault - Optional Extra. Up to 14 days.
- Windscreen cover
- Yes - standard excess. Option to reduce windscreen excess to $40 for an additional premium.
- Modifications
- Covered only if agreed in writing.
- Young driver excess imposed
- $600 for drivers under 21, $500 for drivers aged 21 to 24 inclusive, $600 for unlisted drivers, $500 for inexperienced drivers.
- Roadside assistance
- Optional Extra
- Other benefits
- Earn up to 30,000 Qantas Points when you sign up by 2 May 2021. Points earned depend on the amount spent on your premium. Points earn thresholds and T&Cs apply.
- Other restrictions
- -
Read our Mozo Review to learn more about Qantas Comprehensive Car Insurance
Comprehensive Car Insurance
- Monthly premiums
- Yes Costs Extra
- Choice of repairer
- Optional Extra
- Choice of excess
- $300 - $2,550
- Agreed or market value
- Agreed Or Market
Available discounts
- Online Discount $75
Comprehensive Car Insurance
Flexible, great value comprehensive car insurance for every-day Australians. Option-up your cover to suit your needs. And our $75 online discount makes the choice even easier. Winner of Mozo's Exceptional Value Car Insurance 2020.
- New car if written off
- Yes - within 3 years and 60,000 km of original registration
- Rental car after theft
- Yes - Up to 14 days.
- Rental car after accident
- Not at fault - yes. At fault - Optional Extra. Up to 14 days.
- Windscreen cover
- Yes - standard excess ($0 excess for repair only). Option to reduce windscreen replacement excess to $0 for an additional premium.
- Modifications
- Automatically covered.
- Young driver excess imposed
- $600 for listed drivers under 25, $1,600 for unlisted drivers under 25.
- Roadside assistance
- No
- Other benefits
- -
- Other restrictions
- -
Read our Mozo Review to learn more about QBE Comprehensive Car Insurance
Comprehensive Car Insurance
- Monthly premiums
- Yes Costs Extra
- Choice of repairer
- No
- Choice of excess
- $800 - $2,000
- Agreed or market value
- Agreed
Available discounts
- No Claim Discount
Comprehensive Car Insurance
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- New car if written off
- Yes - within 3 years and 60,000 km of original registration
- Rental car after theft
- Yes - Up to 14 days.
- Rental car after accident
- Not at fault - yes. At fault - Optional Extra. Up to 14 days.
- Windscreen cover
- Yes - standard excess. Option to reduce windscreen excess to $0 on every windscreen claim for an additional premium.
- Modifications
- Covered only if agreed in writing.
- Young driver excess imposed
- $600 for listed drivers under 25. $1,600 for unlisted drivers under 25
- Roadside assistance
- Optional Extra
- Other benefits
- -
- Other restrictions
- -
Read our Mozo Review to learn more about Stella Comprehensive Car Insurance
2. Multi-policy discounts
More often than not, insurance companies won’t just operate in one space. For instance, your car insurance provider won’t just offer cover for vehicles but also for buildings and contents and even life and income protection.
If your provider does have more than one type of insurance under its belt, you will often be given the option to combine your policies and get a ‘multi-policy discount’.
3. Multi-car insurance discounts
Not to be confused with the multi-policy discount above, the multi car insurance discount is for if you or your household has more than one car. So, if you have multiple cars, or you have a car and live with friends, siblings or other relatives with a car, then you could get a multi-car discount.
Each car can be owned by a different person but the insurance policy for all will have to be listed under one name. Some insurance providers will limit the number of cars listed on one multi-car policy to about five, but this will vary from policy to policy.
4. Restricted driver discounts
This one would work for anyone who is either the sole driver of their car or who knows that there won’t be many others getting behind the wheel.
In other words, if you can guarantee that there won’t be too many other drivers, or that the other drivers will all be over a certain age, then you may be eligible for a discount on your premium.
5. No claim bonus
If you’ve been trawling through car insurance websites hunting for a better deal, you will most likely have come across the ‘no claim bonus.’ This is sometimes also referred to as a ‘no claim discount’ or even a ‘safe driver discount.’
Now the first thing to know about this discount is that it isn’t so much an immediate ‘money off’ promotion, as it is a long game reward for driving safely. How does it work you ask?
Well, for every 12 months that you don’t make a claim, a discount will be applied to your car insurance premium. The discount, which increases year-on-year can get to as high as 60% or even 70%. Most insurance providers will cap it at five years or at a certain amount.
Of course, if you do have to make a claim, then your no claim bonus will return back to zero in your next policy period. Some providers will also have slight variations of this deal, including ones where you build up a discount on claims that you might make, rather than on your actual premium.
6. Family discount
One for the struggling millennial, the family discount can usually be nabbed if you’re under 25 and you opt for the same insurance provider as your parents.
You might even be eligible for a no-claims discount if you have previously been listed on your parent’s insurance policy and haven’t made any claims.
7. Loyalty discount
As the name suggests, you may be offered a discount on your premium come renewal time, if you’ve been loyal to the same provider for a number of years.
Top tip: If your insurance provider doesn’t offer you a discount for being a loyal customer, ask for one!
8. Fuel efficient discount
If you’ve just invested in an eco-friendly set of wheels then you should definitely look for a ‘fuel efficient discount.’ As electric and hybrid vehicles are becoming more popular, more and more insurance providers are offering discounts for those driving environmentally friendly cars.
9. Pay per km plans
This may not be a ‘discount’, so to speak, but it is a way to pay less on your premium - if you don’t drive your car that much. Usually you can get a ‘pay per km plan’ if you drive less than 15,000 km per year.
Different insurance providers will work out what you owe in different ways. This could include charging you a low premium and adding on a few cents for each kilometre you drive.
10. One-off specials
One last thing to look out for is one-off specials. These could be anything from actual discounts to gift vouchers. Some insurance providers will even have offers that include free roadside assistance for a limited time.
You can look out for these anytime of the year and some may be worth your while. As with all these types of car insurance discounts, it will really depend on what your situation is and whether or not the particular car insurance policy suits your needs.
Head to Mozo’s compare car insurance page to both review policies and discounts.
^See information about the Mozo Experts Choice Car Insurance Awards
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