Car insurance in 2019: How much does it cost and how can you save?
Update: If you're after a current assessment of car insurance prices and trends in Australia, check out Mozo's 2020 Car Insurance Report.
With so many car insurance providers vying for your attention, it can be difficult to find the one that’s right for you. To make your search that much easier, each year we run the Mozo Experts Choice Awards^ to uncover the policies that are worthy of your attention.
For the 2019 awards our team of experts sifted through 61 policies, factored in more than 10,000 different scenarios, and surveyed close to 4,000 insurance customers in order to understand what makes for the best Aussie car insurance.
We compiled some of those findings below to help give you a clearer picture of how car insurance was priced across Australia in 2019, plus look at some of the ways you can save.
Car insurance comparisons on Mozo - rates updated daily
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.
- 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
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.
- 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
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.
- 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
Stella are changing the tune on car insurance, offering car insurance made especially for women. Features include no claim reward, new car replacement, customise your policy and more. Enter your car rego and get a quick quote online.
- 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
Stella are changing the tune on car insurance, offering car insurance made especially for women. Features include no claim reward, new car replacement, customise your policy and more. Enter your car rego and get a quick quote online.
- 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
Comprehensive Car Insurance Policy
Bingle keeps car insurance simple - choose between Comprehensive and Third Party Car Insurance. Comprehensive covers you for accidental loss or damage to your own car caused by insured events such as accidents, theft, storms, fire.
- Monthly premiums
- Yes Costs Extra
- Choice of repairer
- No
- Choice of excess
- $650 - $2,200; Varies Between States
- Agreed or market value
- Market
Available discounts
Comprehensive Car Insurance Policy
Bingle keeps car insurance simple - choose between Comprehensive and Third Party Car Insurance. Comprehensive covers you for accidental loss or damage to your own car caused by insured events such as accidents, theft, storms, fire.
- New car if written off
- Optional Extra - within 3 years of original manufacture
- Rental car after theft
- Optional Extra - Unlimited days.
- Rental car after accident
- Not at fault - Optional Extra. At fault - Optional Extra. Unlimited days.
- Windscreen cover
- Optional - reduce windscreen excess to $0 on every windscreen claim for an additional premium.
- Modifications
- Automatically covered. Does not include aftermarket paint, turbochargers, nitrogen fuel or roll cages.
- Young driver excess imposed
- $600 for drivers under 25, $1,950 for unlisted drivers over 25.
- Roadside assistance
- No
- Other benefits
- -
- Other restrictions
- -
Read our Mozo Review to learn more about Bingle Comprehensive Car Insurance Policy
Key points
- In 2019 Aussies were paying an average of $1,131 a year for their car insurance.
- The difference between the most expensive and the cheapest insurance plan across Australia was $1,047 on average.
- Things like age, gender and where you live factor very heavily in how much you pay.
How much does car insurance cost in Australia?
If you’ve lived in a couple of different places across Australia, you’ll know the cost of car insurance varies depending on which state you live in. In the 2019 study, we found that those who live in Tasmania were paying the least on their premiums, dishing out an average of $846 each year. As for who was paying the most, that title went to Victorians, who were paying an average of $1,466 for theirs.
Average annual car insurance quote by state

There’s a world of difference between insurance plans out there, with an average of $1,047 separating the cheapest and most expensive plans in Australia. The difference was the least dramatic in Queensland, where it sat at $866, whereas those in the Northern Territory were looking at a difference of $1,742.
The most expensive vs the cheapest plan: what’s the difference?

What affects the cost of car insurance?
How much you‘ll pay for your car insurance will depend on a long list of factors, ranging from your age to the type of car you drive and whether you park it on the street or in a garage. Your car insurance provider will take all these details (and plenty more), estimate how much of a risk you pose, and set your premium accordingly.
How age affects your insurance quote
One of the things insurance companies take into account when pricing your premium is how long you’ve been driving. If you’ve been behind the wheel for years, that’s great. It means your provider will have plenty of information to draw from when deciding how much you’ll pay.
But if you’ve only just come off your Ps, there’s very little for them to go off. Because of this, providers will make assumptions based on the behaviour of your demographic. And since younger drivers are overrepresented in road accident statistics, insurance providers tend to view them as a liability. That translates to much higher costs.
But just how much more are younger drivers paying? Our analysis found that the average quote for drivers aged 20 and under in 2019 was a staggering $2,061. Things got much cheaper at age 21, and continued to drop with age before picking up a bit for those aged 70 and above.
Cost of comprehensive car insurance by age

Gender and the cost of car insurance
The cost of insurance also differed among men and women, with men paying an average of $135 more than women.

To understand why this is the case, we need to look at things through the eyes of an insurance company. Generally speaking, men are more likely to engage in risky behaviour than women, including speeding and driving while drunk. And more incidents on the road mean more insurance claims.
There are a few other factors at play too, like the fact that there are more male drivers than female drivers, and that men are more likely to drive models that cost more to insure. But when it comes down to it, it’s hard to ignore the unflattering picture of men painted by the statistics.
Vehicle age
Just replaced your old set of wheels with a brand new model? Brace yourself for a spike in your premium. That’s because when insurance providers decide how much you’ll pay each year, they take into account the age of your vehicle. Cars that are two years old or younger will set you back the most, whereas older cars that have depreciated in value won’t cost as much to insure.

Ways to save on your car insurance policy
Compare policies: This one goes without saying: when you’re looking for a car insurance policy, it pays to shop around. As mentioned above, the winners in the Mozo Experts Choice Car Insurance Awards are a good place to start, but if you’re looking to hone in further, make sure to visit our car insurance comparison page too.
Buy online: Many insurance companies offer discounts to customers who purchase their policies online, usually between 5% and 15%. So if your search has led you to a car insurance policy that ticks all the boxes, check if there are savings to be made by applying online.
Bundle your insurance policies: Another way to save is by taking advantage of a multi-policy discount. By bundling your car insurance with your home and contents insurance, you could be looking at savings between 5% and 15%.
Drive safely: Many car insurance companies offer no claims discounts to drivers that have a record of safe driving. The size of the discount tends to differ across states, but some will allow you to shave up to 70% off your insurance costs.
Opt for pay as you drive: A number of car insurance providers including Huddle, AAMI and Woolworths offer either a pay-as-you-drive or pay-per-km plan. With this type of policy you can pay less, for driving less. So if you're solely a weekend driver, this could be an option worth considering.
^See information about the Mozo Experts Choice Car Insurance Awards
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