December 9, 2010
With the vast number of car insurance providers in the market fighting for your business each year, how does this affect how much we pay for comprehensive car insurance?
According to RateCity’s half-yearly national car insurance study, there is a big difference. Using the same driver profile of a 31-year-old single male driving a 2005 Toyota Corolla, with the highest level no-claim bonus, RateCity compared quotes from 26 car insurance providers for four different addresses within six capital cities and compared each city.
Brisbane cheapest overall
The study found that Sydneysiders pay the most, at an average of $1135 while Brisbane pays the least and nearly half of that of Sydney, at an average of $654. Melbourne is not far behind Sydney with an average of $948. Overall, the national average is $801 per year.
There was also a significant difference between the highest and lowest quotes for each city. For instance, Melbourne showed a massive average difference of $975, with Sydney not far behind at $928. Brisbane showed the smallest difference with an average of $549.
But the good news is that if you don’t live in Brisbane you can still save on your car insurance premium.
How to save on your car insurance
Damian Smith, RateCity’s CEO, says the best way to save on comprehensive car insurance is to compare deals at financial comparison sites such as RateCity.
“Our car insurance study shows that smaller providers such as Virgin Money, Budget Direct, Bingle and Youi all offer substantially lower premiums – as much as 50 percent lower than some of the traditional players – across all of the cities we surveyed,” Smith says.
“These newer players – along with others like Australia Post, Progressive, and Real – are finally putting some competitive pressure on what has traditionally been a market dominated by too few companies,” he says.
This year alone Coles and Kmart are just two big names to join the car insurance league, increasing competition and the range between prices even further. For customers the main benefit of this is more choice and ultimately the difference between paying too much and saving a lot of money.
“There are more companies aimed at the budget end of the spectrum that can really save you hundreds of dollars each year. Just because they are smaller and lesser-known than some of the larger companies, they are well worth investigating,” Smith says.
No matter where you live in Australia, if you are in the market for car insurance, compare car insurance quotes online to see how much you can save yourself. Be sure to read to the product disclosure statement (PDS) to see what is included in your policy and what you are not covered for.
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Disclaimer
This article is over two years old, last updated on December 8, 2010. While RateCity makes best efforts to update every important article regularly, the information in this piece may not be as relevant as it once was. Alternatively, please consider checking recent car insurance articles.
