How much does car insurance cost? There’s no single answer in Australia, because premiums depend on the driver, the vehicle, where it’s kept, the type of cover and the insurer. Canstar’s published research puts the 2025 average comprehensive premium at $2,226 a year, but individual quotes can sit well above or below that. You can get a rough starting point with our car insurance calculator, which gives an indicative estimate rather than a formal insurer quote.
How Much Does Car Insurance Cost in Australia? What the Research Shows
The most useful recent figures come from Canstar, which analyses comprehensive policies rated in its Car Insurance Star Ratings. Its figures draw on quotes for new and used cars across a range of scenarios, with a target excess of $800 to $1,000. They describe comprehensive cover only and reflect 2025 pricing, not a 2026 quote.
| State or territory | Average comprehensive premium (2025) |
|---|---|
| New South Wales | $2,570 |
| Northern Territory | $2,283 |
| Queensland | $2,010 |
| South Australia | $1,970 |
| Tasmania | $1,785 |
| Victoria | $2,940 |
| Western Australia | $2,032 |
| Overall average | $2,226 |
Source: Canstar, “How much does car insurance cost?” (page published 10 April 2026; table data dated 27 May 2025). Averages across Canstar’s sample scenarios, not a quote for any individual. Canstar’s table does not include the ACT.
Age changes the picture considerably. In the same research, male drivers under 25 averaged $3,020 a year and female drivers under 25 averaged $2,706. Drivers aged 30 to 49 averaged $1,607, and those 50 and over averaged $1,260.
We haven’t found current, comparable national averages for third-party fire and theft or third-party property damage, so we haven’t put numbers on them. They cover fewer risks and generally cost less than comprehensive, but the cheapest option isn’t automatically the right one.
Prices have also been climbing. ASIC reported in August 2026 that motor vehicle insurance premiums rose 8% in the 12 months to July 2025, after growth of more than 42% between 2019 and 2024 (figures ASIC attributes to CHOICE and the Insurance Council of Australia).
What Affects the Cost of Car Insurance?
Insurers ask questions to judge risk, then price accordingly. Common factors include:
- Driver age and experience. Younger, less experienced drivers usually pay more.
- Vehicle make, model, age and value. Costly or hard-to-source parts raise repair bills, and that flows into premiums.
- Postcode and where the car is kept. Theft, crime and weather risk vary by area, and a locked garage may help.
- Driving and claims history. Some insurers look back several years; Budget Direct asks about the past five.
- Cover type and options. More protection and optional extras generally cost more.
- Excess. A higher excess often lowers the premium but raises your out-of-pocket cost at claim time.
- Kilometres and use. Annual distance and business use can change pricing.
- Security, modifications and repair costs. Modifications can increase what a claim costs the insurer.
No two insurers weigh these factors identically, which is why the same driver can receive very different quotes.
How Much Does Insurance Cost for a Car? Comparing Cover Types
Price tracks protection, so it helps to know what each level covers. Always confirm the details in the Product Disclosure Statement (PDS), because inclusions and exclusions differ between policies.
Comprehensive Car Insurance
Comprehensive cover generally pays for damage to your own car and to other people’s cars or property, even when you caused the accident. It usually also responds to theft, fire and some weather events. Exclusions apply, and you may be able to choose between agreed value and market value.
Third-Party Fire and Theft
This adds cover for your own car if it’s stolen or damaged by fire to the liability cover that third-party property damage provides. It generally doesn’t pay for accident damage to your own vehicle.
Third-Party Property Damage
This generally covers damage your car causes to other people’s vehicles and property, but not to your own car. Compulsory Third Party (CTP) insurance is separate: it covers injury to people, and you need it to register your car, though arrangements differ by state.
As an illustration only, if you cause a collision that damages a late-model car, third-party property damage may help with the other driver’s repair bill but won’t repair yours. Moneysmart’s guide to choosing car insurance works through these trade-offs.
How to Estimate Your Car Insurance Costs
Our online car insurance cost calculator estimates three things: your car’s market value, an indicative premium range and a possible claim payout. It doesn’t retrieve live insurer quotes, so treat the result as a starting point. The page states that your answers stay in your browser.
- Open the calculator.
- Enter your vehicle’s year, price when new, odometer reading and condition.
- Choose the cover type, your excess, and whether to insure on market or agreed value.
- Select Calculate and review the premium range and payout estimate.
- Compare it with real quotes for equivalent cover, and read each PDS before deciding.
Only an insurer can confirm your actual premium after assessing your details.
How to Reduce Car Insurance Costs Without Sacrificing Essential Cover
- Compare like for like. Match cover type, excess and value basis, or the comparison is misleading.
- Ask about paying annually. ASIC found a 10–20% difference between paying by instalments and annually with many insurers.
- Contact your insurer at renewal. In ASIC’s research, 31% of consumers who contacted their insurer got a lower premium without changing their cover. That’s no guarantee for you.
- Choose an excess you can afford. A higher excess can cut the premium, but make sure you could pay it tomorrow.
- Check the insured value. Moneysmart warns that an agreed value can fall each year, so review it at renewal.
- Keep details accurate. Annual kilometres, drivers and claims history all feed into pricing, and errors can complicate a claim.
- Ask about discounts directly. Eligibility and amounts differ by insurer.
Cutting cover to save money has a real cost. A cheaper policy that excludes accident damage to your car leaves you to fund repairs or replacement yourself.
Why Car Insurance Quotes Differ Between Insurers
Insurers use their own underwriting rules, repair-cost assumptions, policy features and pricing models. Two quotes for the same car may differ because of the excess, the value basis, included extras or how each insurer rates your postcode.
Compare equivalent cover rather than headline premiums. ASIC’s 2026 review found that none of the insurers it examined explained in quote and renewal documents how premiums were calculated, so ask questions when numbers don’t make sense.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions About Car Insurance Costs
It depends on your circumstances. In a Canstar sample of 34-year-old NSW drivers (March 2026), comprehensive cover averaged about $149 a month for women and $157 for men. That is one profile, not a national figure. Monthly payments can also total more than paying annually.
Common causes are a young driver, a high-value or costly-to-repair car, a high-risk postcode or recent claims. Canstar also points to inflation and extreme weather costs. Ask your insurer to explain your renewal.
Generally, yes, because it covers less. Third-party property damage doesn’t cover your own car, so weigh the saving against what you could afford to repair or replace.
Generally, yes. Canstar’s 2025 averages were $3,020 for males under 25 and $2,706 for females under 25, against $1,260 for drivers 50 and over.
It can give a useful estimate if your inputs are accurate, but it isn’t a quote. Insurers apply their own rules, so confirm with real quotes.
Market value is what your car would have sold for at the time of loss, as the insurer assesses it. Agreed value is set with the insurer and often costs more. Check how it changes at renewal.
Your premium reflects who drives, what you drive, where it’s kept, how much cover you choose and which insurer you ask. Compare policy terms, not just prices. When you’re ready for a starting figure, try our car insurance calculator, then get quotes to confirm.
This article provides general information only and is not personal financial advice or an insurance recommendation. Insurance premiums, policy terms, eligibility, exclusions and benefits vary by insurer and individual circumstances. Check the relevant Product Disclosure Statement and obtain a current quote before purchasing cover.
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[…] helps if you could cover the gap yourself after a loss. For typical price drivers, see our guide to how much car insurance costs, or use our car insurance calculator to estimate a car’s market value and an indicative premium […]