Compare car insurance

The cost of insurance depends on the type of cover you hold (i.e. Third Party Property, Third Party Fire & Theft or Comprehensive), and how risky you are to insure, meaning premiums can vary.

When using our online comparison, we ask you to enter certain details to help you find products that may suit your needs and budget. Each of these questions can impact your premiums in some way, including:

• Your claims history
• Your address
• Where your car is parked (i.e. in a garage or on the street)
• Your driving history (and the driving history of other listed drivers).

‘Extras’ are inclusions or perks bundled into car insurance policies that are competing for your business. Otherwise known as ‘benefits’, some common extras you may find incorporated into your policy are:

• Hire car cover. Your insurer may provide you with a hire car when your vehicle is being repaired or replaced.
• Roadside assistance. Your insurer may waive roadside assistance membership fees upon taking out cover.
• Replacement keys. Your insurer may cover the cost to replace your keys if you were to misplace them.
• Windscreen cover. Your insurer may cover the cost of repairs or replacement, including cracks to your windscreen.
• Personal effects cover. Your insurer may cover the cost to replace your valuables in your car (up to a certain value).

Depending on your insurer, there are various extras available when taking out car cover. Like all insurance products, it’s important to understand the fine print when choosing extras, so that you fully understand what you’re covered for, and how adding extras may affect the cost of your premium.

You can potentially save on premiums by:

1. Paying for your premiums annually. As opposed to monthly or quarterly.
2. Increasing your basic excess. If you increase your excess, you can typically reduce the cost of your premiums. However, be aware that if you need to claim, you will be paying a greater amount in excess.
3. Place age exclusions. This means you can limit drivers to a certain age (i.e. drivers under 25 or 30). In theory, older drivers are generally more experienced, and therefore, less risky to insure.
4. Drive less. Some insurers will reduce your premium if you’re a low kilometer driver: typically under 15,000km each year.
5. Compare often. You might have been on a great value deal a few years ago, but have you reviewed your options lately? Perhaps something cheaper has come along that offers the same benefits, but you won’t know unless you shop around.

Always disclose as much information to your insurer as possible; if you decide to hide your claims history, for example, your cover could be cancelled or future claims could be denied.

Excess refers to the amount you’ll pay if you ever claim on your policy. This amount is agreed upon when you first take out cover. When you make a claim, you will pay this amount, and your insurer will pay the rest of your repair/replacement costs up to the agreed amount on your policy.

There are different types of car excess:

• Standard excess. Paid out of pocket when you make an at-fault claim.
• Voluntary excess. Paid in addition to your other excess charges, sometimes for cheaper monthly premiums.
• Age/inexperienced driver excess. A separate excess rate for less experienced and younger drivers. This type of excess can be more expensive than standard excess.
• Unlisted driver excess. If you have to make a claim on your policy, but the driver wasn’t covered by that policy, you may have to pay an additional excess (if you are even covered at all).

If you are not at-fault in an accident, you are generally not required to pay excess. The exception to this rule is when the at-fault party is not identified. This means if you’re involved in a hit-and-run, and the guilty party is not found or identified, you may be required to foot the cost of the excess.

For more information, visit excess explained.

Liability refers to the person who is legally responsible, or at-fault, in an accident. For example, you may be liable for third-party damage if you didn’t give way and collided with a vehicle that was already on a roundabout.

Compulsory Third Party (CTP or Green Slip cover) is the only form of car insurance that covers your legal liability if you’re at-fault in an accident where another person is injured or dies.

Classic car insurance is a broad term referring to a product that covers classic, vintage or prestige vehicles. It is broken down into a variety of specific types:

• Veteran. For car enthusiasts who own automobiles made between 1905 and 1919.
• Vintage. Covers cars made between 1919 and 1930.
• Prestige. For high-end European or UK-produced sports cars or ‘supercars’ associated with ‘status’ owners.
• American Classics.Covers the owners of US-made ‘muscle cars’ typically manufactured between the late 1970s – early 1980s.