Compare Car Insurance in New South Wales

There’s not much of a difference, to be honest! A Greenslip is just what they call CTP in New South Wales. It gives you coverage if you’re responsible for an accident where someone is injured or killed. It’s also illegal to drive or register your car in NSW without a Greenslip.

How you get a Greenslip in NSW is a little bit different than getting CTP in other states or territories. Instead of only having one, state-owned insurer to choose from, NSW drivers can get their Greenslip from a list of registered providers. You can also compare what’s on offer and purchase a Greenslip through the State Insurance Regulatory Authority’s Greenslip Price Check website.

Just like CTP insurance in other states, you can think of your Greenslip as your ‘bare minimum insurance’. If you’re involved in an accident, your Greenslip insurance plan can cover anyone injured or killed, including:

• yourself, plus any passengers in your car at the time 
• drivers or passengers in another vehicle 
• cyclists, pedestrians, motorcyclists, or anyone else on the road impacted by the accident

It’s important to keep in mind that if you’re at fault in an accident, your Greenslip will not cover medical expenses for yourself – at least to the full extent of the scheme. There’s an exception though: It covers fixed benefits for injuries up to 12 months or if you’re considered ‘catastrophically injured’ as defined by the Lifetime Care and Support Scheme.

Furthermore, Greenslip won’t cover for damage to your own or any other vehicle or property, nor if your own vehicle gets stolen. 

Yes, most car insurance policies will come with some kind of excess, and New South Wales is no exception.

For the uninitiated, a car insurance excess is the amount you’ll pay out-of-pocket when you make a claim. So, if you make a claim for $5,000 in car repairs and the excess on your policy is $1,000, you’ll need to put $1,000 towards the repair first before your insurer forks out the remaining $4,000

But wait – there’s a bright side! Some insurers will lower your car insurance premium if you select a higher excess. Even though it’s not an ideal arrangement for everybody, you’ll get to enjoy lower premiums if you’re willing to pay a bit extra come claim time.

When determining the cost of car insurance in NSW, several key factors come into play:

• Age: Younger drivers typically face higher premiums compared to older, more experienced drivers. 
• Location: Where you live can significantly impact your insurance costs. Urban areas with higher traffic density and crime rates often lead to higher premiums compared to regional areas. 
• Car: The make, model, and age of your car can affect the insurance cost. A Porsche would usually come with higher premiums due to their expensive repair costs than a Mitsubishi Lancer. 
• Claims history: If you have a history of making claims, insurers may view you as higher risk, resulting in increased premiums. A clean claims record can help keep your costs down. 
• Optional extras: Adding extras to your policy, such as roadside assistance, windscreen cover, or a rental car after an accident, can also increase your premium. However, these options can provide added peace of mind and protection.

New South Wales is home to some of Australia’s busiest roadways, and all that traffic means collisions happen daily. Let’s take a look at some roadway statistics in NSW:

• As of January 2024, there were over 4.6 million registered passenger vehicles on the road in NSW.¹Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts – Bureau of Infrastructure and Transport Research Economics Statistical Report Road Vehicles Australia as of January 2024, p5 There’s little doubt that people in the First State love their cars!
• Look out behind you – the most common type of collision in NSW is a rear-end, with over 1,670 rear-end collisions in 2022 alone.²Transport for NSW – Crashes by type and region (reporting year 2022)
• Most collisions happen in Metropolitan NSW with over 7,200 crashes in 2022. But that’s not to say there aren’t any crashes regionally. In fact, there are consistently more off-path, out of control and head-on collisions in Regional NSW compared to Metro areas.³As above
• From 2018-2022, the city of Canterbury-Bankstown saw the highest number of people injured from car crashes. Unfortunately, the Central Coast, Blacktown, Sydney, and Liverpool have also seen thousands of victims.⁴Transport for NSW – Crashes by type and region (5-year period 2019 to 2023)
• While the number of people injured on NSW roads has steadily decreased from 2013-2021, there was a slight increase in 2022, mainly due to the rise in both serious and minor/other injuries.⁵Transport for NSW – Crashes by type and region (Injury Trends)
• Fatalities increased from 2022 to 2023.⁶Transport for NSW – Crashes by type and region (Fatality Trends)

NSW is a bustling state with its many tourist attractions, sporting events, and busy city centres. With so much going on, it’s a good idea to get car insurance regardless of whether you have a squeaky clean driving history or not.

While the answer depends on the insurer, many could cover electric vehicles like the Kia EV6, BMW i4 and Tesla Model Y through a comprehensive car insurance. You can compare a range of policies across iSelect’s partners.

It’s also worth noting that NSW offers incentives for electric cars, like stamp duty exemptions for eligible vehicles and a $3,000 rebate for the first 25,000 vehicles.

With so many providers to choose from, you’ll quickly find out that not all insurance policies are the same. Whether you’re looking for a Greenslip or are shopping for more comprehensive coverage, we’ve put together these quick tips to help you get started:

• Don’t settle for a raw deal: It may be easier to just renew your existing policy when your policy expires, but that won’t always get you the best deal. Instead, compare your current policy with others to see how it stacks up. 
• Consider any discounts: Different insurers can offer different kinds of discounts. Some will provide a ‘no-claims’ bonus for every year you don’t make a claim where you’re at fault. Others will offer a discount on your premiums if you apply online. It’s all a matter of looking at different insurers and comparing their deals. 
• Read the fine print: Be sure to read your policy documents or PDS in full before committing to avoid any nasty surprises when you go to make a claim. For example, are you being charged a higher excess because your teenager is driving the car? Or are you allowed to choose your own repairer? 
• Tailor your policy: Some insurers will give you all kinds of options. They’ll let you restrict the age of the drivers on your policy and reduce your premium accordingly. Or they’ll cover the costs of windscreen repairs for a little bit extra. If you’re mindful of these options, you could build a policy that balances price and coverage in a way that you want. 
• Look for value: Cheapest isn’t always best when it comes to car insurance. It’s often a good idea to weigh up the level of cover you’re getting against how much you’re paying. One way to do this is by comparing comprehensive car insurance from iSelect’s range of policies and providers to see which one suits you.