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South Australia, like the rest of the country, has four main types of Car Insurance. Which cover you choose will depend on your needs and budget. The below table provides a quick snapshot of the key differences.
Car Insurance type |
Damage to your car |
Damage to another person’s car or property |
Damage or loss caused by theft |
Injuries or death to others in an accident |
CTP |
No |
No |
No |
Yes |
Third Party property |
No |
Yes |
No |
No (but covered by CTP) |
Third Party Fire and Theft |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
No (but covered by CTP) |
Comprehensive |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
No (but covered by CTP) |
CTP is mandatory insurance for every driver in Australia and in SA it’s paid at the same time as your car registration. CTP insurance is designed to protect you against the liability of causing injury or death to another road user, whilst also providing support to those who’ve been injured in a road accident1.
If you have an at-fault accident, let’s say you rear-ended your neighbour’s new Ferrari, Third Party Property insurance could help cover the damage to your neighbour’s new Ferrari. Sadly, it doesn’t cover the damage to your own car or property. So if you take out this type of insurance, you’ll have to pay for your repairs out-of-pocket.
Third Party Fire and Theft insurance covers third party property damage like in TPP, but on top of that, it also helps cover damage to your car caused by fire or theft. However it’s important to remember, this cover still doesn’t cover damage caused to your car in an at-fault accident.
The top cover available in SA is Comprehensive Car Insurance. Whether an accident is your fault or not, a Comprehensive policy will help cover damage to other people’s property and vehicles, as well as your own. Depending on your provider and the policy you choose, it might also cover other events like hail or storm damage. On top of this, you can often add on additional options which could include things like personal effects cover and roadside assistance.
With CTP being compulsory in South Australia, you might think it’s the only cover you’ll ever need. And true, it’s the only type of car insurance that’s a legal requirement, but it still might be worth considering other levels of insurance.
For an illustration, let’s look at the following example:
Peter’s Porsche ProblemPeter’s normally a pretty good driver. He also loves classic rock. There’s just something about those big, crunchy riffs that he can’t resist. Luckily nobody is hurt, but Peter panics for a moment. 'What insurance do I have again?' he wonders. If it's only CTP, then Peter’s going to need to pay the repairs for this ludicrously expensive car out of pocket. If Peter thinks he’s getting out of this cheaply, then in the immortal words of Judas Priest, he’s got another thing comin’. So, Peter whips out his phone and checks his Certificate of Insurance. 'Oh!' he realises, 'it's actually Third-Party Property Insurance.' Lucky for Peter, this policy covers damage to another person's car, so all he needs to do is exchange insurance information and make a claim. Now he only needs to pay for the repair costs to his own car. Phew—crisis averted! |
As we can see, Third Party Car Insurance might just save you a world of trouble if you get into a car accident. And Comprehensive Car Insurance can go even further, covering some of the repair costs if your own car is damaged.
To answer this question, use our interactive chart below to check out the average cost of comprehensive Car Insurance premiums for iSelect customers across Australia to see how South Australia compares.
It's a sad fact to state, but a lot of people still lose their lives on South Australian Roads. While it isn't the most dangerous state in Australia, it's far from the safest, as of 2021, there were 5.6 fatal car crashes for every 100,000 people in South Australia.2
Fortunately, South Australia does much better when it comes to thefts. There were about 2,802 car thefts in South Australia from 2020-2021—only 1.84 car thefts for every 1,000 vehicles registered. That’s the lowest rate of car theft in the country3 during that time period.
You might not expect it, but the most common cars that were stolen in South Australia weren’t high-end European models. Instead, it was more run-of-the-mill models like the Holden Commodore, Holden Captiva, Ford Falcon and Toyota Hilux4.
When choosing Comprehensive Car Insurance in South Australia, it’s a good idea to look at a few different policy features.
Depending on the insurer, some of them might be automatically included with the policy. Others will be optional extras that can add to your policy at an extra cost. What’s on offer will usually range from policy to policy, but it will typically include some of the following:
Like any savvy customer, you'll want to get a great policy at the lowest possible price. The following options can try and help you on this front—especially when it comes to reducing your premiums. But just make sure that they work with your budget and what you need out of Car Insurance, too!
Finally, it’s important to note that a cheaper policy isn’t always better. You’ll want to check the policy’s Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) to ensure you’re getting the cover you need as well as a good price. You don’t want to make a claim only to be told the policy doesn’t actually cover you!
Now that you've got a good idea of what Car Insurance involves, it's time to start comparing the different policies on offer*. Give us a call on 13 19 20 or simply use our online service to compare from our range of providers.
Sources:
1 CTP Insurance Regulator - About CTP Insurance
2 Australian Government | Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications - Bureau of Infrastructure and Transport Research Economics | Road Trauma Australia 2021 Statistical Summary (Page 30)
3 National Motor Vehicle Theft Reduction Council - Dashboard | 1.1 AUS - Motor vehicle theft summary, 2019/20 to 2020/21
4 As above. - Dashboard | 3.3 SA - Top motor vehicle theft targets, 2020/21