The average car insurance premium rose to A$1,717 ($1,176), in Australia, an increase of 16% compared to 2023, according to Mozo, a Sydney-headquartered company providing financial comparison services.
This upswing aligns with findings by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), which indicate that insurance costs across various policies — encompassing all insurance types — spiked by 14% to 16% annually, depending on the quarter looked at. Higher reinsurance, an increasing occurrence of natural disasters, and higher claims costs all contributed to the rise.
Mozo’s findings are based analysis of 295,346 car insurance quotes from 33 providers, collected for the “Mozo Experts Choice Awards for Car Insurance 2024”.
The findings are published in the report, “Car Insurance Costs: Are You Paying Too Much?”, which covers the rising cost of car insurance, the factors behind high premiums, and how much Aussies could potentially save by switching to a better-value insurer. The data used in this report was collected as part of the award-judging process, and a nationally representative survey of 2,129 Australians aged 18 years and over, commissioned via Researchify.
Mozo asked 1,566 Australians with car insurance if their premiums had risen in the past 12 months, and 57% of drivers reported an increase. Just over 60% of those who experienced a rise had premiums rise by up to A$200, while 1 in 6 experienced jumps of A$200–A$300. Larger hikes were less common, with less than 5% facing increases of over A$900. One in 4 drivers saw no change in premium costs, while 1 in 6 reported that their car insurance premiums had decreased over the past year.
Comparing car insurance policies
Mozo's research shows that half of Aussie drivers with car insurance compare policies annually. However, a shocking 1 in 5 Aussies (19%) rarely compare, and 1 in 10 (11%) admitted they have never compared car insurance policies. Regularly reviewing and comparing policies can lead to significant savings and ensure you’re adequately protected if anything goes wrong. Plus, many insurers offer attractive discounts for first-year policies, making it a perfect opportunity to save even more.
Other findings include:
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Males always pay more than females on average, but the gap lessens from about 30% more earlier in life to about 10% more in later years.
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Tassie males pay a whopping 20% more than Tassie females — the largest gap of any state. The territory with the smallest gap is ACT at only 4%.
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Electric vehicles cost a whopping A$2,767 to insure, a massive 73% increase over the A$1,597 owners of petrol cars pay.