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Certain states pay more for car insurance than others – report

Residents of Victoria are paying $162 more.


Victorian drivers are paying more for their car insurance than residents of every other state in Australia, a new survey of 2500 Australian motorists has found.

According to data from comparison company Mozo, the average annual car insurance premium for a Victorian customer is $1181 – roughly $162 more than the national average of $952.

The Northern Territory isn't far behind, with drivers there forking out an extra $214 on top of the national average, while New South Wales drivers are also paying more – an additional $162 above average to be precise.

It's not all bad news, however, with residents of certain states paying substantially less than the national car insurance average, according to Mozo.

That includes Tasmania, where premiums are $200 less than average, Queensland, where premiums are $141 less than average, and Western Australia, which undercuts the national average by $121.

Given the surplus they're paying on top of other states, it's perhaps unsurprising that 44 per cent of Victorian drivers reported feeling "financial strain" when paying for car insurance.

Separate data from Insurance Statistics Australia (ISA), however, found Victorians pay seven per cent less on average than their NSW counterparts – but tighter pandemic restrictions have seen car use drop more dramatically in Victoria in recent months.

Exacerbating the issue, Mozo says, is that 70 per cent of Victorian drivers admit they have not contacted their insurer for a discount or price review despite spending less time behind the wheel than ever.


The factors driving up car insurance premiums

So why the higher prices in some states and not others?

"It all comes down to risk factors like state-by-state accident rates, death rates, theft rates – [those higher premiums] could just be reflecting more accidents on deserted rural roads with local wildlife or higher levels of crime," Kirsty Lamont, Director at Mozo, explains.

This more or less lines up with road toll data for 2020, except in the case of the Northern Territory. Year to date, NSW has recorded 205 road fatalities, Victoria has recorded 152, while the Northern Territory has recorded 20.

NSW is also the state with the highest proportion of animal-related accidents according to recent AAMI data, closely followed by Victoria.

Queensland, meanwhile, appears to be an insurance anomaly, with the second highest road toll by state (166 deaths so far this year) plus the third highest rate of animal-related accidents and yet residents pay $141 less than the national average.

A state's extreme weather record also comes into play, Ms Lamont says.

"Higher storm risk, cyclones, floods, all of these things are factors," Ms Lamont explains, adding that whether or not you park on the street can also expose you to hailstorms, pushing your premium up further.

"The cost of your car insurance premium is driven by a surprisingly large range of factors including age, gender, personal driving record, your postcode, even your car itself – its make, its model, its age, even its colour," Ms Lamont says.

Drive

Mozo found black cars command the highest premium, while green cars get the most substantial discount.

The annual report also found gender and age can impact the price of the premium you pay – with women and people aged 60-69 seeing the most discounted rates.

Generally speaking, Mozo found men were quoted $89 more than women for their annual premiums because they are regarded as statistically riskier drivers.

Similarly, those aged 21 and under paid $1608 for their annual premium – a hike of $656 on top of the national average – compared with 60-69-year-olds, who typically pay the least at around $708 a year.

Susannah Guthrie

Susannah Guthrie has been a journalist for over a decade, covering everything from world news to fashion, entertainment, health and now cars. Having previously worked across titles like The New Daily, Elle, Harper's Bazaar, People Magazine and Cosmopolitan, Susannah now relishes testing family cars with the help of her husband and two-year-old son.

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