Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

[Dirty Habit]

Perhaps our friends in Australia can answer this.
Did I read somewhere that in Australia you get basic insurance when you register your car and you take out any extra cover with an insurance company. If so, it means that every driver has insurance and insurance companies had to be more competitive to get your business. Unlike the U.K. where you have to insure with companies who lets face it would seem to operate a cartel. You have to have it, so they all charge around the same.
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1964 International Harvester

[roverdriver]

G'day D.H., Each Aussie state will be a little different.

In Victoria there used to be a compulsory Third Party Insurance that had to be paid annually when registration was renewed. The C.T.P. was to cover any persons involved in an accident, other than those in your vehicle.

Back in time, one had to take out the insurance then offer proof of the policy with the registration renewal. A later system was that the insurance was a fixed premium and paid with the registration renewal, and the appropriate box ticked on the form to nominate the company that one wanted to insure with.

Over time, the number of companies willing to be nominated on the form dwindled so that eventually a government insurance scheme (Transport Accident Commission) took over, if memory serves that happened in the mid 1970's. That means that the registration renewal figure is part insurance and part registration fee. I don't have a current one at hand but as an example in 2006 the registration for a car was $168.60, the TAC premium was $318.00, then there was taxation on top of $31.80 making a total fee of $518.40.

If you want to insure yourself against the damage that you might inflict when your Mini strikes the Roller, then a low-cost Third Party and Property Damage policy can be obtained. In my opinion this is the minimum that anyone should carry, along with the compulsory policy. A TPPD policy will cost from about $130 to $180, depending on the company.

After that you can go whole hog and have fully Comprehensive insurance which will cover damage to your own vehicle as well as any other. Rates for this vary widely depending on the make and model of your car, your driving record and where you live (city being dearer than country) and of course the company that you insure with.

There is not much competition in the TPPD area, but in the fully comprehensive area it pays to shop around for the best deal. Just recently a company was advertising a policy based on how far one drives. I'm not sure how that would work, but it might catch on.

Hope that helps,
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Dane- roverdriver but not a Viking.

[Keith D]

Hey DH

In Western Australia, the car registration includes compulsory third party insurance, which means that people are covered but not the vehicles.

As in Victoria, we can take out further insurance, either "Extended third party" insurance which covers the "other" car and property, but not your own, or "Comprehensive" insurance which includes everything (hopefully!!!)

I have five "old" vehicles from a 1926 Chrysler to a 1971 VW Kombi. Three are on concessional (or Club) licence and two are on full, normal licence. I am insured with the popular, Australia wide insurance company called Shannons and I have one policy that covers all the cars comprehensively and cost me $553.83 for the current year. (about 277 pounds in your money) I pay it direct debit at $46.15 a month. (about 23 pounds)

Keith