Car insurance

Compulsory third party (CTP) car insurance, or a Green Slip in New South Wales, is a legal requirement for anyone who owns a registered vehicle. If you, or anyone driving your car causes an accident in which someone else is injured, it’ll cover certain costs of their compensation claim. It doesn’t cover damage to your car or to other people’s cars or property.

Other types of car insurance offer additional levels of protection. Comprehensive car insurance covers accidental loss or damage to your car if you have a collision, it’s stolen or damaged by fire or during a weather event, such hail or flood.

It also covers you for damage that your car causes to other peoples’ property. Comprehensive car insurance is not compulsory, but it does offer peace of mind that you won’t be left facing a major bill alone without insurance if things go wrong.

Find out more about what your legal obligations are as a car owner.

Car insurance is a way of protecting yourself against financial loss should something go wrong. Depending on what type of car insurance you have, it can help cover the costs of damage to your car in certain circumstances. For example, Compulsory Third Party (CTP) car insurance covers the reasonable and necessary medical cost of injuries to people if your vehicle is involved in an accident.

Comprehensive car insurance covers accidental loss or damage to your car if you have a collision, it’s stolen or damaged by fire or in a weather event such as hail or flood up to policy limits.

It also provides limited coverage for damage that your car causes to other peoples’ property.

What’s covered depends on the type of car insurance you choose.

Compulsory third party insurance, also known as a CTP or ‘Green Slip’, is mandatory in NSW, QLD, SA and ACT. Similar personal injury insurance is included in a motor vehicle’s registration bill in other parts of Australia. If you, or anyone driving your car causes an accident in which someone else is injured, CTP covers their medical costs and compensation they are entitled to. CTP doesn’t cover damage to your car or the responsibility of the driver of your car for damage caused to other people’s vehicles or property.

Third party car insurance offers an additional level of protection. It provides cover for damage caused by the use of your car to someone else’s vehicle or property. For an extra premium, it can also cover your car for fire and theft, for up to $10,000.

Comprehensive car insurance offers an additional level of protection. It’s our highest level of cover. It covers repairs to your car for damage caused by things like collision, fire, theft and weather events. It also covers damage the use of your car causes to someone else’s vehicle or property.

Choosing the right car insurance depends on your needs, and everyone’s needs are different. It’s important to understand the difference between comprehensive insurance and third party car insurance.

Comprehensive car insurance covers damage to your car and its driver for damage that the use of your car causes to other people's vehicles and property. For example, if your car accidentally runs into another car at the traffic lights.

Third party car insurance provides less cover. It doesn’t cover your car’s repairs if its driver causes an accident. It also doesn’t cover damage caused by things like weather events, fire or theft. It does cover the legal responsibility of the driver of your car if they cause damage to other people’s property, when driving your car.

QBE’s Third Party Property Damage Car insurance can also be upgraded to include an option to cover your car for fire, theft and attempted theft damage, for up to $10,000.

It’s worth considering the value of your car, and what risks you’d like it, and its drivers, to be covered for.

Find out more about our car insurance options and what’s covered under each in the table above.

The easiest way to compare car insurance and see how much it may cost you is to get a quote. Your premium is the cost of buying your policy. It’s the amount we set by taking into account things like the chance of you making a claim under your policy, the options you’ve chosen, the overall cost of claims we expect to pay and our expenses of doing business as well as other commercial factors.

For more information, read our Additional Information Guides.

An excess is the amount you need to pay towards a claim on an insurance policy. The higher the basic excess you choose, the lower your premium will be. Before you decide, find out more about how insurance excesses work.

Check the accident scene is safe. If anyone is injured or there is significant property damage, call the police immediately, and an ambulance if needed. Try to prevent any further damage to your car and keep it secure.

Ensure you collect the name, address, phone number, registration number and car insurance details of any other driver involved and the contact details of any witnesses.

Have this information at hand when you contact QBE’s Car Insurance Claims department to lodge your claim. You can call us 24 hours a day on 133 723 or lodge your claim online.

Head to our car insurance claims page to make a claim online or call us 24 hours a day on 133 723.

If your car’s windscreen, window glass or sunroof is damaged and we determine it can be repaired without needing to replace the glass, we’ll organise its repair and no policy excess will apply. We cover this type of repair as a standard feature under our Comprehensive Car insurance policy.

If you’ve chosen the “No Excess’ windscreen option with your QBE Comprehensive Car insurance policy, you won’t need to pay an excess if your claim is only for damage to your car’s windscreen, sunroof or window glass, and the item needs to be replaced.

If you need to make a claim for your car’s windscreen or other window glass, just head to our car insurance claims page to make a claim online, or call us on 24 hours a day on 133 723.

If you have a QBE Comprehensive Car insurance policy and your car’s written-off, we’ll pay its agreed value or market value, depending on which level of cover has been chosen. Or, if you bought the car from new and it’s less than 3 years old and has driven less than 60,000km, we’ll replace it with a brand new one.

Call the police immediately to make a report, then contact QBE’s on 133 723 (24/7) to lodge your claim. You can also claim online.

Find out more about what to do if your car is stolen.

To avoid your claim being delayed, reduced or refused, you must not admit fault or liability if you’re involved in an incident.

Contact QBE’s Car Insurance Claims department so we can anticipate contact from the other driver involved. We’ll handle all communication between them or their insurance company on your behalf. You can call us 24 hours a day on 133 723.

Agreed value is the amount you and QBE agree to insure your car for, for one period of insurance. The agreed value is shown on your Certificate of Insurance. If you choose to insure your car for market value, we’ll determine the market value of your car right before the claimed incident. We use recognised industry guides to do this, and consider things like its make, model, age, kilometres travelled, accessories and modifications fitted as well as its general condition. Your choice of agreed value or market value is reflected in your premium.

Yes, but only if the penalty results in your driver’s licence being suspended, cancelled or disqualified. You need to tell us as soon as this happens, so we can review your policy.

At insurance renewal time, you should also check your renewal document carefully and tell us of any changes to your car, how you use it and your driving history. If you are unsure about something to tell us, give us a call on 133 723 and we can quickly confirm for you.

Learner drivers who display L plates do not need to be listed on your QBE car insurance policy. They are covered under the policy’s terms, so long as they comply with their licence conditions and are supervised by a properly licensed driver.