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Compare Car Insurance in New South Wales
Written by
Kervin Mathew
Edited by
Ellie Garran
Reviewed by
Adrian BennettWe compare many well-known car insurers
iSelect does not compare all providers in the market or all policies offered by our partners in your area. Not all policies or special offers are available to all customers. Learn more.
How does car insurance work in NSW?
NSW is a bustling state with its many tourist attractions, sporting events, and busy city centres. With so much going on, it’s a good idea to get car insurance, whether you have a squeaky-clean driving history or not.
While NSW has its own take on compulsory third-party (CTP) insurance in the form of the Green Slip, standard car insurance policies operate in the same way as the rest of Australia, with three types of car insurance offering different levels of cover. So, if you’re scouting for car insurance, read on!
What’s driving like in NSW?
Grab a bucket of popcorn, have a seat, and ask anyone who’s had to keep their wits on the M4 during rush hour – enough said! It’s not all doom and gloom, though – taking a cruise on the Grand Pacific Drive or legendary Mount Panorama at Bathurst can be a feast for the senses and soup for the soul.
Looking for some hard facts? NSW roads host nearly 30% of Australia’s 15.7 million passenger vehicles.1Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts – Road Vehicles Australia, January 2024, p5 Combine that with a dense population and you have a pretty high chance of getting into a prang. That’s why a solid car insurance policy can be an all-important factor if you want to protect yourself from an unexpected financial setback.
Car insurance in NSW explained
Whether you live and drive in Sydney or call a regional city like Wagga Wagga your home, it’s worth considering what level of car insurance you need for protection and peace of mind.
What kinds of car insurance are available in NSW?
Comprehensive car insurance
Comprehensive insurance is one of the highest levels of car insurance you can get in NSW (and in Australia). It includes cover for your own vehicle for accidents, damage, fire, theft, and damage to other people’s cars or property.
Third-party property
Third-party property insurance can cover damage to other people’s cars or property caused by you in an accident.
Third-party property, fire, and theft
Third-party property, fire, and theft insurance helps provide cover for the loss or damage to your car if it’s stolen or catches on fire, as well as your liability for damage caused by your car to another person’s property.
Green Slip or CTP insurance
As in most states, NSW drivers need a compulsory third-party (CTP) insurance policy before they can register a vehicle. In NSW, CTP insurance is known as a Green Slip. It can protect you from being financially liable if you injure yourself or someone else while driving.
What do the different types of car insurance cover in NSW?
| Car insurance type | Damage to your car | Damage to another person’s car or property | Damage or loss caused by theft or fire | 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 property, fire, and theft | No | Yes | Yes | No (but covered by CTP) |
| Comprehensive | Yes | Yes | Yes | No (but covered by CTP) |
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Get acquainted
Tell us about your car and what you’re looking for, and we’ll get to work.
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Helpful tip
In New South Wales, every driver needs a Green Slip to register their vehicle. But just because additional cover isn’t mandatory it doesn’t mean it isn’t worth considering. A comprehensive policy could provide peace of mind from knowing that in the event of an accident, both third-party damage costs and any damage to your vehicle could be covered. If you’re not too fussed about having to foot the repair bill for your own car, a third-party property or third-party property, fire, and theft policy can provide cover if you damage someone else’s vehicle in an accident.
Paul Maric
Managing Editor and co-founder of CarExpert
How much does car insurance cost in NSW?
Car insurance costs in NSW can depend on several factors, including the level of cover and the car you drive. Two of the more straightforward and definitive factors can be your age and gender. Here’s how much iSelect customers in NSW paid on average for comprehensive car insurance.
Average comprehensive car insurance premiums in NSW, 2024–25
| Age | Female | Male |
| 18–24 | $1,490 | $1,536 |
| 25–29 | $1,289 | $1,331 |
| 30–44 | $1,212 | $1,211 |
| 45+ | $953 | $963 |
Source: Based on iSelect car insurance sales, July 2024 – June 2025
What will affect the cost of my car insurance in NSW?
When determining the cost of car insurance in NSW, several key factors come into play:
Age
Younger drivers typically face higher premiums compared to older, more experienced drivers.
Location
Where you live can significantly impact your insurance costs. Urban areas with higher traffic density and crime rates often have higher premiums compared to regional areas.
Car
The make, model, and age of your car can affect the insurance cost. A Porsche would usually come with higher premiums than a Mitsubishi Lancer, due to their expensive repair costs.
Claims history
If you have a history of making claims, insurers may view you as higher risk, resulting in increased premiums. A clean claims record or claiming only if you need to can help keep your costs down.
Optional extras
Adding extras to your policy, such as windscreen cover or a rental car after an accident, can increase your premium. However, these options can provide added peace of mind and protection.
How can I get cheaper car insurance in NSW?
Tweaking a few things here and there with your policy and your car can help reduce your premium.
Increase your excess
Typically, opting for a higher excess often means paying a lower premium. Just be sure you’ll be able to pay the excess if you need to claim.
Pay your premium annually
Monthly premium payments (though more manageable) tend to be more expensive than if you pay your premium as a lump sum once a year.
Get a pay as you drive policy
If you don’t drive too much and you can stay within a kilometre limit specified by the insurer, this is a great way to lower premiums and not compromise on coverage.
Set driver age restrictions
Restricting your car to older and more experienced drivers helps reduce the risk your insurer’s taking to insure your car. So, it can help lower your car insurance costs.
Park your car securely
A locked garage or carport is a safer parking spot for your car than on the street, where it’s more susceptible to risks like moving traffic or an easy target for thieves.
Install anti-theft features
Fitting your car with alarms, immobilisers, or GPS trackers helps lower the chances of it being stolen and might also reduce your premium.
How do I choose an insurance provider in NSW?
With so many providers to choose from, you’ll quickly find out that not all insurance policies are the same. Whether you’re looking for a Green Slip or you’re shopping for more comprehensive coverage, we’ve put together these quick tips to help you get started:
Don’t settle for a raw deal
It may be easier to just renew your existing policy when your policy expires, but that won’t always get you the best deal. Instead, compare your current policy with others to see how it stacks up.
Read the policy documents
Be sure to read your product disclosure statement (PDS), paying special attention to the exclusions, before committing to avoid any nasty surprises when you go to make a claim. For example, you typically won’t be covered if an unlicenced driver was behind the wheel at the time of an accident.
Tailor your policy
Some insurers will give you all kinds of options. They’ll let you restrict the age of the drivers on your policy and reduce your premium accordingly. Or they’ll cover the costs of windscreen repairs for a little bit extra. If you’re mindful of these options, you could build a policy that balances price and coverage in a way that you want.
Look for value
Cheapest isn’t always best when it comes to car insurance. It’s often a good idea to weigh up the level of cover you’re getting against how much you’re paying. One way to do this is by comparing car insurance from iSelect’s range of policies and providers to see which one suits you.
Frequently asked questions
Which companies offer car insurance in NSW?
NSW officially has more than 4.6 million registered passenger vehicles (as of 31 January 2024) – the highest across Australia.2Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts – Road Vehicles Australia, January 2024, p5 With that many tyres on the tarmac, it’s a good thing that motorists have a decent number of insurers to choose from.
Some insurers that iSelect can help you compare include:
Other car insurers in the market include:
- AAMI
- Allianz
- ANZ
- Bingle
- Bupa
- CGU
- GIO
- NRMA
- QBE
- Real Insurance
- Shannons
- Suncorp Insurance
- Toyota Insurance
- Virgin Money
- Westpac
- Youi.
Note: iSelect does not compare all car insurance providers in the market, or all products offered by our partners in your area.
What’s the difference between a Green Slip and compulsory third-party (CTP) insurance?
There’s not much of a difference, to be honest! A Green Slip is just what they call CTP insurance in New South Wales. It gives you coverage if you’re responsible for an accident where someone is injured or killed. It’s illegal to drive or register your car in NSW without a Green Slip.
Where can I get Green Slip insurance?
How you get a Green Slip in NSW is a little bit different from getting CTP in some other states or territories. Instead of only having one state-owned insurer to go with (as in Victoria or the Northern Territory), NSW drivers can get their Green Slip from a list of registered providers. You can also compare what’s on offer and purchase a Green Slip through the State Insurance Regulatory Authority’s Green Slip Price Check website.
What does my Green Slip cover me for?
Just like CTP insurance in other states, you can think of your Green Slip as your ‘bare minimum insurance’. If you’re involved in an accident, your Green Slip insurance policy can cover anyone injured or killed, including:
- You (to some extent), plus any passengers in your car at the time
- drivers or passengers in another vehicle
- cyclists, pedestrians, motorcyclists, or anyone else on the road impacted by the accident.
What does my Green Slip not cover?
It’s important to keep in mind that if you’re at fault in an accident, your Green Slip will not cover your medical expenses – at least to the full extent of the scheme. There’s an exception though: it covers fixed benefits for injuries up to 12 months or if you’re considered ‘catastrophically injured’ as defined by the Lifetime Care and Support Scheme.
Furthermore, Green Slip won’t cover damage to your own or any other vehicle or property, nor if your own vehicle gets stolen.
Do I have to pay an excess in NSW?
Yes, most car insurance policies come with some kind of excess, and the ones you buy in New South Wales are no exception.
For the uninitiated, a car insurance excess is the amount you’ll pay out of pocket when you make a claim. So, if you make a claim for $5,000 in car repairs and the excess on your policy is $1,000, you’ll need to put $1,000 towards the repair first before your insurer covers the remaining $4,000.
But wait – there’s a bright side! Some insurers will lower your car insurance premium if you select a higher excess. Even though it’s not an ideal arrangement for everybody, you’ll get to enjoy lower premiums if you’re willing to pay a bit extra come claim time.
Are there many car crashes in NSW?
New South Wales is home to some of Australia’s busiest roadways, and all that traffic means collisions happen daily. Let’s take a look at some roadway statistics in NSW.
Look out behind you – the most common type of collision in NSW is a rear-end, with almost 2,500 rear-end collisions in 2024 alone.3Transport for NSW – Crashes by type and region
Most collisions happen in metropolitan NSW – 8,019 crashes in 2024. But that’s not to say there aren’t any crashes regionally. In fact, there are consistently more off-path, out of control, and head-on collisions in Regional NSW than in Metro areas.4Transport for NSW – Crashes by type and region
From 2020 to 2024, Canterbury-Bankstown saw the highest number of people injured in car crashes. Unfortunately, the Central Coast, Blacktown, Sydney, and Liverpool also saw thousands of victims.5Transport for NSW – Crashes by type and region
While the total number of people injured on NSW roads has decreased between 2015 and 2024, there’s been an increase in seriously injured people since 2021. Fatalities also increased between 2021 and 2024.6Transport for NSW – Crashes by type and region
Can I get an electric vehicle covered by car insurance in NSW?
While the answer depends on the insurer, many could cover electric vehicles like the Kia EV6, BMW i4 and Tesla Model Y through comprehensive car insurance. You can use our comparison tool to compare a range of policies across our partners.
It’s also worth noting that NSW offers incentives for eligible electric cars purchased or secured by deposit before 1 January 2024. The incentives can include a stamp duty exemption and a $3,000 cash rebate.
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