If your vehicle is due for registration, make sure you compare CTP green slip prices first. You may be able to find a cheaper option than your current insurer offers. In fact, there are 10 ways you could make your CTP green slip cheaper.
What affects the price of my CTP green slip?
The price of your CTP green slip is based on you, your vehicle, and your driving history. The price your insurer charges is also affected by their appetite for risk, how much current claims are costing, and other insurance business conditions.
While you can’t influence the insurer’s conditions, you can influence some of the personal factors to get the cheaper option.
10 personal factors that affect green slip prices
Here are the top 10 personal factors that you may be able to change:
- Where you live
- Your age and driving experience
- Having P plates
- Vehicle type, age, make and model
- Other insurance on the vehicle
- How far you drive in a year and whether you commute
- Demerit points
- Serious traffic offences that lead to licence suspension or cancellation
- Any accidents and claims made
- Having a current greenslip.
See a detailed list of factors used to set prices.
We look at some of these factors so you can make your CTP greenslip cheaper next time.
1. Where you live
Where you live affects your green slip price. Your postcode is allocated to one of 5 geographic rating areas and some postcodes are split between 2 areas:
- Metro
- Outer metro
- Wollongong
- Newcastle/Central Coast
- Country.
If your postcode is split between two areas, then you have to state which suburb you live in.
What’s the cheaper option?
Country green slips are cheaper than Metro green slips because the risk of claims from serious injuries is higher in Metro areas. However, it’s not easy to change where you live unless it’s part of a broader lifestyle plan.
2. Your age and driving experience
Your age affects your green slip price because certain ages are shown to be higher risk. For example, insurers consider drivers under 27 to be higher risk and usually charge them more.
While young drivers under 26 are 14% of all licence holders, they make up nearly a fifth of all road deaths and 18% of serious injuries in NSW.
Insurers ask the age of the youngest driver of your vehicle. If you’re the only driver of the vehicle, you’re also the youngest driver (even if you’re not young).
What’s the cheaper option?
Growing older and having more experience is the cheaper option. But younger drivers can change other factors that affect their price and these will benefit them when they’re older.
3. Having P plates
Holding a full licence and experience driving counts towards a cheaper green slip. This is because drivers with more licensed years are less of a risk than drivers on P plates:
A new P1-plater is 33 times more likely to crash than a learner, but their risk of crashing halves 6 months after they get their P1.
What’s the cheaper option?
Once again, having more experience is the cheaper option. However, you can change other factors that affect your price and these will benefit you when you’re more experienced.
4. Vehicle type, age, make and model
The greenslips.com.au Calculator asks first what type of vehicle you drive – motor car, ute/light goods vehicle or motorcycle.
The age of your vehicle affects your green slip price. Research shows older vehicles are known to crash more often than newer ones. The average age of a vehicle in Australia is 11 years, which may be too old to meet today’s safety standards. Even vehicle variants for the same model can be priced differently for risk.
What’s the cheaper option?
Some vehicle types have cheaper green slips than others, for example, green slips for motor cars are usually cheaper than for utes. Try to choose a safer type or model when you update your vehicle.
5. Other insurance on the vehicle
Insurers ask whether you hold other motor insurance on the vehicle. This includes comprehensive and third party property insurance. Some people misunderstand motor insurance and ask why they need a green slip if they already have comprehensive insurance.
What’s the cheaper option?
Holding some form of motor insurance makes your green slip cheaper. You can buy motor insurance from any green slip insurer or other insurer to protect your vehicle or other people’s vehicles in an accident.
6. How far you drive in a year and whether you commute
If you spend more time on the road, such as tradies, you are higher risk than someone who mainly works at home. Commuting to work or study may also involve more risky peak hour travel.
What’s the cheaper option?
It’s cheaper to reduce your driving hours by, say, taking public transport or car pooling. A change of job or working at home may reduce your need to commute.
7. Demerit points
Did you know demerit points remain on your driving record for 3 years? In fact, the real cost of demerit points is more than you think because you could pay extra for your green slip for up to 3 years.
What’s the cheaper option?
Don’t incur demerit points. Improve your driving record from now by making sure you don’t get booked for any traffic offences and accrue demerit points.
8. Serious traffic offences that lead to licence suspension or cancellation
Drink and drug driving are the kinds of serious traffic offences that lead to licence suspension or cancellation. However, even exceeding the limit for demerit points leads to licence suspension.
What’s the cheaper option?
Don’t lose your licence. Once you get your licence back, make sure you drive safely and within the rules.
9. Any accidents and claims made
Have you made an at-fault motor insurance claim in the last 2-5 years? If so, insurers see this as a sign you could make a claim again.
What’s the cheaper option?
Drive safely and make sure you have no more accidents. If you do, consider not making a claim if the injury or damage is minor.
10. Having a current greenslip
If you let your registration lapse or buy an unregistered car, it costs more to start a new registration. You then need to buy a blue slip and a 12-month green slip.
What’s the cheaper option?
Having a current green slip is cheaper than letting it lapse. Renew your registration when it’s due. It’s a good idea to use our free greenslips.com.au Calculator first. You can compare the cheapest prices from all six greenslip insurers and choose the one that suits your pocket.
Also see What are the risk factors in my greenslip price?
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