What’s the difference between comprehensive and CTP insurance?

It’s easy to confuse CTP insurance with comprehensive insurance but they are completely different. CTP is for people only and does not cover damage to any vehicles, yours or someone else’s. Comprehensive covers damage to your vehicle and others’ vehicles and property, but does not cover people.

All greenslip insurers also provide comprehensive and third party property insurance. Third party property covers someone else’s property but not yours. Other insurers who do not offer CTP or green slip insurance may offer third party property insurance. We explore the difference between comprehensive and CTP and what factors affect the pricing of premiums.

Your state and location

Comprehensive

The state you live in affects comprehensive insurance prices, because insurance premiums vary across Australia. Some of the factors that affect pricing are different driving conditions, rates of theft, types of vehicle driven, and animal accidents.

Source: Mozo

CTP

CTP varies from state to state as well but it varies within the states too. In NSW, there are five rating regions: Metropolitan, Outer Metropolitan, Newcastle and Central Coast, Wollongong, and Country. A few postcodes are split between two.

• A 30-54 year old in NSW, for example, with an average 10-year old car could pay $435 in Metropolitan, $285 in Newcastle or Central Coast and $331 in Country
• A Queenslander with a regular car pays $352, no matter where they live.

That’s why the greenslips.com.au Calculator always asks for your postcode, so we give you the accurate price for your geographical zone.

Gender

Comprehensive

Women tend to get cheaper car insurance because their driving is considered not as risky and they don’t have as many accidents as men. Men make up two thirds of serious injuries and 80% of deaths were men.  This is why women tend to pay around $89 less for comprehensive car insurance.

Two insurers concentrate on women-only insurance – 1st for Women Insurance and Stella Car Insurance. While their prices are average, the types of cover they offer different. For example, cover is higher for baby gear and personal effects and domestic cover is for when a current or former partner damages the car.

CTP

Gender of the youngest driver is one of the factors that may be considered when setting premiums. However, insurers generally focus more on the age and experience of the youngest driver rather than their gender.

The greenslips.com.au Calculator always asks for the gender of the youngest driver.

Colour of vehicle

Comprehensive

Who would have thought the colour of your car could make a difference? Some insurers are not concerned about it, but others are.

For example, RateCity found white cars were the cheapest and black cars the most expensive to insure. The problem with black cars is they are more likely to be stolen and they are less easily seen at dusk and dawn or poor weather conditions. Mozo says green cars are cheapest, costing $178 less to insure than a black one.

CTP

CTP insurers don’t consider vehicle colour so greenslips.com.au Calculator doesn’t ask for the colour of your car.

Vehicle age

Comprehensive

Cars that are two years old or younger cost the most, but older cars have depreciated in value so premiums are lower. The average comprehensive insurance premium for a 10-year old car, the Australian average, is $1,156 a year.


CTP

Vehicle age does make a difference to premiums. This is because older cars are more likely to be involved in accidents and less likely to have safety technology. A vehicle owner 30-54 could pay slightly more for a car manufactured before 2007, but a young person 23-26 could pay more than $100 extra for an old car than a recent model. This is because driver age matters too.

The greenslips.com.au Calculator asks for Year of Manufacture of your vehicle as well as age of the driver, so your CTP insurance quotes accurately reflect all factors that affect your green slip price.

Driver Age

Comprehensive

Many insurers increase premium and excess for young drivers (commonly set at 21 or 25 years old) or for lack of experience. In 2020, drivers under 21 paid $1,600 in car insurance, compared to the national average of $952. The lowest premium of $708 was for drivers aged 60-69. So there is some compensation for aging!

CTP

Premiums vary considerably for the ages of the vehicle owner and the youngest driver. Insurers set different premiums for each age group. For example, a driver under 23 may pay $730, which is over $300 more than a 55-79 year old driver pays. This is because more experienced drivers are less likely to have accidents.

Insurers want to know about the youngest driver because they are overrepresented in accidents, particularly when they first get P plates. However, the youngest driver may not always be young. For example, a 55-year old vehicle owner may have a 50-year old partner who also drives the vehicle.

Most insurers and our greenslips.com.au Calculator ask for ages of the vehicle owner and youngest driver.

Pay as you drive insurance

Comprehensive

Pay as you drive insurance, also known as dynamic pricing or usage-based insurance, is relatively new. It may work for car owners who drive occasionally, such as retirees or public transport commuters, or who use their vehicles only at weekends. Vehicle owners agree to drive less than a certain number of kilometres in a set period, say, 15,000-20,000 km a year. Odometer reading is recorded and monitored monthly or at the end of the period.

For example, someone who drives only 5,000 kms each year could save over $300 by using Pay as you drive, rather than standard comprehensive insurance. This is a huge saving for the same comprehensive cover.

CTP

Pay as you go is not available for CTP premiums, except for taxi and rideshare drivers. Most drivers pay CTP every 6 or 12 months while heavy vehicle owners have the option of 3 months.

It’s worth shopping around

Comprehensive

Factors like age, geographical zone and gender widely affect premiums from comprehensive insurance providers. There are also specialist companies, such as women-only insurers, which may offer better premiums or inclusions based on other factors.

CTP

While age, geographical zones and gender influence CTP prices from all green slip providers, some CTP insurance companies are more expensive than others. It’s always worth shopping around for your greenslip whenever it becomes due. Your cheapest insurer last year may not be your cheapest insurer this time. The greenslips.com.au calculator compares prices from all NSW insurers: https://www.greenslips.com.au/


Summary

Comprehensive insurance and CTP insurance do not cover the same things. Comprehensive aims to protect vehicles and property, but CTP protects people and not the vehicle or property. In spite of this vital difference, factors such as location, gender and age impact the prices of both comprehensive and CTP insurance.

greenslips.com.au Calculator helps you quickly and easily compare all CTP insurers across NSW, taking into account these important factors that affect your premium.