Top 5 Benefits of Comprehensive Car Insurance - AllCarIndex

Top 5 Benefits of Comprehensive Car Insurance

Aug 02, 2024

No one wants to be involved in a vehicular accident. Unfortunately, life doesn’t exactly go the way we plan.

If you’re one of the thousands of people who have been recently involved in a car accident, then you’re well aware of how excruciating the process is right after the fact.

For uninsured people (or for those with minimal CTP insurance), you’ll have to shell out thousands of dollars for repairs, hospital bills, and property damages. This can be a major financial burden that can have long-lasting effects on one’s financial capabilities.

However, for people with the right insurance plan, all they have to do is file a claim and, depending on their coverage, they’re as good as free from the chains of that financial burden. 

Therefore, it’s in your best interest to get the right insurance plan. For Australian car owners, the best insurance to get is comprehensive car insurance. While it’s an optional insurance plan, it can be extremely beneficial to your financial safety net in the long haul.

Let’s explore five key benefits of getting this insurance plan in more detail.

Third-Party Coverage

In Australia and most of the United States, vehicle owners are required to purchase mandatory car insurance before driving their cars on public roads.

The name of this type of insurance in Australia is compulsory third-party insurance or CTP insurance. This insurance covers the cost of third-party compensation following an accident.

For instance, if you have injured a driver and their passenger following a car crash, then this insurance plan can cover the cost of their ongoing medical expenses and hospital bills.

With comprehensive car insurance, third-party coverage is already integrated into the scheme. You don’t have to pay for your own CTP insurance and can instead rely on the coverage offered by your comprehensive car insurance policy.

That said, you can always get an overlap of both policies to increase your coverage limit. Regardless, if you enjoy the convenience of handling only one car insurance policy with comprehensive insurance, you can’t go wrong with the most feature-rich policy.

Of course, given the higher coverage net, the premium of comprehensive car insurance is slightly more expensive than a basic CTP insurance plan. 

However, some insurance plans are offering flexible terms and cheaper policies (with some comprehensive car insurance going for less than 20% of their competition’s price), so be sure to request quotes and shop around for the best deals. 

Protection Against Car Damages

Not all vehicular accidents result in hospitalization. However, almost all vehicular accidents can result in varying levels of damage to cars and properties affected by the collision.

Having the base vehicle insurance plan (CTP insurance) cannot cover these property damages. If the other person deems you responsible for the accident, you will be subjected to paying the full price of the damages resulting from the accident. This includes the repair costs of your car, their car, and fixed property damaged from the incident.

With comprehensive car insurance, you won’t have to shoulder the financial burden resulting from damages. This insurance plan offers robust protection against various types of damages, including collisions and impacts from other vehicles.

Furthermore, with comprehensive car insurance, you can also claim a payout (minus your deductible) if your car is damaged by natural events. Natural events, in this scenario, can refer to disasters like flooding, storms, earthquakes, and hailstorms. It can also refer to events such as falling trees and other non-man made events that have led to car damage.

Roadside Assistance and Perks

Besides the primary policy add-ons, comprehensive car insurance also comes with benefits that can save you hundreds of dollars in a pinch.

One such benefit is roadside assistance. This benefit helps you pay for roadside assistance in the event that your car breaks down or runs out of fuel/charge in the middle of a public road. 

Such a perk can save you hundreds of dollars, regardless if your primary need is towing, tyre changes, or fuel delivery fees. It’ll also provide you with a guarantee that you can get back on the road quickly and without needing to pay a hefty fee due to an unexpected accident.

That’s not all; many comprehensive car insurance policies also offer additional perks to entice you to partner with them. For instance, if your car is in the repair shop due to damages, then these insurers can offer a rental car reimbursement if you decide to use a temporary rental car to meet your driving needs. 

Some companies may also offer a No Claim bonus, giving you a portion of your money back if you didn’t make any claims over a fixed period. Other companies may offer flexible premium payment schemes, making it easier for you to manage your cash flow.

There’s a wide range of benefits you can avail, and they all vary from insurer to insurer. As such, be sure to review each insurer’s policies and pick the one that suits your needs the best.

Hospitalization Coverage

Another critical benefit of comprehensive car insurance is its ability to shoulder hospitalization bills.

While healthcare in Australia is fairly robust and easy on the pockets, it’s not always free. There are still many instances wherein you’ll have to pay extra costs in order to cover your medical bills in their entirety.

If you can’t afford to make these payments, then it’s important to have comprehensive car insurance to keep your finances in safe hands when an accident does occur. 

This insurance policy financially covers cases wherein you have injured or killed a third party following a car accident. It also covers ongoing rehab costs if the injured person sustains an injury longer than 30 days.

In particular, this coverage helps pay for hospital stays, surgeries, and other medical procedures.

While CTP insurance also provides that insurance, comprehensive car insurance also covers for cases wherein you or your passengers get injured during an accident. 

This is useful in cases wherein the third-party driver is uninsured or if you have collided with a property. Having this insurance policy also guarantees that you’ll receive timely medical care, giving you peace of mind knowing that you will receive adequate and top-of-the-line care following an accident.

Protection Against Crimes

Criminal activity isn’t covered by compulsory and most non-compulsory third-party insurance. So if you stick with just the basic, mandatory coverage and are a victim of a car-related crime, then you’re out of luck and have to find a solution yourself.

However, with a comprehensive car insurance policy, you’ll have financial coverage in case you and your car have been a victim of a crime. The range of the coverage for crime-related activities is vast, covering events like thefts, carjacking attempts, and vandalization.

Whether your car has been stolen or just damaged, this insurance policy can cover the repair and replacement costs up to the agreed-upon contractual amount. 

If your car is a high-end or luxury model, then having this policy is a no-brainer to give you peace of mind knowing that you’ll get adequately protected in worst-case scenarios.

The best part? Crime-related coverage is already part of a standard comprehensive car insurance policy—so you don’t have to shell out additional fees to get it.

We hope that this article has given you all the information you need to consider comprehensive car insurance!