INSURING YOUR CAR
Tips to save on car insurance
3 August 2020
Car insurance is important, but that doesn’t mean it has to be expensive. Getting to know your policy may help you save money on your premiums while still getting the right coverage for you and your car.
Understand your car insurance premium
Your car insurance premium is based on a range of factors, such as:
- your driving history
- the kind of car you drive, and
- your location.
Updating any of these can potentially reduce the amount you pay. If you want to understand the impact of a new house or car on your premium price, you can always get a speculative quote using the details of the car or address you’re considering.
If you’re not considering a change as big as a new home or car, there are still a few things you can do to save.
That said, it’s important to make sure your policy won’t leave you underinsured. That is, your policy’s features and premium should reflect your vehicle and the way you use it, ensuring that you’ll get back on the road if anything happens. If you do wind up underinsured, you could be liable for unnecessary out-of-pocket expenses if you ever need to make a claim.
Buy your policy online
If you’re new to GIO Get 10% Off Your First Year When You Buy Online!*.
Bundle your insurance policies
GIO customers who hold three or more eligible policies may be rewarded with our 10% multi-policy discount. Take a look at our Car Insurance Additional Information Guide for more information.
Review your policy details
It doesn’t matter whether you’ve just purchased a new car insurance policy, or you’ve had yours for years. Reviewing your details regularly will ensure you have enough coverage, and could potentially reduce your premium. Things to check include:
- Your car’s details. When you update your car, or make any modifications, you should update your policy.
- Your address. Your policy needs to reflect your current residential address. If you’ve moved, even for a short amount of time, you should update your address. You could have a claim denied if you don’t.
- Listed drivers. If other people use your car on a regular basis you should list them on your policy. Though adding an additional driver might increase your premium, doing so will reduce your risk of being underinsured, if you need to make a claim for an unlisted driver. However, if someone who is listed as a driver doesn’t use the car anymore, you could be paying more for your premium than you need to be.
If you’re a GIO customer, you can update these details on GIO Online Services.
Raise your excess
When you take out a GIO Comprehensive or Platinum Comprehensive Car Insurance policy, it’s common for a standard excess to apply to any claims you make. Check your Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) to see what standard excess applies.
One way to reduce your premium under either of these two types of policies is to opt for a voluntary excess. This means that, if you do need to make a claim, your total excess amount would be higher than if you’d kept your standard excess. But your premium payments would be reduced. This could be a useful saving if you don’t make a claim.
Drive less
If you don’t use your car all that much, or you’re looking for motivation to commute to work more regularly using public transport or your trusty bike, it could work out as a saving on your car insurance.
When you take out or renew your policy, you’ll let us know how far you expect to drive that year. If you anticipate that you’ll drive less than 10,000km, you could be eligible for a reduction in your premium.
Be a safe driver
GIO Comprehensive and Platinum Comprehensive Car Insurance customers may be eligible for GIO Claims Free Savings. For each year you continuously insure your car without making an excess-payable claim, you’ll earn a credit on next year’s premium – from 5% after one year – up to a maximum of 20% after 15+ years of continuous GIO Platinum or Comprehensive Car Insurance.
As a GIO customer you can update your policy at any time.
How To Update Your Car Insurance Policy
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Insurance issued by AAI Limited ABN 48 005 297 807 trading as GIO. Consider the Product Disclosure Statement before buying this insurance.
This advice has been prepared without taking into account your particular objectives, financial situations or needs, so you should consider whether it is appropriate for you before acting on it.
*If you’re eligible for more than one discount, we apply them in a pre-set order to the discounted premium, before government taxes and charges.
