Car insurance for women
Tips on car insurance for women from our expert, Adrian Taylor
Adrian Taylor
Executive General Manager – General Insurance
Always check for limits to your policy
Your policy might include cover for your personal items damaged in an accident, but that cover will be limited. If the replacement value of some items (like expensive baby capsules) is important to you, make sure to check any limits that may apply in the PDS.
Maintain a good driving record
Your driving record is essential to keeping your insurance costs down regardless of your gender. Driving safely is one of the best ways to do this as it may signal to your insurer that you’re a low risk.
Consider a low kilometre policy
If you aren’t out on the roads often (perhaps if you’re on maternity leave and mostly at home during the week), it would be worth considering a low-kilometre policy that could save you a bundle on your premiums.
Do women get cheaper car insurance?
Generally, yes – mainly due to statistics that show male drivers carry a greater risk of being involved in accidents on Australian roads than female drivers.1 The higher risk of accidents leads to a higher likelihood of car insurance claims. However, generally regarding women as safer drivers isn’t as standard as it once was for many insurance providers.
It’s hard to say what the cost of car insurance is for female drivers without completing a quote, as car insurance premiums are calculated using many different details about you (the policyholder) and your vehicle – not just your gender. Some of these details include:
- The make, model, age and odometer reading of your car
- Your claims and driving history
- Where your car is parked at night
- Your address and age (young drivers are listed at a higher premium).
Because these details are different for everyone, car insurance quotes will differ for your friends, work colleagues or family members.
What features are available in car insurance for women?
While the standard features and inclusions of car insurance policies don’t differ based on gender, some of the following features could be useful to include in your level of cover:
- New car replacement. If your new car is written off, some insurers can replace it with the same or a similar model. Be sure to read the policy PDS as terms and conditions apply.
- Baby capsules and child seat replacement. If either item is damaged or destroyed in a car accident, it may be covered up to a certain amount. It’s worth checking if your insurance provider’s limit will be sufficient to replace them.
- Pay-as-you-drive. If, say, you’re on extended maternity leave and are driving less, chances are you could save a bundle by taking out a policy that offers a potentially cheaper premium for being on the road less.
- Domestic cover. Some insurance providers can cater to women who find themselves in vulnerable situations; for example, waiving the excess for damage claims caused by your former or current spouse/partner if the incident has been reported to the police.
- Hire car. Some policies include the option of a hire car for a period if yours is damaged or stolen. Without this option, you may have to rely on public transport, taxis or rideshares, which can be challenging.
- Emergency transport and accommodation. If your car is damaged in an accident and not driveable, your insurer may cover the cost of emergency transport to get you home or to accommodation if this isn’t possible. Check the terms and conditions of this feature in your PDS, as some insurers may only offer this when you’re a certain distance from home.
- Roadside assistance. Insurers may offer roadside assistance if you’ve broken down. This can be either an automatic inclusion in your policy or an optional extra.
- Windscreen excess reduction. You may be able to lower or waive the excess for windscreen damage claims through this optional extra or standard feature.
You should always read the PDS of any policy for the inclusions and exclusions to any feature(s) that you may have in your cover, as well as the Target Market Determination (TMD) to ensure the policy is right for you.
Important to know
Does car insurance for women cover you driving while pregnant?
Yes. Regardless of whether you have a women’s specific car insurance policy or not, you’re covered as normal throughout your pregnancy unless a doctor or medical practitioner has explicitly advised you not to drive, or if you’ve been prescribed medication that can inhibit your ability to drive.
If you’ve had an abdominal surgery (such as a caesarean section or a hysterectomy), the recommended recovery time can be up to six weeks, and insurance companies may have exclusions or limitations on their cover during this period in accordance with medical advice.
What is domestic cover?
A key aspect of most women-focused car insurance policies is the added feature of domestic cover. Most insurance providers are likely to cater to women in vulnerable situations and make allowances for the complications that may arise from these.
What are my car insurance options?
When choosing car insurance, you generally have three options:
- Comprehensive cover is top-level car insurance that can cover you for the damage you cause to other drivers, as well as damage your own vehicle sustains from things like accidents, storms, hail, fires and theft.
- Third Party Fire and Theft covers your liability if you cause damage to another person’s vehicle or property in an at-fault accident, as well as some cover for your own car if it’s damaged by fire or stolen.
- Third Party Property Damage is a basic level of cover that can cover the cost of damages you cause to another vehicle in an accident that’s your fault. You have very limited cover for your own vehicle, however.
Meet our car insurance expert, Adrian Taylor
As Executive General Manager of General Insurance at Compare the Market, Adrian Taylor is passionate about demystifying car insurance for consumers, so they have a better understanding of what they’re covered for. Adrian’s goal is to make more information available from more insurers, to make it easier to compare and save.
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¹ Australian Bureau of Statistics, Causes of Death, Australia 2022. Accessed November 2023.