Car Insurance Cost Calculator
This does not predict your premium - nothing honestly can. What it does is the arithmetic insurers rely on you not doing: whether your cover can still pay out enough to be worth buying, what a higher excess really saves, and whether a claim is worth making at all.
The most your cover could ever pay
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- Premium as a share of that
- 0%
- Years of premiums to equal it
- -
- Verdict on this cover
- -
- Paid over five years
- $0
Premiums against what you could get back
The taller bar is the bigger number. Once five years of premiums approach what the policy could ever pay out, the cover has stopped being good value.
Move it and watch
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at {v} for premium rise per year after a claim
And what you can change
Why your own figure may differ
Premiums mount while the car loses value
Cover gets worse value every year on an ageing car - you pay more in total while the most it could ever return keeps falling.
| Year | Paid so far | Car worth | Paid vs worth |
|---|
Car insurance costs: real examples
Three decisions worth doing the arithmetic on. Click any card to load it.
- An older car
Worth $3,000, with a $1,000 excess
Paying $600 a year for collision and comprehensive.
The most it could ever pay is $2,000. At $600 a year you replace the entire benefit in 3.3 years of premiums.
Load this scenario in the calculator → - Raising the excess
From $500 to $1,000 to save $200
You take on more risk to lower the premium.
You carry $500 more risk and save $200 a year, so it pays for itself in 2.5 claim-free years. Usually worth it.
Load this scenario in the calculator → - A small claim
$1,800 of damage, $1,000 excess
The premium would rise $300 a year for three years.
You get $800 back and pay $900 more in premiums. Claiming leaves you $100 worse off.
Load this scenario in the calculator →
Common questions about car insurance costs
Will this tell me what my insurance will cost?
No, and neither can anything else. Your premium depends on your driving record, your credit, your exact address, your car and the insurer's own pricing - none of which a web page can know. Any calculator claiming to predict it is guessing. What this does instead is the arithmetic that decides whether the cover you are being sold is worth buying.
When should I drop collision cover?
When the most it could ever pay you gets small relative to what it costs. Cover never pays more than the car is worth, less your excess. A car worth $3,000 with a $1,000 excess can never return more than $2,000 - so a $600 premium buys you a shrinking pot. This tool shows that number, which insurers do not put on the renewal notice.
Should I raise my excess to save money?
It depends how quickly the saving covers the extra risk. Going from $500 to $1,000 means finding $500 more after a crash. If it saves $200 a year, it pays for itself in two and a half claim-free years - usually worth it. Going to $2,000 for the same saving takes seven and a half years, which is a much weaker deal.
Should I claim for a small repair?
Often not. You pay the excess, and your premium usually rises for several years afterwards. Claiming $800 and then paying $300 extra a year for three years leaves you $100 worse off. The tool works this out so you can decide before ringing the insurer, not after.
What cover is actually required?
Liability cover is required in almost every state, and the legal minimum is usually far below what a serious accident costs. Collision and comprehensive are almost always optional - and required only by your lender while you owe money on the car. Once the loan is clear, that choice becomes yours.
How do I actually pay less?
Get several quotes at once, because insurers price the same driver very differently. Then check whether you are still carrying cover on a car that no longer justifies it, and whether your excess suits how much cash you could find in an emergency. Those two decisions are worth more than most discounts.