motor insurance not compulsory in Oz?

Peterbilt

True or False anyone?

Anan1

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=motor+insurance+compulsory+australia

Marcusm

Anan1 wrote: »

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=motor+insurance+compulsory+australia

That's a nifty tool; for the benefit of the OP, basic third party insurance is included with the annual "rego".

Peterbilt

It is a nifty tool true enough.

What happens Im wondering in these countries where insurance is included in licence levies, fuel levies, registrations etc if a driver has points? Or worse has been banned from driving in the past? Here as we all know your insurance goes through the roof, for a time at least.

ardmacha

What happens Im wondering in these countries where insurance is included in licence levies, fuel levies, registrations etc if a driver has points? Or worse has been banned from driving in the past? Here as we all know your insurance goes through the roof, for a time at least.

If you had this system the obvious cure would be much bigger fines.

CiniO

Peterbilt wrote: »

It is a nifty tool true enough.

What happens Im wondering in these countries where insurance is included in licence levies, fuel levies, registrations etc if a driver has points? Or worse has been banned from driving in the past? Here as we all know your insurance goes through the roof, for a time at least.

No need to look that far as Australia.
In many countries in Europe amount of penalty points or previous convictions don't affect insurance premium.

Our man in Havana

All you do in most places is show the tax book and pay the insurance. No cares about your driving history, licence or lack thereof.

ShanE90

The "REGO" in Australia is the most basic cover you need to get your car on the road. It includes the "road tax" and third party insurance only, so it covers you for injuring someone else but doesn't cover your vehicle or theirs! All vehicles must have Rego just like you must tax your car here, you can then comprehensively insure your vehicle in addition to rego!

Our man in Havana

ShanE90 wrote: »

The "REGO" in Australia is the most basic cover you need to get your car on the road. It includes the "road tax" and third party insurance only, so it covers you for injuring someone else but doesn't cover your vehicle or theirs! All vehicles must have Rego just like you must tax your car here, you can then comprehensively insure your vehicle in addition to rego!

Only if you want to.

ShanE90

Our man in Havana wrote: »

ShanE90 wrote: »

The "REGO" in Australia is the most basic cover you need to get your car on the road. It includes the "road tax" and third party insurance only, so it covers you for injuring someone else but doesn't cover your vehicle or theirs! All vehicles must have Rego just like you must tax your car here, you can then comprehensively insure your vehicle in addition to rego!

Only if you want to.

If you don't pay the rego the RTA will take the vehicle from you and leave you standing at the roadside!! The comprehensive insurance is entirely up to you to take out!

Our man in Havana

That's what I meant. There is no obligation to pay for comp insurance.

zenith90

Neither is there any obligation to do that in this country or anywhere afaik.

Our man in Havana

zenith90 wrote: »

Neither is there any obligation to do that in this country or anywhere afaik.

It seems to be de riqeur in Ireland.

kdevitt

Our man in Havana wrote: »

That's what I meant. There is no obligation to pay for comp insurance.

No obligation - but every person I know gets comprehensive insurance here, and its generally more expensive than back in Ireland. I wouldn't fancy driving anywhere knowing I could be bankrupted in the event of an accident!

mandrake04

The NSW Rego is the equivalent of road tax in Ireland (obtained from the road Authority called the RMS) and does not contain any 3rd Party insurance.

For a 3.6L SV6 Commodore and a Landcruiser Prado are both the same $461 each. It goes by the mass of the car in bands so if you have something smaller like a Carolla is $300

However you can not register a car unless you have what is known as a CTP Greenslip which you usually buy from one of the insurance Providers like Allianz, Zurich or AAMI. When you buy your greenslip the Insurers send notification to the RMS that you have a greenslip.

This only covers the personal injury to 3rd Parties like other road users or your passengers, it usually does not cover driver at-fault and definitely not any property damage. If you hit another car or house or something you have to pay out of your own pocket or you will likely end up sitting on the high stool.

I think my greenslip was $450 for the SV6 and $480 Prado.


3rd Party Property, Fire & Theft and Comprehensive insurance is not compulsory.

Rego & CTP is all you need to keep you on the road.

Fully comp for the SV6 was $990 and for the Prado its $1600.

Daved_XB

Here is a practical real world example of how this works (in Victoria anyway, things can differ from state to state) My ex-wife had a car crash a few years ago & the person who hit her from behind was uninsured… she had fully comp.. Luckily the car that hit her did have a valid rego sticker in the window so all her medical costs where covered & by all I mean the physio she had for years after for her bad whiplash.. all of it was covered by a body called the TAC.. so the insurance from the guys rego covered her fully..

Now because she had fully comp insurance her insurance company covered all the costs for her car to get it back to 100%... we didn’t have to spend a cent on that & then her insurance company sued the uninsured driver for the costs that they had to lay out to fix her car… if we had not had fully comp insurance then we would have had to take the guy to court to get a court ruling that he had to pay… now we would have won, but if the guy was broke & had no means to pay up then it’s not uncommon to be awarded $50 a month from the guy until the debt is paid in full or their financial situation changes such that they can repay you quicker..

So long story short when I get back to Aus next month & my cars turn up, I’ll be paying for fully comp insurance even though I don’t legally have to have any at all… even if I only owned a skip that I didn’t care about fixing I’d still get 3rd party just so I could wipe off a Lambo in Burke Street & not have to worry about never being able to eat again…

Our man in Havana

You don't need fully comp either. You can buy 3rd party property only which covers the other guys damage. 3rd party life being covered by the state. Unless it is a decent car I would not bother with fully comp. Waste of money.

Peterbilt

CiniO wrote: »

No need to look that far as Australia.
In many countries in Europe amount of penalty points or previous convictions don't affect insurance premium.

Didnt know that. Can you explain? Like I said - and we all know - here you get "punished" - for want of better word, by insurance companies for traffic points/convictions by way higher premiums. Makes sense, you've shown you're a riskier prospect than driver with no stains on their bib.

What's the "punishment/deterrent" in these countries for having a lousy driving record? Big fines?

Which European countries do you mean?

mandrake04

Daved_XB wrote: »

Here is a practical real world example of how this works (in Victoria anyway, things can differ from state to state) My ex-wife had a car crash a few years ago & the person who hit her from behind was uninsured… she had fully comp.. Luckily the car that hit her did have a valid rego sticker in the window so all her medical costs where covered & by all I mean the physio she had for years after for her bad whiplash.. all of it was covered by a body called the TAC.. so the insurance from the guys rego covered her fully..

Now because she had fully comp insurance her insurance company covered all the costs for her car to get it back to 100%... we didn’t have to spend a cent on that & then her insurance company sued the uninsured driver for the costs that they had to lay out to fix her car… if we had not had fully comp insurance then we would have had to take the guy to court to get a court ruling that he had to pay… now we would have won, but if the guy was broke & had no means to pay up then it’s not uncommon to be awarded $50 a month from the guy until the debt is paid in full or their financial situation changes such that they can repay you quicker..

So long story short when I get back to Aus next month & my cars turn up, I’ll be paying for fully comp insurance even though I don’t legally have to have any at all… even if I only owned a skip that I didn’t care about fixing I’d still get 3rd party just so I could wipe off a Lambo in Burke Street & not have to worry about never being able to eat again…

My brother-in-law had a falcon ute and some Asian woman ran into the side of him and had no 3rd Party Property insurance. BIL did'nt have comp on the ute and yer woman tried to get insurance after the accident and it kinda didn't work out.

Anyway several phonecalls later she all of sudden lost her ability to understand English, went on like that for about 4 or 5 months until the BIL wanted it sorted. Unfortunately the Police don't usually want to get involved if there is no injury, and leave it to the courts ....but fortunately BIL cousin is a cop who followed it up on quiet and it put the frightners on her and she paid up. She probably could have paid the money at anytime but was chancing her arm. If he had comp the insurers would have fixed his ute and fought it out with her.


Btw what cars are are you importing?

Our man in Havana

Peterbilt wrote: »

What's the "punishment/deterrent" in these countries for having a lousy driving record? Big fines?

There is really no punishment for having a lousy record. Insurance companies don't give a fig if you have a clean licence or one which is one point off suspension.
Punishments for traffic offences tend to be harsher than Ireland. 30km/h over the limit means no licence for 1 month.

Peterbilt wrote: »

Which European countries do you mean?

Any of the countries east of the old iron curtain. Romania, Bulgaria, Poland to name a few.

Daved_XB

mandrake04 wrote: »

Btw what cars are are you importing?

My Supercharged RangeRover Sport & my Dodge Challenger

Matt Simis

mandrake04 wrote: »

However you can not register a car unless you have what is known as a CTP Greenslip which you usually buy from one of the insurance Providers like Allianz, Zurich or AAMI. When you buy your greenslip the Insurers send notification to the RMS that you have a greenslip.

Do you buy this every year? Just trying to understand and compare the total cost (tax plus insurance) of say any BMW V8 here vs there per year.

Daved_XB

Matt Simis wrote: »

Do you buy this every year? Just trying to understand and compare the total cost (tax plus insurance) of say any BMW V8 here vs there per year.

I've always found that the running costs in Australia, so Tax, Insurance & Fuel prices are cheaper... in the case of the Tax they can be way cheaper.. what I pay to tax my RR here will cover that same car for a few years worth of rego in Aus...

The big downside is that because its cheaper to own & run cars the prices are high... have a look at M3 & M5 prices in Aus compared to here... they are crazy money.. so I hope that you've owned your V8 BMW long enough to be allowed to import it in & I hope what ever class of visa you have allows it too... or you'll be in for a big shock when you see the price of one in Aus..

With my RR, even after I add up the cost of buying it here, the cost of shipping & the import taxes I have to pay.. I'll still be the best part of 20k better off then if I sold mine here & looked to buy one in Aus

Matt Simis

Daved_XB wrote: »

or you'll be in for a big shock when you see the price of one in Aus..

Oh I know, already looked, as has my M3 owning brother who is in Oz now. He could retire on his M3's value over there..

Peterbilt

Our man in Havana wrote: »

There is really no punishment for having a lousy record. Insurance companies don't give a fig if you have a clean licence or one which is one point off suspension.
Punishments for traffic offences tend to be harsher than Ireland. 30km/h over the limit means no licence for 1 month.


Any of the countries east of the old iron curtain. Romania, Bulgaria, Poland to name a few.

Is our motor insurance system a copy of the UK system then? Are there any EU countries where the Eastern European system is followed?

I was phoning round recently - the usual pain in the a@se yearly crap - and discovered that one insurance company now wants to know if you EVER had any CRIMINAL convictions...Not traffic convictions, points, claims, insurance refused etc etc etc.

Our man in Havana

The UK and Ireland have a insure the driver system. The Continent works on insure the car, anyone with a licence can drive.

Peterbilt

Well I learn something new every day on this site:)

Which brings me back to that other question of mine... Why cant we get car insurance from Continental insurance companies to drive here in Ireland? We're all supposed to be in the borderless EU after all. Is it just a language barrier thing or is it a legal thing?

Our man in Havana

Any insurance company wishing to insure risks in Ireland has to lodge a huge amount of cash with the Financial Regulator. Most of them won't so you can't get insurance from a company who has not got a licence in Ireland.

mandrake04

Daved_XB wrote: »

I've always found that the running costs in Australia, so Tax, Insurance & Fuel prices are cheaper... in the case of the Tax they can be way cheaper.. what I pay to tax my RR here will cover that same car for a few years worth of rego in Aus...

The big downside is that because its cheaper to own & run cars the prices are high... have a look at M3 & M5 prices in Aus compared to here... they are crazy money.. so I hope that you've owned your V8 BMW long enough to be allowed to import it in & I hope what ever class of visa you have allows it too... or you'll be in for a big shock when you see the price of one in Aus..

With my RR, even after I add up the cost of buying it here, the cost of shipping & the import taxes I have to pay.. I'll still be the best part of 20k better off then if I sold mine here & looked to buy one in Aus

The price of European cars in Australia have always been pretty ridiculous, but as of late the new cars seem to be getting a bit cheaper. I read on another ex-pat website about about this and apart from the expected long distance for transport the main reason is Aus spec which although RHD is more aligned with the Jap market than the UK and the exchange rate.

Ten years ago the £=$3 and the €= $1.81 today the £=$1.47 and the €= $1.17 and is tipped for parity by xmas.

5 years ago something like a Golf was silly money but they are definitely more reasonable priced these days and that's why this year the sale of Golfs is actually up and they are more common.

Also if you import a car that's what it actually is.... an import, taking a car in through migration and that car is likely not be an Aus Spec car, it would be more like the grey import market in Ireland/UK. A used car in Aus might have X value but a import car might only have Y value, if its a common enough car then someone who did their homework would probably avoid buying unless they were getting it really cheap. Even interstate Aus cars and people tend to get fussy, I reckon the sentimental value and depreciation at home v starting fresh in Aus is more of a reason than perceived resale value in Aus for taking a car. I would be thinking of holding on to it as long as you can to get the most out of it rather than try and sell it unless you find a buyer that is a real idiot.

Something like a mint Escort Cos would be of good value because they are rare as hens teeth here and sought after by enthusiasts, but a mint Cos is rare back home as well.

Cookie_Monster

New Zealand is pretty similar. Rego = motor tax, petrol is taxed, diesel is untaxed but you have to buy diesel miles, dependant on the vehicle type, our work jeeps cost 480 (300 eur) per 10k km, diesel per litre is 1.50 (94c). Rego is inclusive of 3rd party insurance effectively via ACC (national insurance for everything) and no further insurance is required.

As a result virtually all cars are petrol and most have big engines. Most popular cars are commodore with a 3.6v6 and falcon with a 4l straight 6

I drive a Mitsi Diamante, 3.5L v6. Worth about 7k (which the insurance will always pay out to regardless of how long I have it seemingly)

Rego is $288 or so a year (180 eur) and petrol is approx $2.10 (1.31 eur)
Have fully comp for me (6 yr no claims - guaranteed for life with insurer) and fiancée (4 years no claims) for $480 (300 eur)

6 monthly WOF (NCT) - $40 a time and thats it.

pete4130

Your REGO here in Aus doesn't mean your insured. It means your car is registered to be on the road. In order to obtain your REGO you have to get a CTP (Compulsory Third Party) which is the most basic insurance. It means your ready to drive on the road and covers other people.

I just renewed my REGO on my Landcruiser here for 6 months. The REGO for the 6 months was only something like $161, the rest was CTP and tax making it $422.

I also have fully comp on it too which is about $880 a year even though its a '94 with 305k on the clock (Cruisers keep their value well here) with $800 excess.

A friend had a Mitsubishi Van and rear ended an Impreza. He had his REGO CTP insurance and it still cost him $6000 to repair the Subaru. It covers 3rd party health and medical but not to get their car repaired.

As for punishments, I almost had my Aussie licence suspended from tomorrow over a parking fine I received in March that was unpaid. I was out of state working and wired the cash to a friend, who forgot to pay it and I only got the enforcement notices this week....so my $88 fine is now $178 and almost no licence.

Driving an unregistered vehicle is about a $600 fine. Licences get suspended frequently here, for short periods of time.