Compare car insurance in Tasmania
To compare car insurance in Tasmania, pick a cover level, then get quotes from several insurers for the same car, drivers, excess and valuation. Injury cover comes from the Motor Accidents Insurance Board with your registration, so the choice you are making is about damage to cars and property.
Tasmania had a hard year on the roads in 2025: 44 deaths, up from 31, which gave it the second-highest road death rate in the country at 7.6 per 100,000 people. Theft, on the other hand, fell 11%. Those two facts, plus the wildlife on rural roads, shape what a Tasmanian policy needs to do.
By Better Rate Mate Editorial Team · Last reviewed
Compulsory cover in Tasmania
In Tasmania, injury cover comes from the Motor Accidents Insurance Board with your registration, and there is no insurer to choose. For what it pays and how to claim, see MAIB cover in Tasmania, or how CTP works in every state.
Tasmanian car insurance at a glance
Facts from federal and Tasmanian sources that bear on insuring a car in the state.
| Item | Tasmania |
|---|---|
| Compulsory injury cover | Motor Accidents Insurance Board (MAIB) premium, paid with your registration; no insurer to choose |
| Road deaths, 2025 | 44 (31 in 2024), or 7.6 per 100,000 people, second highest after the NT |
| Motor vehicle theft victims, 2025 | 1,336, down 11% on 2024; 53% taken from residential land |
| Notable recent event | Hobart floods, May 2018: 8,897 claims including 227 motor |
| Buying a car | Transfer registration within 14 days of purchase; sellers lodge a disposal notice within 7 days |
| Motor vehicle duty | Payable to the State Revenue Office when registering or transferring a car |
What the MAIB covers
Tasmania's compulsory injury cover is provided by the Motor Accidents Insurance Board, a state-owned insurer, with the premium collected alongside your registration. It provides benefits to people injured in motor vehicle accidents and there is no provider to choose.
Like every compulsory scheme in Australia, it covers injury only. It pays nothing towards your car or the one you hit. Our guide to MAIB cover in Tasmania explains the scheme; this page is about the optional cover that protects against damage and theft.
Third party insurance in Tasmania
In Tasmania, "third party insurance" can mean two different things. The compulsory part is the MAIB premium in your registration, which covers injuries to people; it is not sold as a separate third party policy and there is no insurer to choose. The optional part is third party property damage, which pays for damage you cause to other people's cars and property but nothing for your own car.
So the legal requirement is met once your car is registered. Whether to add third party property damage, third party fire and theft or comprehensive is a choice about how much damage you could afford to pay for yourself.
Road safety and what it means for your cover
Tasmania's 44 road deaths in 2025 were a 41.9% jump on 2024, and the rate of 7.6 per 100,000 people was well above the national 4.8. Small numbers swing sharply from year to year, but the setting is consistent: winding rural roads, high speeds between towns, changeable weather and animals on the road.
For insurance, that points to comprehensive. A single-vehicle crash, where you leave the road on a wet bend or hit an animal, has nobody else to claim against, so only comprehensive pays to repair or replace your car. Third party property damage covers the other party's property, not yours.
Wildlife on Tasmanian roads
Tasmania's roads carry wallabies, pademelons, wombats and possums, especially around dawn and dusk and on rural roads. Hitting an animal is treated as accidental damage, so it is only covered under comprehensive, and most insurers apply your normal excess. Check whether the policy treats an animal strike as an at-fault claim for your no claim bonus: Moneysmart notes that insurers may treat claims such as hitting an animal as 'at fault' even though no other driver was involved.
Car insurance in Hobart and Launceston
In the cities the mix shifts towards collisions, parking damage and theft. Tasmania's theft numbers are small (1,336 victims in 2025) and falling, which helps premiums, but more than half of stolen vehicles were taken from homes. Keys left in the house or the car are the usual route, so keep them out of sight and out of reach.
Hobart also has a flood history. The May 2018 floods produced 8,897 claims in the Insurance Council's records, 227 of them for motor vehicles. Flood damage to your own car is covered only under comprehensive, and many policies exclude damage caused by deliberately driving into floodwater.
Repairs, parts and hire cars
Tasmania's repairer network is smaller than on the mainland, and a specialised part or a busy period after a storm can stretch a repair. The practical protections are in the policy wording: how long the hire car benefit lasts, whether you can choose your repairer, and whether the insurer will pay to transport the car to a repairer if needed. Compare those terms alongside the price.
How to find cheaper car insurance in Tasmania
Tasmanian drivers can reduce the price without losing the cover that matters most here:
- Compare comprehensive quotes like for like: same excess, same drivers, same agreed or market value.
- Check the renewal notice against new quotes. ASIC-commissioned research found 74% of people with a renewal notice were quoted more than the year before.
- Ask your current insurer to beat a competing quote; almost one in three people who asked got a lower premium without reducing cover.
- Pay annually if you can. Instalments can cost 10% to 20% more over the year, according to Moneysmart.
- If you hold RACT roadside membership, do not pay for the same thing again as an insurer add-on.
Buying or selling a car in Tasmania
Under Tasmania's vehicle registration regulations, a buyer must apply to transfer registration within 14 days of buying a car, and the seller must lodge a disposal notice with the Registrar of Motor Vehicles within 7 days of selling it. Arrange your insurance to start on the day the car becomes yours: the seller's cover stops when the sale happens, not when the paperwork catches up.
Motor vehicle duty is payable to the State Revenue Office when the car is registered or transferred, on its dutiable value. Utes, panel vans and motorcycles pay $3 per $100 (minimum $20), and vehicles over 4.5 tonnes $1 per $100. Passenger cars pay on the scale below.
| Dutiable value | Duty |
|---|---|
| Up to $600 | $20 |
| $600 to $35,000 | $3 per $100, or part, of the dutiable value |
| $35,000 to $40,000 | $1,050 plus $11 per $100, or part, above $35,000 |
| Over $40,000 | $4 per $100, or part, of the dutiable value |
What to watch for
- Animal strikes are only covered by comprehensive, and some insurers treat them as at-fault claims.
- The MAIB covers injury only. Every dollar of vehicle damage comes from optional cover.
- Check the hire car duration. Repairs can take longer when parts have to come from interstate or repairers are busy.
- Many policies exclude damage from driving into floodwater, whatever cover you hold.
Common questions
What is the best car insurance in Tasmania?
The best policy is the one that covers the risks you face at a price you can sustain. Given Tasmania's rural roads and wildlife, most drivers with a car they rely on are better served by comprehensive, compared across several insurers on the same excess and drivers.
Is car insurance cheaper in Tasmania?
Often, because theft is low and falling and traffic density is lower than in the mainland capitals. It is not guaranteed: your postcode, car, age and history decide the price.
Is third party insurance compulsory in Tasmania?
Only the injury cover is: the MAIB premium is paid with your registration, so a registered car already has it, and there is no separate CTP policy to buy. Third party property damage, for damage you cause to other people's cars and property, is optional.
How much is third party insurance in Tasmania?
The MAIB premium is set by vehicle class in the MAIB's published schedule and paid with your registration. Optional third party property damage has no set price: insurers price on the car, who drives it, where it is kept and the excess you choose, so compare several quotes.
How much is stamp duty on cars in Tasmania?
For a passenger car, the State Revenue Office charges $3 per $100 of dutiable value up to $35,000, $1,050 plus $11 per $100 above $35,000 up to $40,000, and, for a car worth more than $40,000, $4 per $100 of its whole dutiable value. Cars worth up to $600 pay $20.
Does car insurance cover hitting a wallaby or wombat?
Comprehensive generally covers it as accidental damage, with your normal excess. Third party policies do not cover damage to your own car from an animal strike.
How do I compare car insurance quotes in Tasmania?
Decide on a cover level, then enter the same details into each quote: the car, the drivers, where it is kept overnight, annual kilometres, excess, and agreed or market value. Then compare the inclusions and exclusions, not just the price.
About the figures on this page
Road deaths are calendar-year counts from BITRE; theft figures are victims of motor vehicle theft recorded by police, published by the ABS; catastrophe claims are from the Insurance Council of Australia. We do not quote premiums, because prices change constantly and depend on your car, postcode and driving history. Compulsory injury cover is explained in our CTP guides for each state.
