Comprehensive is the broadest cover sold in Australia. It pays for damage to your own car as well as damage you cause to other people's property, and it normally covers theft, fire, storm, hail and flood.
It is the only level that pays out when the accident was your fault, or when nobody else was involved at all. That is the whole reason it costs more than the alternatives.
Agreed value fixes the payout when you take the policy out, and you can usually adjust it within a band the insurer sets. Market value is whatever the car is judged to be worth at the moment it is written off, which is generally less than you expect and is decided after the event rather than before. Agreed value costs more and gives you certainty; market value costs less and leaves the number open. For a newer car losing value quickly, that gap is the single biggest decision on the policy.
The basic excess is what you pay on any at-fault claim. On top of that, insurers commonly add an age excess for drivers under 25 and an inexperienced-driver excess for anyone who has held a licence for less than two or three years. These stack, so a claim involving a young driver can carry several times the headline excess. Check the total that would apply to whoever actually drives the car, not just the advertised figure.
Most comprehensive policies bundle a hire car after theft, emergency accommodation and repairs after an accident away from home, cover for personal items in the car up to a modest limit, and a new-for-old replacement if the car is written off within the first couple of years. Limits vary a lot between insurers, and these inclusions are often where a cheaper policy has quietly been trimmed.
Wear and tear, mechanical failure and gradual rust are never covered — that is maintenance, not an insured event. Nor is driving unlicensed, under the influence, or while the car is unregistered. Using the car for rideshare or delivery work without declaring it will generally void a claim, and so will undeclared modifications.
It depends on what the car is worth against the premium and excess combined. Once the likely market-value payout starts to approach a year or two of premiums plus the excess, third party property damage often makes more sense. The catch is that you then carry the full cost of repairing or replacing your own car yourself.
Agreed value is set when you take out the policy, so you know the payout figure in advance. Market value is assessed at the time of the claim based on what the car was worth then. Agreed value usually costs more and removes the argument later.
Usually yes, provided they are licensed and you have not excluded them. But an age or inexperienced-driver excess may apply based on who was driving, and some cheaper policies restrict cover to listed drivers only. Check which type you have.
Medicare Levy Surcharge thresholds and government rebate percentages are reviewed regularly, so this page does not quote them. For the current figures see the ATO and the government's privatehealth.gov.au.
