Driverless Car Insurance

Q: Which insurance covers loss or damage to my car?

Our comprehensive car insurance policy covers loss or damage to your car due to an accident (regardless of who’s at fault), severe weather, fire, vandalism, and theft.

Q: Which insurance covers damage to someone else's car?

Our comprehensive and third party property policies all cover your liability for accidental damage your car causes to other people’s property (e.g. their car and home).

Driverless car features are designed to make driving a safer experience for everyone on the roads. As driverless car features start to become more common in newer car models, one of the main questions people are asking is whether these features will impact their car insurance.

Current Australian law requires a human driver to be in control of the vehicle regardless of the level of autonomy. This means that drivers of vehicles with autonomous/driverless technology are still responsible for actions of the vehicle including breaches of traffic laws and potentially for damage resulting from crashes.

Driverless Car Features

While fully driverless cars aren’t available yet, Budget Direct insures a number of cars with some level of autonomy.

We currently insure cars with many driverless features such as:

	Autopilot		Adaptive Cruise Control
	Auto Emergency Braking		Automatic parking
	Lane-keep assist		Sign recognition
	Steering assist		Reversing camera

Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB)

Autonomous Emergency Braking is a vehicle safety technology designed to help drivers avoid or reduce the severity of crashes. AEB can alert drivers to imminent crashes and can apply the brakes independent of the driver.

Manufacturer	AEB Technology	Insured by Budget Direct?
Alfa Romeo	Autonomous Emergency Braking
Audi	Pre Sense Plus
BMW	Driving Assistant Plus
Ford	Active City Stop
Holden	Automatic Emergency Braking City Stop
Honda	Collision Mitigation Braking System
Hyundai	Autonomous Emergency Braking
Kia	Autonomous Emergency Braking
Land Rover	Autonomous Emergency Braking
Lexus	Pre-collision Safety System with Brake Assist
Mazda	Smart City Brake Support
Mercedes-Benz	PRE-SAFE Brake
Mini	City Collision Mitigation
Mitsubishi	Forward Collision Mitigation
Nissan	Intelligent Emergency Braking with Forward- Collision Warning
Peugeot	Active City Brake
Skoda	Multi-Collision Braking
Subaru	Pre-Collision Braking System (Eyesight)
Toyota	Pre-Crash Safety System
Volkswagen	City Emergency Braking
Volvo	City Safety

Insurance Council of Australia

The Insurance Council of Australia states that it is imperative for all organisations and individuals using autonomous technology to have appropriate levels of insurance to cover any potential liabilities for damage or injury that may occur.

What’s covered?

Loss or damage to your vehicle

Cost of repairing or replacing your vehicle due to collision or crash, malicious acts, theft, attempted theft, fire, storm, hail and floods

New car replacement

If your new car is written off within two years or 40,000km (Gold Car Insurance policy) of the original registration (whichever comes first), we’ll replace it with a brand-new one.

Damage to other people’s property

Up to $20 million of legal liability cover for the damage your car causes to other people’s vehicles and other property.

Hire car following theft

If your vehicle is stolen, we’ll reimburse you for the reasonable cost of a hire car for up to 21 days, up to a maximum of $1,500.

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Towing

Costs of recovery, towing and storage if your car’s stolen or unsafe to drive following an accident.

Personal Items

Belongings damaged in a collision or stolen from your car, up to $500 (Gold Car Insurance policy).

Replacement Keys

Replacement of your car keys and/or remote locking device if they’re stolen, up to $1,000.

Caravan and/or trailer

Damage to your trailer and/or caravan (Gold Car Insurance policy, up to $1,000) following a collision (but not their contents).

Emergency costs

Transport for the driver and passengers if your damaged car is undriveable or, if transport is unavailable, temporary accommodation – $200 a day, up to a total of $1,000 (Gold Car Insurance policy).

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Terms, conditions, limits and exclusions that apply.

For full details, please read the Product Disclosure Statement .

Upgrade your cover

For an additional premium, you can customise your comprehensive car insurance by adding one or more of these optional benefits to your policy:

Accident hire car

If we accept your at fault claim, we’ll arrange a hire car for you to use for up to 21 days.

Reduced window glass excess

Reduce your excess for damage to your vehicle’s window glass, including its windscreen and rear and side windows , to just $40.

Choice of repairer

If you have a claim with us, you can nominate your preferred repairer.

How do I add an optional benefit to my policy?

You can add one or more of these benefits when you get a quote and buy a policy or — if you’ve already bought one — by contacting us or logging into your online account and editing your policy.

(Note that you can reduce your window-glass excess only within 21 days of buying your policy, renewing it, or transferring it to a replacement vehicle.)

Get a quote

Because we don’t insure unsafe drivers, we can keep our premiums low for safer drivers like you.

If you buy a new car insurance policy online, you can enjoy 15%^{^} off your first year’s premium.

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Find out more

The information on this page is a summary only. For more details about Budget Direct car insurance, including the terms, conditions, limits and exclusions that apply, please read the product disclosure statement (PDS)

How to make a claim

If you need to make a claim, we’re here to help you get back on the road as quickly and smoothly as possible. Make a claim on your comprehensive car insurance policy.

Award-Winning Australian Car Insurance

After comparing over 65,000 quotes, comparing 51 Comprehensive Policies offered by 43 insurance providers, across 42 Consumer profiles, Canstar proclaimed Budget Direct winners of the National Outstanding Value Car Insurance Award for 2025. In the process, Budget Direct became the only brand in any category to win a Canstar National Outstanding Value Award 19 years in a row. We have also won Canstar's Insurer of the Year award 5 years running (2022-2026).

We also won Money magazine's Best of the Best 2026 award for Best-Value Car Insurance 8 years in a row (2019-26); Finder's Insurer of the Year 2026 award, and WeMoney's Best for Value Car Insurance award for 2025.

Canstar National Award - Outstanding Value Car Insurance

Money magazine - Best-Value Car Insurance

WeMoney - Best For Value - Car Insurance

More ways to save

Here are some ways you can reduce your comprehensive car insurance premium even further:

Driver-age restriction‡

You can restrict your policy to drivers over a certain age (21+, 25+, 30+, 40+, 50+); the biggest age range of any major insurer.

‘Low kilometres’ policy

If you drive 10,000 km or less per year, you can take out a Gold Low Kilometres Comprehensive policy, which attracts a lower premium.

Higher excess

If you increase your Basic Excess, we’ll reduce your premium.

How can I get these savings?

You can select your driver-age restriction, kilometres travelled and/or Basic Excess when you get a quote and buy a policy or – if you’ve already bought one – by calling us on 1300 306 560 or logging into your online account and editing your policy.

More reasons to choose us

24/7 claims

Lodge a claim over the phone or online at any time of the day or night, 365 days a year.

Reliable repairs

Get a lifetime guarantee on authorised repairs to your car for as long as you own it.

Change of vehicle

If you replace your Budget Direct-insured car with a similar one, we’ll automatically provide the same level of cover for your replacement car for 14 days from the purchase date – even if you don’t contact us.

Flexible payments

Pay your premium fortnightly, monthly or yearly, the last of which is the most economical.

Roadside Assistance

For just $89.95 a year – less than $1.75 a week – you can take advantage of our 24/7 nationwide Roadside Assistance service.

It can be purchased with or without a Budget Direct car insurance policy.

With our Australian network of more than 2,500 contractors, you’re never too far from help.

Car Insurance FAQs

Does Budget Direct insure driverless cars?

There are no fully driverless cars available for purchase at this stage, but Budget Direct does insure several models of cars that have driverless/safety features.

Is car insurance compulsory in Australia?

There is one type of car insurance required by law in Australia: compulsory third party (CTP) insurance.

All vehicles in Australia must have CTP insurance before they can be registered and legally driven on the road.

What does compulsory third party (CTP) insurance cover?

CTP insurance protects you against compensation claims made against you (or the driver of your car) if you are wholly or partly at fault for injuring or killing other drivers, passengers, motorcyclists, pedestrians, and/or cyclists in an accident.

Instead of you paying the compensation – including treatment, rehabilitation and care costs and, if necessary, income support payments and funeral expenses – your CTP insurer pays it.

Similarly, if you’re injured or killed in an accident caused by someone else, you or your dependents can claim compensation from that person’s CTP insurer.

CTP insurance does not cover damage to your car or other people’s property (e.g. their car and home).

For more information, contact the CTP insurance regulator/administrator in your state/territory.

What are the different types of car insurance?

Budget Direct offers three types of car insurance:

Comprehensive Car Insurance covers the loss of, or damage to, your vehicle due to an accident (regardless of who’s at fault), vandalism, fire, weather, and theft. It also covers damage caused by your vehicle to other people’s property (e.g. their car and home).
Third Party Property Only covers damage caused by your vehicle to other people’s property (e.g. their car and home). It does not cover damage to your vehicle (unless it’s damaged in a no-fault accident with an uninsured driver, in which case you have limited cover).
Third Party Property, Fire and Theft provides the same protection as Third Party Property Only plus cover for loss or damage to your vehicle if it’s stolen or catches fire.

The type of cover you have is shown on your car insurance certificate and in your online account.

Compare Budget Direct car insurance

Which insurance covers loss or damage to my car?

Our comprehensive car insurance policy covers loss or damage to your car due to an accident (regardless of who’s at fault), severe weather, fire, vandalism, and theft.

Which insurance covers damage to someone else's car?

Our comprehensive and third party property policies all cover your liability for accidental damage your car causes to other people’s property (e.g. their car and home).