Where you should take your car for its damage assessment and repairs and what to do if it can’t be driven.
You should not drive your car if:
- Any of the airbags have deployed
- Any fluid (including petrol or radiator fluid) is leaking from the car
- Any of the doors, bonnet or boot need to be secured to remain closed
- The steering has been affected, meaning you're unable to steer your car straight or around a corner.
- You think it's unsafe to drive.
If you make a claim and your car is drivable, we'll book a convenient time to have the damage assessed. Assessments allow us to determine the size and scope of the damage, if the car is repairable, and the most suitable repair method. Assessments are usually completed in person and take 15 to 30 minutes to complete.
We’ll ask you to take your car to one of the following for an assessment and/or repairs:
- One of our network repairers
- An assessment centre
- A partner repairer
We'll keep you updated on the progress of the assessment of your car.
However, if your car is not driveable, you can call us on 1300 885 996 and we’ll arrange for it to be towed to a safe location to be assessed. You should remove any valuables or personal belongings from your car before the car is towed, as long as it's safe to do so.
Residents of Melbourne, Mornington Peninsula, Geelong and Adelaide are required by law to call an ‘allocation centre’ or ‘centralised operator’, who will arrange to get their car towed.
Our extensive network of repairers can assess and repair your car’s damage.
If you're booked in with a repairer they will either:
- Complete the assessment and start repairs straight away - You'll need to leave your car with them and organise transport to your next destination (including picking up your hire car if it's included in your policy).
- Complete an initial inspection of the damage and send us a quote - You won't need to leave your car there. Once we've assessed your car's damage and approved the repair quote, your repairs can start.
Each repair job is different and depending on the severity of the damage and availability of parts the timeline for your car’s repair may vary too.
The repairer will give you an estimate of how long the job is likely to take, and keep you up to date as it progresses. We guarantee all repairs we’ve authorised for as long as you own the vehicle.
We have dedicated assessment centres in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney. If you're visiting one of our centres, a qualified assessor will talk to you about your next steps.
Locations
If there isn’t a network repairer or assessment centre near you, we’ll ask you to take your car to one of our partner repairers so that they can provide a quote for the repairs.
Once they send us photos of your vehicle’s damage and a repair quote, one of our qualified assessors can carry out an assessment.
After the car's been assessed and we’ve authorised the repairs, we’ll be able to book your car for the repairs.
The repairer will let you know how long the repairs are likely to take.
Frequently Asked Questions
If your car’s been damaged or stolen and you need to make a claim, we’re here to help get you back on the road as quickly and smoothly as possible.
Each repair job is different, so it’s difficult to say for certain how long each job will take. Some can take a few days, others up to two weeks or more, depending on the severity of the damage.
Your repairer will give you an estimate of how long the job is likely to take and keep you informed of progress.
Yes — repairs authorised by us are guaranteed for as long as you own the car.
If we decide your car is a write-off, we’ll negotiate with you to either:
- pay you the amount your car is insured for (market or agreed value); or
- replace your car with a new one of the same make, model and specification if you purchased the car new or as a demo model and it becomes a total loss:
- Within two years or 40,000km (whichever comes first) of the original registration (Gold Comprehensive Car Insurance)
If a new replacement car is:
- not available in Australia within 90 days, we will pay you the amount it would cost you to replace the car with a new one of the same make, model and specification, or
- no longer available in Australia, we will pay you the amount you originally paid for the car.
If your car is financed, we're obliged to pay the finance company any money you still owe them first. We'll then pay you any residual from the insured amount.
We’ll also arrange and pay for your written-off car to be towed away from the repair shop and disposed of.
You can nominate your preferred repairer as long as your policy includes the ‘choice of repairer’ benefit.
If you nominate your preferred repairer, we’ll ask you to provide us with the repairer’s quotation for the repairs so we can determine whether:
- the quotation is competitive, and
- the proposed repair method is satisfactory.
If either of these criteria is not met, we may decide not to authorise the repairs and, instead offer you the option of:
- having your car repaired by an alternative repairer chosen by us, or
- paying you the reasonable cost to satisfactorily repair your car.
If the car is unsafe to drive, we will pay the cost to tow the car to your preferred repairer up to a maximum of 100 kilometres.
Note that, if we authorise your nominated repairer to undertake the repairs, we’ll guarantee the quality of the repairs but not the time it takes to complete them.
Contact Us
No matter whether it’s online or over the phone, you can contact us 24/7.
You can notify us of your claim online and we'll call you if we need further information.
Chat with a member from our claims team on Monday-Friday from 7am - 8pm AEST and on weekends from 7am - 4pm AEST.
A friendly member of our claims team will assist you over the phone.
