What if my car or motorcycle can't be repaired?

If there's considerable damage to your car from a covered incident, or the repair cost is assessed as uneconomical, the vehicle may be written off (also known as a 'total loss').

The amount we pay you and any deductions that apply will be different based on your level of cover. When we settle a total loss claim, we keep your damaged vehicle.

For Comprehensive cover, we'll pay you the agreed value or market value (depending on the cover you've chosen), minus any excess, outstanding owed premium and on-road costs (like unused registration and CTP Insurance)¹.

If you hold Comprehensive or Comprehensive Plus cover and your vehicle was bought new and is less than 24 months old at the time of the incident, we may instead choose to replace your vehicle under our new vehicle replacement additional benefit. We can only do this if the same or similar vehicle is available in Australia at the time and the conditions for this are met.

For Third Party Property Damage cover, we will pay up to $5,000 if you weren’t at fault and the driver at fault is uninsured.

For all policies, if your claim is settled as a total loss your policy will end and there will be no refund or transfer of your premium. If you pay your premium in instalments, we'll deduct any unpaid amounts from your settlement. If there's secured finance on your vehicle, we'll pay the outstanding loan to the credit provider, and any remaining balance to you.

For more information, see our Product Disclosure Statement.

Things you should know

¹ Due to different state registration refund processes, no on-road cost deductions apply to cars registered in QLD.

Sometimes damage ends up costing less than paying the excess. You can have your vehicle assessed before you decide if you want to go ahead with the claim.

We can help you find a repairer most convenient to you to assess the damage. If you don’t want to continue, you can always withdraw the claim without having to pay any excess.

You can start a claim by calling us on 131 123 anytime, 24/7.

If there's considerable damage to your car, or the repair cost assessed is uneconomical, it may be written off (also known as a 'total loss').

If this happens:

• Depending on your policy and the age of your vehicle, we'll either replace your car, or we'll pay you your car's agreed or market value minus any excess, on-road costs¹ (like unused registration and CTP Insurance), input tax credit and unpaid premiums
• Your policy will end and there will be no refund or transfer of your premium. If you pay your premium in instalments, we'll deduct any unpaid amounts from your settlement. If there's secured finance on your car, we'll pay the outstanding loan to the credit provider, and any remaining balance to you
• We keep your damaged car.

The amount we pay you and any deductions that apply will be different based on your level of cover.

We understand that a total loss claim can be unexpected. We'll explain the next steps in detail if we settle your claim this way.

For more information, see our Product Disclosure Statement.

Things you should know

¹ Due to different state registration refund processes, no on-road cost deductions apply to cars registered in QLD.

The amount that your car is insured for includes all on-road costs, which means that when we pay you we remove these costs from your settlement amount.

You can apply to Service NSW and your CTP insurer for refunds of these costs.

Any CTP refunds have to happen after the car registration is cancelled.

Market value means the value of your car just before an incident (like if your car's stolen or damaged in a fire). It's the maximum amount we'll pay when you make a claim (if you have a market value policy).

We work out the market value when you make a claim. We use things like local market prices, your car's age, its condition, and any modifications or accessories.

This is different to agreed value, which is where you choose the amount to insure your car for (from a range we give you).