Thread: Should car insurance be compulsory ?

There are circumstances (which probably don't apply to anyone here) where choosing TTP over comprehensive doesn't save you money.

About 30 years ago I was involved in educating 16 year old students about about such things as the cost of car ownership, insurance, causes of accidents, basic first aid, and the process of getting a licence.

The information was delivered by the police,the RTA, the NRMA, the Ambulance Service and a car dealer.

The NRMA did the calculations based on a student's claim that he would buy an old bomb first and then after a few years get a "proper" car like V8.

TTP accumulates no claim bonus at half the rate of a comprehensive policy, so having twice as much no claim on the very expensive premium on a V8 on hire purchase driven by an under 21 driver would more than cover the extra cost of the full insurance on the old bomb.

On a different topic, the car dealer did his best to convince the students that the sensible thing to do was to avoid buying a car unless it was impossible to avoid.

Yes I agree they should have some kind of insurance, even if they don't want to insure there car they should have a least 3 party. All the cars Mario and I had and they boys have been fully insured. We have drop Brendon car down to 3 party as he is in Japan and is sitting in the drive way and I only take it out now and then and the car is getting old and the insurance works out a bit more than the car is worth. In the UK you have to have insurance on your car as it is illegal not to have it, minimum is 3 party, also the police over there can check your number plate to see if it insured, Heather

What if some sort of basic level of insurance was included in the price of fuel & paid to a central fund?

If it moves, its insured regardless of rego or driver's licence. The more it moves, the more insurance is paid.

Originally Posted by Milton477

What if some sort of basic level of insurance was included in the price of fuel & paid to a central fund?

If it moves, its insured regardless of rego or driver's licence. The more it moves, the more insurance is paid.

If it is linked to fuel, then someone who lives in regional Australia and has to drive huge distances would be paying more for insurance than a city driver who drove fewer kilometres.
However the city driver might be more likely to have to make an insurance claim.

Originally Posted by vnx205

If it is linked to fuel, then someone who lives in regional Australia and has to drive huge distances would be paying more for insurance than a city driver who drove fewer kilometres.
However the city driver might be more likely to have to make an insurance claim.

An therein lies the inherent unfairness in that system. I can't think of a fairer way to do it than they do in the UK. You arrange your own insurance, and the proof of that goes with your rego renewal. No insurance, no rego. If you are caught driving uninsured it's a not-insignificant penalty.

I've sold a couple of cars privately over the years, and I've not let the buyer leave my house until they can confirm they've arranged insurance cover of some sort. The last one was a lovely lady buying her daughter her first car. She hadn't given it so much as a second thought. When I asked how she'd cope if her daughter was involved in even a partially at-fault accident with an exotic $xxx,xxx.xx vehicle on the way home she suddenly thought about it and asked if I'd mind her hanging around while she arrange the insurance. We even made them a cup of tea.

When I was buying cars, you used to be able to get a "cover note". Apparently now you just buy a policy on-line and then manage the cooling off period if you get a better deal or have a re-think post-purchase.