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Claiming pothole damage

In most cases, car insurance does not cover pothole damage to tyres. However, other damage may be covered.

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By

Peta Taylor

Updated

Fact checked
Car Insurance

We checked the product disclosure statement (PDS) for 10 different comprehensive car insurance policies, none cover pothole damage to tyres. Our research looked specifically at pothole damage and tyre damage. In all cases, tyre damage was listed as an exclusion. In some cases, pothole damage to other parts of the car (excluding tyres) could be covered under loss or damage.

Keep in mind, given that no one else can be held accountable for the damage, it's likely that you'd have to pay an excess if the insurer did decide to approve your claim.

Will car insurance cover pothole damage?

Our insurance experts went through the product disclosure statement for 10 different providers and looked at how each insurer treats damage as the result of a pothole. Our findings are summarised below.

ProviderIs pothole damage covered?
Budget DirectTyre damage as the result of a pothole will not be covered, however more extensive damage to the car may be eligible for cover under loss or damage.
YouiTyre damage is not covered.
RollinTyre damage is not covered.
QantasTyre damage is not covered.
BingleTyre damage is not covered.
Australia PostTyre damage is not covered unless it's caused by an incident which they've agreed to cover.
QBETyre damage is not covered unless it's caused by an incident which they've agreed to cover.
KoganTyre damage is not covered unless it's caused by an incident which they've agreed to cover.
AAMITyre damage is not covered.
NRMATyre damage as the result of a pothole will not be covered, however more extensive damage to the car may be eligible for cover under loss or damage.

This research is accurate as of December 2023. Our sources include product disclosure statements, information on provider website pages and online chats used on provider websites.

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Publisher of Insurance

Peta Taylor is a publisher at Finder, working across all of insurance. She's been analysing product disclosure statements and publishing articles for over 2 years. Peta is passionate about demystifying complex insurance products to help users make well educated decisions with confidence. Peta is part of Finder's insurance awards team and works alongside editorial and insights experts to bring users the best insurance products every year. See full bio

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