Does car insurance cover towing?
Yes, car insurance can cover towing. So can roadside assistance. Read on to find out how.
What different scores mean
9+
Excellent
These products offer the best value and outcomes considering various product features and price.
7+
Great
Competitive products within their group.
5+
Standard
But these products still offer reasonable value and have the basics sorted.
0+
Basic
Offering basic cover with limited features or higher pricing.
Car insurance and towing
If you hold a comprehensive car insurance policy, towing is covered. However, there's a catch. Towing is only covered for certain types of events, these can include:
- Following an accident when your car needs to be towed
- Following a hail storm where your car has been damaged and needs to be towed to a repairer
It will not cover towing for breakdowns, flat batteries or flat tyres. For that, you'd need roadside assistance.
Roadside assistance and towing
Roadside assistance covers towing for events like breakdowns, flat batteries, flat tyres, if you've run out of fuel or used the wrong fuel and more. Based on the plan you've selected and where you've broken down, you may be covered for towing across longer distances (up to 200km from home) or shorter distances (up to 50km from home).
Does third party car insurance cover towing?
It's unlikely that your third party car insurance will cover towing but there are a few things to consider.
- If you hold a third party property and theft policy then towing may be covered after an event like a bushfire or if your car has been found after a theft.
- If you hold a third party property damage policy then towing will not be covered. This is because these types of policies only cover costs incurred for damage to other people's vehicles, not your own.
Do I need insurance to tow a trailer?
You don't need special insurance to legally tow a trailer as the trailer is covered by your car's compulsory third party insurance (CTP). So as long as your car has CTP, then the trailer it's towing is covered under this.
However, CTP only covers you for damage caused to other people. It does not cover damage you cause to other people's property or damage to your own trailer. If you want cover for damage to your own trailer then it's worth considering trailer insurance.
Car insurance policies that cover towing
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Finder Score for car insurance
We analyse over 80 car insurance products and rate each one on price and features. What we get out the other end is a nice round number out of 10 to help you start comparing.
To make sure we're comparing apples with apples, we collect quotes for 8 different personas and analyse different car insurance features. Our team then does some fancy maths to get the Finder Score, taking both price and features into account. We analyse comprehensive, third party fire and theft and third party property damage products individually.
Our expert says
"When it comes to car insurance and towing, there are very specific events where you will and won't be covered. Generally speaking, comprehensive policies will cover towing if it's needed as the result of an accident. Only roadside assistance plans will cover you for towing for more minor things like a flat battery. The good news is, if you need towing for more major incidents - it's likely already covered under your comprehensive policy. And if you need towing for more minor events, there are really affordable policies available."
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