Car Insurance: Owned vs financed or leased car
Is it cheaper to insure an owned car vs a financed or leased car?
![Image: Supplied Car Insurance](https://www.finder.com.au/finder-au/wp-uploads/2017/12/Cheap_Car_Insurance_Supplied_1800x1000.jpg)
When you're buying car insurance you're asked a bunch of questions including the type of car you drive, where it's parked and the age of the main driver. One question that sometimes sneaks past us is, "Is there a current loan or lease on your vehicle?"
While you may not think anything of it, if your car is leased or under finance, you're actually going to end up paying more for your car insurance than someone with the same car that owns it outright.
Like we previously stated, your car insurance premiums are affected by a range of factors and these factors vary depending on your car insurer. However, we found that those looking for insurance who owned their own vehicle paid quite a bit less than those who financed or lease their vehicles.
For example, we got a dummy quote for a Toyota Corolla with Budget Direct and the only factor we changed with each quote was whether or not there was a loan or lease on the car:
Vehicle | Is there a current loan or lease on the Toyota Corolla? | Cost per year |
---|---|---|
Toyota Corolla | No | $1,048.04 |
Toyota Corolla | Yes: Finance / Hire Purchase | $1,104.79 |
Toyota Corolla | Yes: Lease / Novated Lease | $1,149.82 |
*Quotes pulled on 19 Oct 2020
The above example highlights the disparity in costs, with those owning a vehicle outright paying $56.75 (5.42%) less than those that have financed their car and $101.78 (9.72%) less than those who leased their vehicle.
Like with all factors that affect your premium the answer lies in historical data and whether or not an insurer has spotted a particular risk associated with that factor. According to Suncorp spokesperson James Spence, drivers of non-financed vehicles are less risky:
We are currently in the process of compiling a list of car insurance brands that factor in car financing into its underwriting process. However, if you are with any of the major brands underwritten by Suncorp then it will be a factor. We researched some major car insurance players and here's what we found:
Insurer | Asks about car loan? |
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AI Insurance |
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Suncorp underwrite the following Australian car insurance brands:
If you've got money owing on a vehicle be it via a loan or lease, you're going to pay more for coverage if the insurer takes that into consideration. So, the best way to avoid these charges is to look for insurance brands that don't take ownership into account.
At the time of writing, the only brand we could find that didn't take financing or car loans into account when using their online quote tool was Youi.
Now, while this brand may not ask if there's any money owing on your car that doesn't necessarily mean that it will be the best policy for you or even the best price, so make sure you compare a range of quotes before committing to a brand based on one underwriting factor or the price.
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