Five million Aussie drivers left with bill for damages they didn’t cause
Almost a third of drivers have had their car damaged by another vehicle but the culprit fled the scene.
Millions of Aussie drivers have reported being left with an unfair repair bill after another vehicle hit their car but didn't stick around to exchange details.
A Finder survey of 1,007 people found that 28% had suffered mystery damage to their cars. That figure rose to 31% when only car-owners were asked.
The research also revealed that baby boomers are most likely to suffer damage to their vehicles (34%), while drivers in regional areas are also at a higher risk (32%).
South Australian residents should also be particularly careful, as 37% of drivers in the state reported that their car had previously been hit by someone else who didn't own up - the highest percentage of any region in the country.
Unfortunately, many of the drivers will have no help in covering the unexpected cost. According to Finder's Consumer Sentiment Tracker, a nationally representative survey of more than 15,000 respondents, almost 1 in 4 (24%) Australians don't have comprehensive car insurance.
Comprehensive car insurance is the only type of cover which will pay out if you sustain mysterious damage to your car - and it might not be as expensive as you think.
In our 2021 Finder Awards, we found that on an average, a 30-year old man paid anything between $612 and $2,385 annually, while a 30-year old woman paid between $426 and $2,969 for a comprehensive policy.
That means you could save a huge $2,643 a year, just by comparing car insurance online.
Get a quote for comprehensive car insurance
Car insurance quotes have to be tailored to your vehicle, driving history, and risk factors. Click 'Get Quote' to see how much it might cost to fully protect your car.
Finder Score for car insurance
We analyse over 100 car insurance products and rate each one on price and features. What we get out the other end is a nice round number between 1 and 10 to help you start comparing.
To make sure we're comparing apples with apples, we collect quotes for 8 different personas, then work out the value of 19 different car insurance features. Our team then does some fancy maths to get the Finder Score, taking both price and features into account.
Picture: GettyImages