Need to know
- All of the major supermarkets offer car insurance. In the case of Woolworths and Coles, these policies are linked to their loyalty programs
- CHOICE experts say that, rather than just focusing on price, it's important to scrutinise the detail of policies to ensure you get the coverage you need
- CHOICE's independent car insurance review compares more than 65 car insurance policies across the market, including insurers such as NRMA, AAMI and GIO, to help you find the one that best suits your needs and budget
As well as absorbing a good chunk of your monthly budget on groceries, it seems the big supermarkets now want you to spend more money with them by buying their insurance products too.
While Coles and Woolworths have been offering insurance products for years, Aldi debuted its insurance offering in June last year, giving its customers the opportunity to pick up their home and contents insurance, landlord insurance and car insurance along with their weekly shop.
But is it a good idea to lump your car insurance in with your bread and milk, and are you really getting a good deal? There are certainly lots of incentives that the big supermarkets dangle in front of you to get your business.
But is it a good idea to lump your car insurance in with your bread and milk?
Coles and Woolies offer a range of insurance policies linked to their loyalty programs, Everyday Rewards and Flybuys, which give you bonus points when you sign up and ongoing discounts on your shopping that can increase according to how many policies you hold.
Of course, in order to take advantage of these discounts, you hand over a significant amount of personal data to the supermarkets, something CHOICE experts warn you should be wary of.
Aldi doesn't have a loyalty program and doesn't offer conditional discounts – their insurance products were launched promising "everyday competitive prices for Australian shoppers".
As many Australians continue to struggle with the increasing cost of living, a discount on groceries is undoubtedly a huge incentive. But are supermarket car insurance policies really good value?
Is car insurance from Coles, Woolies and Aldi any good?
CHOICE experts have compared more than 65 car insurance policies across the market to help you find the one that best suits your needs and budget.
Unlike other insurance comparison websites, we're completely independent and don't get paid by any of the insurers we're comparing. That means we're also willing to call out the policies that we don't recommend because they don't offer good value or have weird exclusions.
Of the three supermarket policies, Aldi and Coles generally come out better than Everyday Woolworths
Mark Blades, CHOICE insurance expert
CHOICE insurance expert, Mark Blades, has closely scrutinised each of the car insurance policies offered by Coles, Woolworths and Aldi.
"You get what you might expect with supermarket car insurance – homebrand products with homebrand quality," he says.
"But they mightn't be as cheap as you'd hope for. Woolworths Everyday insurance in particular is a homebrand product at organic produce prices.
"These are all very standard policies that aren't the best or the worst in the extensive line-up of car insurance policies we've reviewed. They all have the cover you'd expect for things like theft, collision, hail, storm, flood and fire, with variations in some elements of the cover and definitions of what they will and won't cover.
"Of the three supermarket policies, Aldi and Coles generally come out better than Everyday Woolworths in terms of the features and benefits paid."
Compare car insurance policies at CHOICE to ensure you're getting the best value for money.
The importance of comparing prices and policies
When comparing prices, it's worth noting that all three supermarkets have simply repackaged someone else's existing policy and slapped their logo on it. Often you'll find a very similar – if not identical policy – offered by another provider (backed by the same insurance underwriter).
For example, the Aldi policy is provided by RACQ (which also sells policies under its own name), the Coles policy is provided by Auto and General (which also sells policies under Budget Direct), and the Everyday Woolworths policy is provided by Hollard (which also sells policies under Real Insurance).
"We often find that almost identical policies are offered by different insurers for completely different prices, so it's important to compare prices as well as the detail of the policy when you're doing your research – the CHOICE car insurance review can help you with this," says Mark.
"If you've been with the same insurer for years, it's also wise to look around to see if there are any sign-up promotions or other benefits you could be taking advantage of with a new insurer.
"Just ensure you're not losing out on coverage and look closely at the Product Disclosure Statement of the policy you're buying."
Aldi comprehensive car insurance
- Cover score: 64%
- Provided by RACQ and administered by Honey Insurance.
While this policy offers fairly standard cover, it has some advantages over the Coles and Everyday Woolworths policies in terms of the benefits offered and some terms and conditions.
Benefits of the policy include $1500 cover for personal items damaged in your car (with some exclusions such as theft, but it does include mobile phones and electronics), plus $1500 of coverage for emergency accommodation or transport after an incident. This is more generous than the Coles policy ($1000) or Everyday Woolworths policy ($500) that both also have certain limits and conditions.
Other benefits of the Aldi car insurance policy include:
- If you write off a new car (within 24 months), the insurer will replace your car with a new one of the same make and model, rather than paying out the policy. This benefit is also offered by the Coles and Woolworths policies.
- $1000 for trailer damage (but not the contents)
- Hire car is provided after theft and not-at-fault collisions as standard (limited to 21 days after theft but no limit to days for a not-at-fault collision), and as an optional extra for at-fault incidents (benefit is limited to $150 per day in all cases).
Like the other supermarket policies, Aldi stipulates that if your car requires repairs under insurance, you must use a repairer of their choosing, with no option to use your own.
Honey Insurance also administers car insurance for Bank Australia and BOQ with very similar inclusions, so compare their prices before you buy. Read the full Aldi car insurance policy review.
Coles Comprehensive Car Insurance
- Cover score: 65%
- Provided by Auto & General
For both the Coles and Woolworths policies, the unique selling point isn't actually in the insurance product: it's in the fact that you get discounts on your shopping or additional points in exchange for handing over your personal data to their respective loyalty programs.
Remember there are many other policies that offer the same or better cover out there, so it's still important to shop around to make sure you're getting the best deal. Auto & General also administer car insurance for ING, Virgin Money, Budget Direct and Qantas, so ensure you compare those policies during your research.
This policy has an optional extra to choose your own repairer and offers the following benefits:
- $500 for 'personal effects' which are items designed to be worn or carried that are damaged or stolen from your car, including $500 for baby seats and capsules
- $1000 for trailer and caravan damage (but not their contents)
- New car replacement for any car less than 24 months old (if the car has done less than 40,000km)
- Hire car made available to you in the following circumstances
- After a no-fault-accident, included as standard, benefit capped to $75 limit a day, no limit on days
- After theft, included as standard, either for 14 days, until settled, or until $1000 in hire costs are used. No daily limit.
- After at-fault accident, available as an optional extra, benefit capped to $75 limit a day, 14 day limit.
Another odd, unique inclusion in this policy is that it will pay $200 for any theft or damage to groceries in your car at the time of an incident.
Read the Coles Comprehensive car insurance policy review.
CHOICE tip: You'll save money and get better cover with insurance policies recommended by CHOICE. Unlike other insurance comparison websites, we don't get paid by any of the insurers we're comparing. CHOICE is nonprofit, so your membership fees help us fight for fair consumer rights, and empower you to get the best products. Check out our car insurance reviews.
Everyday Comprehensive Car Insurance by Woolworths
- Cover score: 56%
- Provided by Hollard Insurance
Many Woolworths shoppers are enticed by the 10% monthly discount you get on groceries if you are part of the Everyday Rewards loyalty program and sign up to this policy. However, it's important to be aware that, discount or no discount, you're paying for below average cover.
"The Woolworths Everyday Comprehensive Car Insurance policy received a price score of 63% – the higher the score, the cheaper the policy usually is compared to other products. There are many policies in our review that outperform this policy on both cost and level of cover," says Mark.
With this policy, you are limited to the insurer's network of repairers (you can't use your own) and the cover is slightly worse than that offered by Coles and Aldi's policies.
Some benefits include:
- $500 for personal property designed to be worn or carried that is damaged or stolen from your car,
- Excludes mobile phones and laptops
- $500 for baby seats, capsules, and prams that are damaged or stolen
- $1000 for trailer or caravan damage (but not their contents)
- New car replacement for any vehicle less than 24 months old
- Option to pay extra to have an excess-free replacement or repair of the windscreen (limited to once a year)
- Hire car available
- After theft, for 14 days, capped at $50 per day
- As an optional extra after damage (regardless of who is at fault), capped at $50 day. (Coles and Aldi have hire car after a not-at-fault incident included as standard).
Read the Woolworths Everyday car insurance policy review.
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