New research from Compare the Market has revealed that owners of black cars are paying more for insurance in Australia than any other colour.
While not all insurers adjust their pricing based on exterior colour, those that do were found to increase comprehensive insurance premiums by as much as 8.72 per cent for a black car of the same make and model compared to white examples.
Silver, grey, green, gold, brown and purple cars are almost eight per cent more expensive to insure than identical white cars. Blue, red, maroon and orange cars are taxed 7.23 per cent on average.
Beige cars cost 6.46 per cent more to insure, while yellow and turquoise vehicles cost owners 2.96 per cent extra.
Don’t rush out to find an insurer that doesn’t care about colour though, as CTM’s research found that policies from those companies are more expensive across the board.
See full table of the findings below.
| Car colour | Average price increase with insurers that change pricing compared to a white car | Average price of policy with insurers that change pricing based on car colour | Average price of policy with insurers who have a single price for all car colours |
|---|---|---|---|
| White | N/A | $1038.74 | $1815.76 |
| Yellow and turquoise | 2.96% | $1069.49 | $1815.76 |
| Beige | 6.46% | $1105.85 | $1815.76 |
| Blue, red, maroon and orange | 7.23% | $1113.81 | $1815.76 |
| Silver, grey, green, gold, brown and purple | 7.89% | $1120.70 | $1815.76 |
| Black and other | 8.72% | $1129.34 | $1815.76 |
The figures are based on quotes generated by Compare the Market on the 15th of February 2024 for a a 30-year-old woman living in Petrie Terrace, Queensland, who parks her car in a garage, does not own another car, but owns her own home, and has a 30-year and over driver restriction on her policy.
The car in question is a 2019 Toyota Corolla ZR Hybrid Auto, which drives an average of 15,000km per year, has no modifications, no damage, no finance and is used for only private uses.
Compare the Market economic director David Koch explained why insurance companies take car colour into consideration.
“While it can be surprising to see such large discrepancies between some insurance policies based purely on colour, the fact is that some colours may make a vehicle more susceptible to theft or being in an accident and in turn, increase the risk of you needing to claim with your car insurer,” Mr Koch said.
“For example, darker-coloured cars may be harder to see at night or during storms, which could result in more crashes and potentially drive-up prices. In other instances, novelty colours, such as gold or even purple, may be more challenging to repair if the bodywork is damaged.”
According to March 2024 inflation data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, insurance prices in Australia rose by 16.4 per cent annually, leaving motorists with higher premiums regardless of their chosen car colour.
