🏆 Australian Call Centre Rankings · Q2 2026
Australian Car Insurers Q2 2026 Call Centre Rankings
Car insurance is easy to compare on price and very hard to compare on anything else. Two policies at the same premium can differ enormously in what they actually cover — which means the phone call is often the only thing a customer has to judge one insurer against another.
These rankings show how Australia's car insurers handle that call, based on real mystery shopping calls from people taking out a new policy or comparing cover before they switch.
That call carries more weight than it looks. A customer buying car insurance is not only buying a price — they are making a bet on what happens the day they need to claim, and this conversation is the only evidence they have to go on.
It is why some insurers can hold a premium against cheaper quotes, and why customers pay it. Handle the enquiry well and you have made the case for your claims service before anyone has needed it. Handle it badly and you have made the opposite case just as convincingly.
Every call is independently assessed against 48+ CX metrics aligned to the Australian Contact Centre CX Standards, covering both how easily the caller reached a person and how well that conversation was handled. Nobody is told when we are calling, so what you see here is what a customer sees.
The stakes are simple. A car insurance shopper is comparing three or four quotes in an afternoon, and the customer on the line has usually already decided to move. Every call that ends badly hands a policy to whoever they ring next.
Q2 2026 gives car insurers the best Agent Mastery of any industry we measure — and the last place of all seven sectors on the competency that covers asking the customer anything. The full picture is below.
What you’re looking at. This is the public snapshot — the headline sector results, and a fraction of what each assessed call generates across 48+ individual metrics. ACXPA Members see considerably more: insurer leaderboards, monthly and quarterly trends, lifetime averages, and provider-level results for a selection of insurers.
But membership is still a view of the sector. It is not a view of you, and it does not open up the full dataset.
The only way to see your own contact centre’s complete results — and to benchmark against the specific competitors you nominate — is through our Car Insurance Benchmarking Services.
Australian Car Insurers · Q2 2026
Executive Summary
Australia's car insurers have the best agents in the country. Agent Mastery averaged 55.9% in Q2 2026, up 2.4 percentage points and first of the seven sectors we measure nationally — ahead of every other industry, and above the 54.1% all-industry average.
Overall CX rose 3.5 points to 56.5%, third of seven and 1.6 points above the 54.9% all-industry average. Every assessed call is scored against a defined standard of best practice, so 100% describes a call where nothing was missed.
The sector answers the phone better than anyone too. 95.2% of calls were answered within ten minutes — first of seven nationally, 12.0 points above the industry average, with five of the seven insurers at 100%.
First of the seven sectors measured nationally — the best conversation quality of any industry in Australia this quarter.
Car insurance holds four of the highest company scores recorded nationally this quarter: Youi on Agent Mastery (70.0%), Discover (88.9%) and Educate (86.1%), and Allianz on Close (88.9%).
It also holds two of the lowest — RAC on Discover (29.6%) and RACV on Educate (44.4%). No sector has a wider gap between its best and its worst on the same measures.
Which points at the quarter's real finding. Discover — establishing what the customer actually needs before quoting — averaged 42.3% and ranks last of all seven sectors, against a 49.9% industry average.
And that figure is flattered. Strip Youi out and the remaining six insurers average 34.5% on Discover — 15.4 points below the national average. One company is carrying the sector's headline strength almost single-handedly.
The second finding is length. Sector Talk Time reached 10:15 against a 6:23 industry average — 61% longer, and last of all seven sectors. Total Experience Time was 13:40 against 9:30 nationally.
Put together: car insurers hold callers on the phone longer than any industry in Australia, and ask them less about their circumstances than any industry in Australia. Long calls are not discovery calls.
Access is the quieter weakness. Accessibility averaged 62.7%, sixth of seven and 3.3 points below the 66.0% industry average, with 1:54 spent in phone menus against 1:12 nationally and 3.3 menu layers against 2.1.
Average wait time of 1:31 is genuinely good — third of seven, and well inside the 1:52 national average. The delay is the menu, not the queue.
For a market where price comparison is a click away and the quote is the product, the implication is direct: the sector's agents are the best in the country at explaining a policy, and among the worst at finding out what the customer needs before they explain it.
ACXPA conducts this benchmarking by posing as prospective customers shopping for car insurance and comparing quotes. We assess new-business enquiries that represent direct revenue opportunities, not claims or existing-policy servicing, and score every call against the Australian Contact Centre CX Standards.
Sector Leaders
🏆 Top Performers — Australian Car Insurers Q2 2026
Overall CX — Youi (70.3%)
Youi led the sector for a fifth consecutive quarter, and in ten of the twelve quarters we have tracked Australian car insurers. It ranks 5th nationally across every sector we assess and finishes 6.3 points clear of RAC in second.
The result eased 1.4 points and is a third consecutive quarterly decline — worth watching, but from a position no competitor has been near for three years.
Agent Mastery — Youi (70.0%)
Agent Mastery assesses how effectively agents Engage (build rapport and take ownership), Discover (establish what the customer actually needs), Educate (explain cover, excess and pricing clearly), Close (finish with confidence and a clear next step), and create lasting Impact.
Youi's 70.0% is the highest Agent Mastery result recorded by any company in any sector this quarter, and it has led the sector for eight consecutive quarters.
It also posted the highest Discover score nationally (88.9%) and the highest Educate score nationally (86.1%). Three national firsts in one quarter, from one company.
Accessibility — RAC (77.6%)
Accessibility scores the whole journey from dialling to speaking with a person — time in the phone menu, clarity of the options, how long the customer holds, and whether the call is answered at all (full definitions here).
RAC gained 4.2 points to 77.6%, leading the sector for a third consecutive quarter and in six of twelve. It answered 100% of calls within ten minutes for a seventh consecutive quarter, with the sector's fastest average wait at 0:39.
Against a sector average of 62.7%, RAC is 14.9 points ahead — and the only insurer above 75%.
✅ Closing the Call — Allianz (88.9%)
Close covers the end of the call: a final check that everything has been answered, a clear next step, and a genuine thank you. On a quote enquiry it is where interest either becomes a policy or becomes a comparison site.
Allianz gained 25.9 points to 88.9% — the highest Close score recorded by any company in any sector this quarter — reclaiming a competency it has led in nine of twelve quarters.
It contributed to car insurance finishing second of seven sectors on Close, 8.4 points above the national average.
📈 Most Improved — Budget Direct (58.1%)
Budget Direct posted its best-ever Overall CX (58.1%), best-ever Agent Mastery (56.2%) and best-ever Engage (50.0%) in the same quarter — three records at once, and a second consecutive quarterly improvement on the first two.
Its Engage score rose 16.7 points, the largest gain in the sector on the competency that decides whether the caller stays on the line. It also answered 100% of calls for a third consecutive quarter.
What Improved
⭐ Key Wins — Australian Car Insurers Q2 2026
🥇 The best agents in the country
Agent Mastery rose 2.4 points to 55.9%, a second consecutive quarterly improvement and first of all seven sectors nationally — ahead of Internet, Energy and Banking.
The sector also finished second of seven on Close (60.8%) and third on Educate (63.7%), Impact (75.4%) and Engage (38.9%). On four of the five competencies, car insurers are in the national top three.
📞 Nobody answers the phone better
Calls answered within ten minutes rose 4.7 points to 95.2% — first of seven sectors and 12.0 points above the 83.2% industry average.
AAMI, Allianz, Budget Direct, RAC and Youi all recorded 100%. RAC has now managed seven consecutive quarters at 100%, Youi five, Budget Direct three. AAMI and Allianz both recovered 11.1 points to get there.
Average wait time held at 1:31, third of seven and comfortably inside the 1:52 national average.
🏆 Youi holds three of the country's top scores
Youi recorded the highest Agent Mastery (70.0%), Discover (88.9%) and Educate (86.1%) results of any company in any sector this quarter.
It has led the sector's Agent Mastery for eight consecutive quarters, Discover in eleven of twelve, and Overall CX in ten of twelve. On conversation quality it is not competing with the other insurers so much as operating above them.
✅ Allianz reclaims the best close in Australia
Allianz gained 25.9 points on Close to 88.9%, the highest recorded nationally this quarter, and lifted Overall CX 11.1 points to 62.2% — the largest Overall gain in the sector.
Agent Mastery rose 10.7 points to 58.4% and Educate 15.3 points to 63.9%, a second consecutive quarterly improvement. Allianz also returned to 100% calls answered.
📈 Budget Direct sets three personal records at once
Budget Direct posted best-ever results on Overall CX (58.1%), Agent Mastery (56.2%) and Engage (50.0%) in the same quarter, with Engage up 16.7 points.
It is the only insurer improving steadily on both halves of the call rather than trading one against the other.
🚗 RAC and RACV both move sharply forward
RAC improved Overall CX 6.3 points to 64.0%, a second consecutive rise, with Agent Mastery up 7.1 points, Close up 16.6 and Impact up 16.7 to 86.1%. It leads the sector on Accessibility and answers every call.
RACV gained 15.2 points of Accessibility to 46.2% and 8.6 points of Overall CX, cutting average wait time from 4:46 to 3:05 and lifting calls answered 22.2 points to 77.8%.
🎯 Not a single quality deduction across the sector
No insurer incurred a quality deduction on any assessed call — a sector rate of 0.0%, against an industry average of 1.8%. Access deductions also fell to 14.3%, well below the 20.1% national rate.
Where The Sector Is Losing Ground
⚠ Overall CX Challenges — Australian Car Insurers Q2 2026
🗣 The sector with the best agents asks the fewest questions
Discover measures whether the agent establishes the customer's actual circumstances — what they drive, who drives it, where it is parked, what they already pay — before quoting. Car insurance averaged 42.3% and ranks last of all seven sectors, against a 49.9% industry average.
The headline is flattered by one company. Remove Youi and the remaining six insurers average 34.5% — 15.4 points below the national average. Five of the seven scored 33.3% or lower.
RAC (29.6%) recorded a worst-ever result and the lowest Discover score of any company in any sector this quarter. On a product priced entirely on individual risk, quoting without asking is quoting blind.
⏳ The longest calls in the country, by a distance
Sector Talk Time reached 10:15 against a 6:23 industry average — 61% longer — and Total Experience Time 13:40 against 9:30. Car insurance is last of seven sectors on both.
Youi recorded a talk time of 16:25, the longest of any company in any sector, and has held the sector's longest calls for eleven consecutive quarters. Its total experience time of 18:25 is second-longest nationally.
Both figures did improve this quarter — sector talk time fell 45 seconds — but the gap to every other industry remains the widest in the benchmark.
🔁 The delay is the menu, not the queue
Accessibility averaged 62.7%, sixth of seven sectors and 3.3 points below the 66.0% industry average, despite an average wait time of 1:31 that beats the national figure comfortably.
The friction is upstream: 1:54 spent in phone menus against 1:12 nationally, across 3.3 menu layers against 2.1. The sector also scored just 52.4% on Search — how readily a customer finds the right number — against 73.6% nationally.
Allianz (2:17) recorded a worst-ever menu time and the slowest in the sector, and a worst-ever 4:15 to reach a live person.
📉 Youi's own close is going backwards
While holding three national firsts, Youi scored 38.9% on Close — down 9.2 points, a second consecutive decline, and last in the sector.
The pattern is specific and expensive: the best discovery and explanation in the country, on the longest calls in the country, ending without a clear next step. Youi's Impact also fell 11.1 points to 77.8%.
🔻 NRMA slips on every conversational measure
NRMA fell 8.8 points of Overall CX to 47.8%, with Agent Mastery down 6.2 to a worst-ever 48.5% and Close down 11.1 to a worst-ever 51.9%, a third consecutive quarterly decline.
Impact fell 13.9 points and Engage 5.6. Calls answered also dropped 11.1 points to 88.9%, ending a run at 100%.
🚧 RACV remains a long way back despite real progress
RACV improved on several fronts but still finished last in the sector at 39.1% Overall CX, with the lowest Accessibility (46.2%) and the slowest access in the sector — 3:05 average wait and 5:15 to reach a person, both for a fifth consecutive quarter.
Its Educate score of 44.4% is the lowest recorded by any company in any sector this quarter, down 9.8 points, and only 77.8% of its calls were answered within ten minutes.
Recognising Call Centre Excellence for Australian Car Insurers
Congratulations to the Australian car insurers delivering standout customer experiences through their call centres in Q2 2026 — a quarter in which this sector recorded the highest Agent Mastery of any industry we measure nationally.
These rankings are based on independent mystery shopping assessments, using real customer enquiries to evaluate how well contact centres handle Australians shopping for cover and comparing quotes.
Recognition here reflects more than meeting expectations. In a market where a comparison site is one click away and the quote is the product, the insurers at the top of this table are converting enquiries their competitors are losing between the phone menu and the close.
70.3% 64.0% 62.2% 39.1%Quarterly Trend
Overall CX
Australian Car Insurers
The Overall CX Score is the headline metric in our benchmarking program — a single weighted score covering how easily a customer reaches a contact centre, and how well the conversation goes once they do.
The two are weighted deliberately. Getting through matters, but what happens next matters more — so the agent's handling of the conversation carries the greater share of the score.
Penalties are applied where a call breaks down badly, so a serious failure can't be averaged away by an otherwise reasonable interaction. The score reflects what the customer actually experienced.
Learn more about the Australian Contact Centre CX Standards that power these assessments.
Key Metrics Trend – Australian Car Insurers (12-Month View)
The chart below highlights a 12-month trend across three core CX performance metrics for Australian car insurers:
- Overall CX – A weighted composite score reflecting the full enquiry experience, combining how easily the customer reached an agent with how well that conversation was handled.
- Accessibility – How quickly and easily a prospective customer can reach a real person to discuss cover or get a quote, measured across menu navigation, wait times, recorded messaging and whether the call is answered at all.
- Agent Mastery – The skill, clarity and confidence with which agents establish the customer's circumstances, explain cover, excess and pricing, and progress toward a policy, measured across five core competencies.
- Overall CX
- This is the headline metric – representing the total customer experience across every stage of the call journey. It's calculated using a weighted combination of the Accessibility and Agent Mastery scores, providing a holistic view of how well insurers are delivering end-to-end experiences during revenue-intent enquiries such as new quotes and policy comparisons.
- Accessibility
- This measures how easily and quickly a prospective customer can reach a real person. It includes navigating phone menus, clarity of options, queue times, and whether callers successfully reach an agent. Higher scores indicate faster access, lower friction and fewer abandoned sales opportunities.
- Agent Mastery
- This evaluates the quality and professionalism of the conversation once contact is made. It measures how effectively agents establish the customer's circumstances, explain cover levels, excess and pricing, handle objections, and guide the customer toward a policy – along with empathy, clarity and overall service delivery. On a product priced entirely on individual risk, it is a direct measure of whether the quote given was the right one.
Learn more about the Australian Contact Centre CX Standards that underpin these assessments.
Call Centre CX Quadrant – Australian Car Insurers Q2 2026
This Call Centre CX Quadrant plots how Australian car insurers compare on Accessibility — how quickly and easily a prospective customer reaches a live agent — against Agent Mastery, the quality, clarity and confidence of the conversation that follows.
The mystery shops simulate revenue-intent enquiries: a customer shopping for cover and comparing quotes.
Q2 2026 puts five of the seven insurers in the top-right box — above the halfway mark on both measures. No other sector we assess is this tightly clustered on the strong side of the chart, which is what a national-best Agent Mastery score looks like in practice.
Youi sits furthest right on conversation quality, with RAC highest on access. NRMA is the near miss — reachable enough, but the only insurer to fall below the midpoint on the conversation itself after a quarter of decline.
RACV is alone in the lower-left, below the line on both. It closed ground this quarter on access, but starts further back than anyone else in the sector.
The chart's strength is also what it conceals. Agent Mastery is a blend of five competencies, and this sector's is carried by Educate, Close and Impact — not by Discover, where car insurance ranks last of all seven sectors nationally.
Being right of the line is not the same as asking the right questions.
