Club Permit Insurance: Do You Need a Policy?

A club permit arrives with a TAC charge already paid, which leads a lot of owners to assume the car is insured. It is not. The two things are unrelated, and the gap between them is where a restored car quietly sits uninsured for a season.

Do you need special insurance for a club permit car?

You need insurance, and it usually needs to be a policy that understands the vehicle. Nothing in the Victorian club permit rules obliges you to hold comprehensive cover, so this is a commercial decision rather than a legal condition. But the TAC charge inside your permit fee does not touch the vehicle itself, so without a policy a fire, a theft or a hit in a car park is entirely your problem.

Two features usually push owners towards a specialist classic policy rather than an ordinary one: agreed value instead of market value, and a limited-use assumption that matches a car driven on 45 or 90 days a year. Neither is compulsory. Both tend to be the difference between a settlement that rebuilds the car and one that does not.

What does the TAC charge on a club permit actually cover?

Injury to people, through Victoria's transport accident scheme. It is a charge collected with the permit, not an insurance policy you hold, and there is no vehicle in it: it does not repair your car, replace it if it is stolen, or pay for damage you cause to someone else's property or vehicle. Treating it as cover is the single most expensive misunderstanding in this area.

It is also the biggest line on the invoice, which is why people assume it buys more than it does. On a car permit the TAC charge is $60.50 for 45 days and $117.70 for 90 days. On a motorcycle it is $60.50 and $117.70. Alongside it sit the permit fee, the logbook and the plates, all broken down on our club permit pricing page. Figures checked 5 September 2026; the permit component is set in fee units, so the dollar amounts move with indexation rather than with a change to the rules.

Is insurance cheaper on a club permit?

Generally, yes, and the reason is exposure. A vehicle that may legally be driven on no more than 45 or 90 days a year, and which spends the rest of its time at a nominated garage address, presents less risk than a daily driver. Insurers price that.

How much less is not something anyone can quote you in the abstract. It moves on the vehicle and its value, where it is garaged, who drives it, whether it is modified, and the sum insured you nominate. Two policies with the same premium can behave very differently in a total loss, so compare the terms before the price.

What is agreed value, and why do classic policies use it?

Agreed value is a sum you and the insurer fix in advance and which is paid in a total loss, regardless of what the market is doing on the day of the claim. Market value, the alternative, is whatever the vehicle is assessed to be worth at claim time.

For a restored or appreciating vehicle, market value is a bad instrument. The money that went into a body-off restoration is not visible in a comparable-sales figure, and the pool of comparable sales for an unusual car is thin. Agreed value converts an argument at the worst possible moment into a number you settled calmly, usually supported by photographs and a valuation. Expect to revisit it as the vehicle's value moves.

Are you covered if the logbook entry is missing?

This is the question to put to your insurer in writing before you need the answer. Policies written for club permit vehicles generally assume the permit conditions are being met, and the permit conditions include a logbook entry for every trip more than 100 metres from the garage address. A claim arising from an unlogged trip invites a conversation about whether the vehicle was being used as the policy contemplated.

The same reasoning applies to a permit that has lapsed. VicRoads is clear that if your existing permit has expired you cannot drive the vehicle until you have the renewal receipt, and a policy is unlikely to sit comfortably over a trip you were not entitled to take. It is a good argument for filling the logbook in before you pull out, not after you get home. The rules and logbook guide sets out exactly what an entry has to contain.

What should you check before you buy a policy?

Five things, in this order. Whether the payout basis is agreed value or market value, and what the agreed figure is. Whether the annual limit on use accommodates 45 or 90 permit days plus anything else you do with the vehicle. Who is covered to drive, given the club permit rules already require every driver to follow their own licence conditions. Whether declared modifications are covered, since a modified car has to meet VSI 8 and VSI 33 for the permit and may need a VASS approval certificate. And whether the garaging arrangements you have described match the garage address VicRoads holds.

That last one catches people out after a move. The club permit rules require you to tell VicRoads when the vehicle's details change, garage address included, and an insurer generally wants to know as well. Keeping both in step costs one phone call and prevents a mismatch surfacing at claim time.

We do not sell insurance and have no arrangement with any insurer, so there is no recommendation here beyond reading the product disclosure statement. If you are still working out what the permit itself covers and costs, start with our guide to the Club Permit Scheme in Victoria.

Fee lines from the VicRoads permit fees page; permit conditions from the Transport Victoria club permit rules page, both read on 4 September 2026.

Questions

Does a club permit include insurance?

It includes a TAC charge, which is not the same thing. The TAC charge funds Victoria’s transport accident scheme and deals with injury to people. It does not repair your vehicle, replace it if it is stolen, or cover damage you do to someone else’s property. Those need a separate policy.

How much of the club permit fee is the TAC charge?

The largest single line. On a car permit the TAC charge is $60.50 for 45 days and $117.70 for 90 days, against a permit fee of $27.60 and $55.30. Those figures were checked on 5 September 2026 and were unchanged from our previous check in July 2026.

Is insurance cheaper on a club permit?

Usually, because the vehicle is driven on at most 45 or 90 days a year and is garaged the rest of the time. How much cheaper depends on the vehicle, its value, where it is kept and who drives it. Compare on the policy terms rather than the headline premium.

What is agreed value?

A figure you and the insurer settle on up front, paid out in a total loss regardless of what the market says on the day. Classic vehicles are usually insured this way because market value is a poor guide for a car that has been restored or is appreciating.

Am I covered if I forgot the logbook entry?

Ask your insurer, and expect a careful answer. Policies written for club permit vehicles generally assume the permit conditions are being met. A trip taken outside the permit conditions is a live issue at claim time, which is one of several practical reasons to fill the logbook in before you drive.