A survey of personal lines car insurers by comparison website RateCity has identified a disparity of almost $1000 in rates offered to drivers in Melbourne.

RateCity revealed an average cost of $960.28 among 26 car insurance providers across the four suburbs of Doncaster, Caulfield, Seddon and Meadow Heights.

Among the cheapest providers were online providers Bingle, Youi, The Buzz and Budget Direct, while more expensive insurers included Aon, CGU, St George Bank and Suncorp.

RateCity CEO Damian Smith says it’s “hard to understand how the difference in price for the identical driver profile with the same address can have such varying degrees in quotes”.

However, he concedes the survey is limited by its failure to account for loyalty discounts and other items that can alter the final premium paid by customers.