Insurance companys - Any that have been good or bad?

Francis · 26-10-2009, 10:01 PM

Hi all, I did search and nothing came up.

I thought it would be interesting to hear about the good and bad insurance companies.

I thought I would take a look around and see whats on offer, but Im sure there are some really good storys and Im sure there are some bad, so lets hear them!

Valid8 · 26-10-2009, 10:13 PM

The RACV offered me $9000 for my written off AUIII Fairmont, I pleaded my case and asked for $10 000 they said OK, happy customer.

Iggypoppin' · 26-10-2009, 10:17 PM

im with AAMI and cant be happier. i was informed one year after purchase of my car that the value had dropped, i called up and talked to a representitive, and for $30 less p/month i was able to add some value to the policy.
what i mean is, 22,500 purchase cost, so insured it for 25,000.
after a year, they reduced it to 20,500. i negotiated it back to 22,500. so very happy and im only 20, have a rating two i think, clean history of driving and pay 79 p/month(from memory). pretty good i think.

Francis · 26-10-2009, 10:19 PM

I'm trying to compare AAMI, Shannons and Rino. The I'm unsure of is if AAMI let you choose your reapairer. My worry would be if you dont then the cheapest quote wins the repair job.

smally289 · 26-10-2009, 10:25 PM

Ive got my ute and daily work hack insured with Shannons. Had to make a claim on the work car a few months back after a kind co - worker parked his ute half way up my bonnet.
Couldn't have been happier with Shannons. Very easy to deal with and got a follow up call a week later to make sure I was happy with the repair. After the crashy had sent in the quote they chose to go with a new frt guard rather than repair the old one, even though it worked out more expensive that way - and a genuine Ford panel too, not cheap Chinese rubbish.

I didn't have to get multiple quotes either, I took it to the repairer of my choice.

Francis · 26-10-2009, 10:27 PM

You dont mind paying extra per year on a pollcy for service like that!

Wonder if the big players would be that easy and happy to help.

smally289 · 26-10-2009, 10:29 PM

What car are you looking at insuring Francis?

**Polyal** · 26-10-2009, 10:31 PM

Im 50/50 with shannons at the moment, ill see what happens in a couple of weeks but I am not happy at the moment.

Not good when you pick up your car worse off than when you dropped it off. I guess its not really shannons fault thus far its been their "preferred" repairer.

Francis · 26-10-2009, 10:31 PM

We have just bought a really nice BA XR8. I'm just trying to make sure we will get the best cover.

All the quotes seem to be within $100 of each other so I'm just trying to see who would offer the best service if you needed to use it.

Francis · 26-10-2009, 10:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Polyal

Im 50/50 with shannons at the moment, ill see what happens in a couple of weeks but I am not happy at the moment.

Not good when you pick up your car worse off than when you dropped it off. I guess its not really shannons fault thus far its been their "preferred" repairer.

Well if their life time reapirs pollicy is ture then Shannons should be on their back to fix it!

**Polyal** · 26-10-2009, 10:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Francis

Well if their life time reapirs pollicy is ture then Shannons should be on their back to fix it!

Well I have taken 3 days of my time to get it sorted thus far and no outcome with no one taking responsibility.

Ive got to take it to another specialist when I can to get another check. Until thats done ill give them the benefit of the doubt.

In saying that when I had my XD they where great and well price, but for some weird reason my AU which is close enough to stock has been a hassle and costs more!

jether · 27-10-2009, 12:17 AM

I'm with CGU and have a good experience with my accident. I can use choose from a list of approved repairers in my area. They was no need for multiple quotes. I don't know how much it cost but the guys I used weren't cheap!

I all had to do was report the accident and drop the car off at the repairer. They didn't give me any trouble with the claim.

IH8HSV · 27-10-2009, 02:12 AM

Insurance companies love loyalty.

If you are currently with an insurance company stick with them - instead of going with someone else to save a few bucks.

The amount of time you are with them goes along way.

Bushbasher · 27-10-2009, 08:38 AM

CGU here too, made 2 claims on my last Fairlane less than 12 months apart but in different billing cycles, both roo related, ie.,one before and one after yearly renewal and still didn't lose our rating 1 !!, gotta love that. We have all our insurances with CGU, contents in our rental, landlords on our house in SA and vehicles and have made claims against all 3 policies in the last 2 years and not had one single problem, in fact they've been exceedingly forthcoming over and above what we expected for one claim in particular. We ended up with a $2000 antique 3/4 gentlemans wardrobe that replaced a $200 s/h shop special, even after my insistance that another cheapy wardrobe would be acceptable.

Bushbasher

winkle · 27-10-2009, 10:49 AM

I had a bingle in my 2002 XR6 in 2005 when a driver neglected to give way across all four lanes of the main divided road in Ballarat. We were with RACV (still are) and they were brilliant. Police, fire and ambulance attended (a bit of overkill) so I had plenty of record and witnesses. Just rang RACV and gave them all the details over the phone. No need to fill in forms. They contacted the repairer and kept us informed during the repair process. The car was in brilliant condition before the prang - the towie actually asked me if I had just had it professionally detailed (I looked after it myself). The repair done was to a very high standard and I was very happy with the way RACV handled everything.

I just got rear-ended this morning in my Navara ute, which is ensured with QBE through a broker, so I'll post how I go with them. They don't have a telephone claim system, so the broker is posting a claim form. It's only a $1000 claim and the ute is drivable, so no big deal.

Fev · 27-10-2009, 11:05 AM

when i was with GIO they were great. Pricey but the service was good. I chose my own repairer, their assessors never had any problems etc.

I'm now with AAMI and im paying almost $600 LESS a year..
They also gave me a free driver training course which got another 10% off my insurance.
I should call them and see if they take any off for me doing an Ian Luff driving course too.. Thankfully i havent had a prang yet so we'll see what happens if it ever does

FPV+fteT3 · 27-10-2009, 11:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Francis

I'm trying to compare AAMI, Shannons and Rino. The I'm unsure of is if AAMI let you choose your reapairer. My worry would be if you dont then the cheapest quote wins the repair job.

I was insured with aami car got some hail damage they initially told me to use xyz repairer I came back with WTF and they let me get the car repaired where I wanted when I drove it in for accessing with my 2 preferred quotes one 15k and one 6k the ammi accessor said where do you want it to go?
Cant get any better than that.
Have policies with LSV and Ryno but have not made a claim yet so dont know really what they are like.

divine_afg · 27-10-2009, 11:22 AM

Just Car is Just S***T - Customer Service is Appalling and Treat you worse then cops pulling you over with Assumptions. Worst Experience I had with Claim.
GIO is really good and so is CGU.
RACV - AMMI and Just Car are all the same . Though Racv is better of the bunch.

Fiesta God · 27-10-2009, 03:51 PM

Have been very happy with Just Car Insurance, they've always given fantastic service and do their best to look after you. They understand cars too.

Loyalty is a big one, if you stick with the one insurer they tend to do their best for you as a reward, that's what I've found in my experience.

FPV+fteT3 · 27-10-2009, 04:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fiesta God

Loyalty is a big one, if you stick with the one insurer they tend to do their best for you as a reward, that's what I've found in my experience.

That may be true for regular cars but for performance and collectables the policies vary so much and the agreed values are so different year to year. It pays to shop around you can get better deals on agreed values and premiums on a yearly basis its how business works I guess. I have 3 cars 60% NCB and all have different insurance an example is when I bought the T3 rang Ryno who has my FPV was quoted $859 rang LSV and got same value for $369 so LSV cover the TE, aami cover the Impreza as they offer the best value premium.

4dlvr · 27-10-2009, 05:28 PM

check out virgin blue insurance,
my dads el is insured for 290 per year with i think 500 excess..

soo bloody cheap for some reason

MrsM · 27-10-2009, 06:03 PM

I am with aami and have only ever made one claim with them a few years back when someone didnt give way and ran into the side of my car. i only had to make one phone call and the lady I dealt with was extremely nice (telling me to go make a cuppa before we got to the details of the claim!). I had driven the car home (when I probably shouldnt have). They sent a tow truck over to get the car and took care of all the quotes and repairs. They were excellent organising a hire car for me (at very short notice) and were also very good when I got my car back only to find the central locking wouldnt work. I am pretty sure my $1500 car is insured for at LEAST $5,000 (no clue why) so I'm happy with them. I will stick with them when I upgrade to a Terry.

divine_afg · 27-10-2009, 06:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fiesta God

Have been very happy with Just Car Insurance, they've always given fantastic service and do their best to look after you. They understand cars too.

Loyalty is a big one, if you stick with the one insurer they tend to do their best for you as a reward, that's what I've found in my experience.

Once bitten twice shy ... your not bitten yet I hope you don't but you may well learn soon that loyalty is ancient. Its all about "whats in it for me" Not many businesses out there believe in loyalty. Ones that do are hard to find.

If I wrote what happen to me you and many here would have different perception of every insurer. At the end of the day its about them not you.

Anyways I won't cut open old wound.

I advice everyone to take time and read there PDS and Insurance Docs.
In Event of Claim, Correspond via writing only and have everything documented.

Dazza XLT · 27-10-2009, 06:11 PM

CGU are fantastic, and competitive.
Had big dramas with a repair job I had completed in the NT. I was in the process of moving to QLD, so they let me choose a repairer over here once I arrived.
Problems all solved!

MRJUCY · 27-10-2009, 07:50 PM

I've been with Shannons for awhile now & had to make a claim when my car was vandalised & found them great to deal with.
I was previously with Vigil for years which are now called Lumley or LSV & my car was stolen in late November & took until late April the year after before I finally got my cheque after a huge amount of hassle so I wouldn't go near them as it doesn't matter how cheap they are it's money wasted if they wont pay out.

MITCHAY · 27-10-2009, 07:53 PM

I'm with Just Cars and even though I've never had to claim so can't comment on that part they have always given me a better deal come renewal time when I give them a call.

Still massively expensive but so is every other company when you're <25 and have a performance car.

schultzie · 27-10-2009, 08:24 PM

ive been with just car for 5 years now and when my ute caught fire a couple weeks ago they were very helpful. i did keep on to them about everything but i can see why some people would think their customer service is crap

BA Baracus · 27-10-2009, 08:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by divine_afg

Once bitten twice shy ... your not bitten yet I hope you don't but you may well learn soon that loyalty is ancient. Its all about "whats in it for me" Not many businesses out there believe in loyalty. Ones that do are hard to find.

True it's not always returned but loyalty is actually really crucial for insurers. Usually no money is really made until a few years of having a customer's business. There's a significant initial spend to get the customer on board in advertising, branding, phone service, websites, mailing etc etc. There's also all the ongoing normal business overheads of maintaining the customer year to year. A premium also contributes to loss from those that claim across the whole customer base.
They want long term customers because it's all based on projected profit. A 1 or 2 year policy holder makes them little profit even if they don't claim (let alone if they do which is strait loss). Once the customers are on board a couple/few years they've "paid for themselves" in a regard and then are far more profitable (might say "valued") clients.

The Yeti · 27-10-2009, 08:45 PM

I'm with Shannons for house, contence, wifes Commodore and laied up insurance on the chev they started talking I needed insurance for this and that I thought here goes wait for the offer and couldnt be happier Ive only had a no fault claim but it was smooth all the way through

gtfpv · 27-10-2009, 11:19 PM

i borrowed a friends laser once and was in an accident . wrote the car off . even though i was not at fault, hit from behind and other party done a runner . he was insured with allianz . i was upfront and honest about the accident . allianz spoke to me and were very good and sympathetic to what happened and his insurance paid the claim on his vehicle . i topped him up too in cash for inconveniance so he could get a better car quickly.
they were so good i decided to insure my car with them only to have my name come up on thier screen to decline insurance . bummer .