It's annual renewal of insurances!
They are proposing huge increases- 15% on my Car and 19% on my home insurance. I contacted them and they are saying inflation, price correction etc - which sounds lame for such an increase - is there anything we can do.
I did search of alternate companies, and they are quoting even higher!
Switching is more expensive!! Need to reduce my cover which I am not keen.
Switching is more expensive!
Rarely…
Switching is more expensive!!
If that is true, then you have already answered your own question…
Switch
Then just stay and pay the lazy tax. Never loyal to any company.
I was with AAMI for car insurance. Been with them for over 10 years. Every time I get the renewal, I’ve negotiated with them to bring it down.
This year’s renewal, went up 35%. I called, and they said “sorry, no further discount”. So I switched to GIO, and am saving nearly $400 compared to AAMi
Saving .. saving when compared to your ending-Aami policy before or after their proposed renwal?
Lol, that's funny since they're the same company just different brands. GIO and AAMI are both Suncorp brands, both underwritten by AAI.
When you negotiated with them, was that altering the terms of the insurance in some way or a pure reduction of the premium only?
Would like to know this too.
It was adding all those “diamond rating” and “multi policy” discounts
@87percent: OK, so they haven't shown any sign of lowering the price just because you've complained :-)
I've tried myself but never had any luck without increasing the excess, etc.
Go to "Comparethemarket.com.au"
Why would anyone NEGATIVE vote the most obvious and best approach?
Some people here have NO IDEA…seriously!
I had big increases in my insurance policies this year.
Did some quick comparisons and several premiums came in much less with the best coming in almost half.
This is after I had already asked the insurnace company to do what they could about lowering the premiums.
So whoever negative voted my suggestion - YOU GOT NO IDEA!
It wasn't me, but perhaps one reason is that CTM doesn't consider all providers? It is still probably one of the easiest ways to check multiple companies at once.
Negative votes are free and this is OzBargain after all!
You can always self-insure… I guess.
Ya - that I cant afford!!
Until you need to make a claim…
With all the flood damage and claims of this year, everyone will be upping their premiums by that amount at least I would guess..
But Mr Thomas said his building insurance, issued by Strata Community Insurance for Allianz, had still risen by more than 50 per cent — from $14,800 to more than $22,500.
"We sought quotes from a number of insurance companies and took the cheapest one, the highest was $30,000," Mr Thomas said.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-12-16/home-insurance-premiu…
They never lose, customers always do…
Imagine living in Lismore or one of the towns completely underwater…
You can see so many more towns being "flood plains" now even though they have never flooded in history…
YMMV
You can see so many more towns being "flood plains" now even though they have never flooded in history…
Insurers price based on expected cost, not actual cost.
If you think insurance is too expensive, there's always another option: self-insure or start up your own insurance business, etc.
I think 10% is fair considering the amount of payouts this year, inflation etc.
But I was in the same position as you about two weeks ago - I even did the old 'anonymous browser to get quote from same insurer' trick and could get a policy cheaper that way than if I just paid the renewal. I think it's a numbers game for them, most people don't pay attention and just renew.
Use finder.com.au or comparethemarket or any other comparison site to shop around. I went from an increase of 12% to a saving of 40% - and the cover is now better.
Shop around every time your renewal comes up, it's the only way to get the best deal.
I am bit wary to use comparethemarket - will give it a go!!
IMO be very wary on using comparison sites. They are paid by the insurance companies for delivering clicks, they're not paid for delivering the cheapest, best insurance to consumers. Not all insurance companies are listed on there and it doesn't properly compare the different products. It's great as a guide to see if you're getting ripped off though.
I prefer to do it myself. At most it's once a year and the details in the PDS really matter.
This is a bit of a misnomer. I used to work for a comparison company. The truth is, if more people (or everyone) used comparison sites, insurance would get cheaper for everyone. They are a cheaper acquisition source for insurers than their own extravagant advertising and marketing efforts and consumers are able to easily compare side-by-side.
The insurance companies take every opportunity to deride comparison sites as they know full well that they will need to sharpen their prices if adopted by the mainstream. The massive duopoly of Suncorp brands (AAMI, GIO, Vero, Bingle, Shannons etc.) and IAG brands (NRMA, CGU, SGIO, SGIC, Swann, WFI, Lumley etc) own 80% of the market and refuse to participate on comparison sites to protect their massive market shares. And as someone outside the industry now, I say "good on them". If they control that much of the market, why would they be interested in making prices for all their brands so transparent/evident to consumers that they are (usually) more expensive than the challenger brands who do choose to participate in comparison?
The cynicism around comparison sites is almost exclusively driven by the insurance duopoly themselves.
As a consumer, however, I will always use comparison sites to help break down the duopoly and drive more competition. Even if I don't buy through the comparison site, it sends a strong signal to the duopoly that competition is non-negotiable and that cloaking via half a dozen (or more) brands is a disingenuous attempt to convey the fake perception of 'competition'.
Just a bit crap that people who do not own riverfront properties or bought in a floodplain have to fit the insurance bill for those that did through higher premiums across the board.
As has been said many times, you can negotiate on anything. Whether or not the other party wishes to enter a negotiation is a very separate question.
Just got my renewal from AAMI for house and contents. Up 59% !!
I did search of alternate companies, and they are quoting even higher!
Then stick with your current insurer.
How often does ppl claim their home insurance ?
I never had one for over 10 years and didn't find the need to claim anything for my home?
As for car insurance, shop around more, surely there is some unknown budget insurance offering lower.
Else just go for 3rd Party Property car insurance , if you can afford to fix your own car when at fault , or chasing down the other driver if they're at fault , or your car is shitboxes that worth nothing.
Do you choose a really high excess on your home insurance?
I don't have one. Touchwood there hasn't been any theft / fire / flood / earthquake.
What are ppl actually claiming theirs on ? Cracked iPhone screen replacement ? Kids wrecking their TVs ?
Can you afford to rebuild if your house burns down? If not, then not having insurance on your biggest asset sounds like a bad idea.
@Blokeinhisundies: Even if they can afford to rebuild can they afford 15 million public liability payout
I never had one for over 10 years and didn't find the need to claim anything for my home?
Many 100's of people with houses under water at moment say the exact same thing
The insurance companies don't reward your loyalty with discounted rates so why should you reward them? Always go with the cheapest option.
No true Ozbargainer would even consider asking this question.
They would've already voted with their feet.
Well!! I was keen to get the feedback of true Ozbargainers if I have missed anything - looks like I did not!!
Increase your excess. That is, get coverage only for big losses, not small ones, which you can cover yourself.
Yes, I did that already last time.
Get quotes from other.
In some cases you can even switch to the same insurer. My daughter's car insurance was cheaper when applying for a new policy with the same company compared to renewing it.
One way is to increase your excess . Another is to get quotes from others. I switched to AAMI ( car) which is surprisingly lower than Coles and to Budget Direct ( home) from Bupa. Don’t expect loyalty.
Switch