Refusal to Offer 3rd Party Insurance

I was contemplating switching from Comprehensive to 3rd Party with Fire and Theft cover for my car. It's now getting on a bit in age, since it's 7 years old.

For reference, last year I already did a few quotes for 3rd party cover which came in around $400, which I thought was reasonable as I've been paying about $1000 - $1200 per year for Comprehensive (with a budget brand).

I just did another quote with one of those same brands from last year, under the IAG umbrella. They now say: "We cannot offer you this insurance product because the value of your car is too high". Or something like that. They will offer Comprehensive for over $2k, which is about almost 15% of the car's value.

This is the first time I've ever been refused a 3rd party quote from what I recall. Also, my agreed value dropped by like $3k this past year. So, it makes no sense that last year I could get a quote, but this year I cannot.

Did anyone else have a similar experience?

Are insurers getting in early before further household spending tightening this year, by putting up barriers to getting a better deal?

Comments

  • +2

    That's a bit ruff.

  • Just like the person that got refused a credit card 2 hours earlier, you simply do not meet their risk criteria for any number of reasons or variables and they don't want your business. Find another provider.

  • +4

    If anyone asks, you weren’t refused insurance. They chose not to offer a product that suited you. Also, some of the budget insurers have very limited products to reduce their risk, so it might just be that brand only does comprehensive for ‘reasons’. That said, it should be up to you if you want to insure TPP for any vehicle, even a Bugatti.

    Don’t forget, that if you do choose TPP, and you do need your car, and you cannot afford to replace it or find other transport options at short notice you won’t get any money if someone uninsured (or just plain difficult) hits you. TPP is OK if you can quickly rearrange your transport in the event of a crash.

    It’s a risk I took for an $8k car. TPP only, but was prepared to do minor repairs myself, and had enough cash on hand to be able to buy a $2k bomb ‘tomorrow’ if I needed to. I also am able to cycle to work if my car is out of action.

  • +1

    I've been paying about $1000 - $1200 per year for Comprehensive (with a budget brand).

    usually if you increase you excess to the highest , comprehensive cover cost could drop by few hundred $$$. I used to do that with my car which is about 10 yrs old.

    • usually if you increase you excess

      What if your excess is more than the car is worth?

      • I don’t think you can put your excess high enough to buy a 7yo car with it.

  • Did anyone else have a similar experience?

    Nope, not me.

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