Need your suggestions on purchasing a car insurance for my brand new 2013 Nissan Pulsar ST. My questions are: what should I be looking for in an insurance provider? Should I go for a comprehensive cover or just the third party cover? What do you think of various insurance providers (AAMI, RACV, Alianz, youi, coles etc.)? I'd really appreciate if you could share your personal experiences.
Thanks
Car insurance providers
BeefBiryani on 12/06/2013 - 17:22
Comments
Totally agree. I have been using Bingle for last 3 years and they have the best pricing around. One of my friend was unfortunate to have an accident and had to claim for the repairs. The claim process was easy and hassle free.
And yes, Comprehensive insurance is the way to go.
Comprehensive insurance without a doubt.
Used to be with AAMI, never made a claim but they jacked up the premium for no reason. Moved to YouI and never looked back, has been very competitive in terms of their annual rate and if you are good driver they give you substantial discount too.
And choose comprehensive, the extra cost is worth it especially if this is your first car.
I had asked YouI for a quote for my XR6. They quoted me a ridiculous $5000 for comprehensive insurance. I find the reason given to me for such a high quote funny too. They said "Sir, you are under 30 and driving a 4000cc 6 cylinder car. We are sure you are going to come back for a claim."
Stupid asses!!
This was the quote even after giving them the facts that I have over 9 years of driving history without a single claim! :-|
I'm currently with progressive direct, it's all on-line so very competitive pricing (easily the cheapest quote I obtained). Despite being all on-line I must say they were very helpful when I had to make a claim last year over the long Easter weekend. Would gladly recommend - get a quote!
Oh and ditto everyone's comments regarding level of cover.
ditto for progressiveonline.com.au.
I was with NRMA for the last 2 years getting them to beat by 10% any other car insurance quote.. NRMA stopped that campaign this year. so where as I had previously paid $380ish for comprehensive they quoted me $671. they couldn't lower that price.
so i actualy took out my insurance with progressive direct this year. just under $400 for full comprehensive.
the policies were pretty much identical.
obviously you should read their product disclosure statement before making any decision as policies between insurers vary.
yup i've been with progressive for the last 2 months , paying 300$ less than NRMA, AAMI and others insurance quotes
Comprehensive please. You can afford a new car, I'm sure you can afford comprehensive insurance.
I had an accident that is not my fault. I had 3rd party insurance with AAMI, and they told me to deal with everything myself. Very, very stressful and time consuming, not to mention I felt like an idiot for having insurance but got told thats not enough.
As for prices… you can use their online systems to do quotes. It is all self service these days so just go sick until you find one that you like, and then hit the purchase button.
So I have decided to take up comprehensive insurance but whichever provider I look up, has lots of bad reviews. Isn't there a single insurance provider that doesn't try to con you?
The ultimate goal of insurance company is to take your money and refuse your claim whenever possible. The process of claiming your insurance is always arduous and long winded so depending on your expectations, the experience can be painful sometimes. Plus sometimes the insurance company's chosen repairer can do a wack job, and that can reflect badly on the company itself.
As long as you have irrefutable evidence when you have an accident, and that you are prepared that your repair may go wrong or not the way you expected, you should not have any problems with most large insurers.
Comprehensive. I used to go with AAMI and had a run of bad luck and they were a nightmare to deal with. Lose car for at least 2 weeks every repair, and because repairers come to them to quote, you do not get great repairs. And lifetime guarantee not worth the hassle. I now use GIO and they are great. and GIO greenslip unbeatable price, and $50 discount for having both. Every year I go online GIO quote, and it is always cheaper (to attract new customers) than the renewal price, so I always buy new insurance online from them every year
The top quality panel beater/repairers use GIOBNGLE BINGLE BINGLE - Cheapest by far and hassle free.
I checked pretty much all others including the BS (pay as much as you drive gimmick) and nothing comes close to Bingle.
I generally stay away from those who advertise too much as I know where my premiums are going.
Have a look at these 3 for a comparison:
http://virginmoney.com.au/insurance/car-insurance/velocity/?… - 5K Velocity points
Budget Direct
Coles insurance
A new car, i would take out SUNCORP with the extra glass and lifetime new for old replacement offer but beware insurance has large margins so neg 30% off the online quote price or get the dealer to do it for you. My dealer sold me the insurance, gave me a $50 one off discount and dropped the markup from over 30% to just 5%, saved me $250, got insruance with $1000 excess for <$450 and upon renewal will be about $500
WITH LIFETIME NEW FOR OLD… and windscreen coverage, its in the package.
Without the addon, they give 2 years new car replacement which is about the longest as most only offer 1 year. A no claim windscreen is worth having as they cost $400-500 in a modern car!
srhardy, I'm in another thread about Ford Focus Trend ($23K). I am interested in yr suggestion here. Which make of car was this one and did you negotiate before the agreement on the final price? Any other hints plse? Cheers
lol i manged to get a glitch with Ali a n z for some reason when i did the online deal it charged me like $150 less and when they sent out the package they gave me the wrong one. SO instead of getting standard they gave me the premium package and told me since we sent you this we will let u have it as a one off~
So not only did i pay $150 less but I got premium ~ always do price quotes online and do ur homework. Always make sure u get the right insurer so u can take ur car to who ever u want.
I read a lot of people say good things about bingle here and I can't help but cringe.
I've had terrible experience with bingle when making a claim for being rear ended whilst stopped at the light, the other party admitted fault, and it was a clear and simple cse of fix and be done with. Bingle first asked for 500 excess first, with the promise of refunding it soon after. After 5months we were still chasing bingle for the excess back. Finally got it after numerous phone calls and emails. It was apologise over and over, but nothing for months.
The claim process was going through hell and back.
Same here with Bingle. My wife had an accident last year!! Our fault, yes. I paid the 500 promptly, got the car fixed, the damage was so minor. Got the refund, fine. The problem is they didn't settle with CGU, phone calls after phone calls to Bingle, they assured me that everything will be sorted. They claimed the issue was a file sent by CGU was in a different format hence they can't open the file. Months have passed, no follow ups from them until CGU took my wife to court and issued a judgement against my wife! Now letters have been pouring in by the dozens from debt collectors, what the hell is going on Bingle! It's your flipping responsibility to pay up the other party less than 2 grand, not ours. Now, this issue might affect our credit history because of Bingle's incompetence, plus the harassment from debt collectors, whom I need to ring one by one to tell them to STOP sending those scare tactic letters!! I got two cars insured with them, and in the process of searching for a better insurer, but in the meantime, I'm seeking advise from FOS and will lodge an official claim ASAP, and will be speaking to ACA very very soon unless Bingle fixes this mess and strike my wife off the debt register. I tell ya, I will bombard Bingle with emails until they respond professionally and pay up CGU. I am one angry man!
Recently I saw a woolies car promo offering $50 fuel voucher for signing up, i did a qoute for my dad, who is with AAMI, currently paying $640. After doing a qoute, i got my dad comprehensive insurance for $440.
Absolute steal, saved 200 bucks and waiting for the $50 petrol voucher to arrive.
But i did try my girlffriends car, but that was not cheaper. So i think woolies insurance may only offer a cheaper deal to more experienced drivers.
Comprehensive, but only if the insurance coverage is less than the value of the car. If you have a $3000 car and can afford to purchase another car in that time, 3rd Party is fine. If you have a brand new car, I doubt anyone can afford to replace a ~$20k+ car.
I'm with AAMI, purely because I can speak to someone who I can understand on the phone 24/7. They will up the premium every year, but this is the same for all insurance providers. Shop around, see what fits best. I owned a $2000 Magna with $2000 worth of stereo. Only one company would insure me for that cover, so basically insuring the stereo.
This is a point for everyone out there who reads this. Every year when you get your insurance renewal, call up the company in person and ask why the cost went up. I can guarantee that most of the time, you can get a cheaper deal. I do this every year and have saved anywhere between $50 and $200!!! They will rely on complacency and reap the benefits of people just paying. Get a few quotes elsewhere, show those to your insurer, it will get you $$$ off.
I was with AAMI and after 2 years without any claims they increase the price with out any reason. I switched to Coles, I had a claim and they managed it very quick. The repair comes with lifetime warranty. Also I pay extra for their roadside assistance, since my wife drives the most, and still cheaper than AAMI.
Bingle are great! And DEFINTELY do yourself a favour and get comprehensive cover. If you can afford a new car, you should be able to insure it adequately.