Car Insurance for a Red P Driver

LBargainisLife on 25/11/2015 - 14:48

Hi fellow bargainers, this is my first ever post here so please be gentle :)
I've only just got my red P a couple of months ago, now my family decided to pool the money I've saved up from part-timing with my parents' savings to buy a new car for the family that I can also drive whenever I need to. We've decided to get the new Honda HRV but are stuck on our options for insurance. I've read on the forum that comprehensive cover is a no-brainer especially for a new car, but I am seeking advice on whether we should go for the cheaper deals such as from Coles Insurance or go for the experienced but more expensive RACV for the brand power. Details of our situations are as below:

  • Car will be insured under mum's name with my name added as a driver. She's already an existing RACV bronze member with more than 10 years of driving
    experience.
  • I'm 19 years old
  • Parents already have another car (insured under RACV)for work purposes so this one will be most likely spend more time in the garage than on the
    road
  • Parked under a secured garage
  • Mum's had a couple of small incidents and claims in the past 5 years
  • Online quoting suggests ~$1750 for RACV and ~$1000 for Coles, haven't checked other companies yet
  • Have heard tales from friends who are with Coles saying they have slower response time and tougher claiming policy, while RACV had been very good for
    the couple of claims my mum had.

Mighty OzBargainers, please share your wisdom with a young one such as myself. Is it worth it to go with the smaller less experienced car insurance company for the cheap deal? Your valuable inputs are deeply appreciated!

Automotive Car Insurance Insurance

Comments

  • FittyFitty on 25/11/2015 - 14:52

    Try Bingle…

    • fillit on 25/11/2015 - 20:33

      Bingle doesn't offer agreed value for cars, they only allow "estimated" value, couldn't get a straight answer from them when I was seeking insurance. I can only assume they will only pay market price in event of total loss.

      OP- Try progressive, I have my GTI insured under them at a very reasonable price and agreed value, I don't know how their claims process is and touch wood I wouldn't ever have to.

      • BargainisLife on 25/11/2015 - 22:57

        A question on agreed value vs estimated value, what's the difference? Does this choice affect the yearly premium of the insurance they charge you? Thanks

        • fillit on 26/11/2015 - 14:22

          As far as I know, they only offer "estimated" value, reading their PDS it's essentially a fancy way of doing market value.

          The estimated value corresponds with the premium, however they will only pay "up to" the estimated value in event of total loss.

          So it's pretty much a lose/lose situation in my opinion, can be cheap, however you want the surety of the payout.

  • Jemz on 25/11/2015 - 15:52

    Is there an option to make yourself a 10% driver on the parents policy?

    Does your other parent have a better history with insurance therefore would get a lower price?

  • p1 ama on 25/11/2015 - 16:11

    Mighty OzBargainers, please share your wisdom with a young one such as myself. Is it worth it to go with the smaller less experienced car insurance company for the cheap deal?

    Depends how likely you are to crash. If you drive like a maniac and love taking risks, then pay more for good insurance, if you're pretty careful and don't drive very much, then obviously go for the cheaper one. The fact that you say it is going to spend more time in the garage than on the road makes me want to suggest going for the cheaper one. Turn around time probably won't matter too much because you have access to other cars.

    Also look at how much the excess is, often it is more for cheaper plans.

  • Randxyz123 on 25/11/2015 - 17:33
    -1

    Don't go with coles or bingle or any other cheapo company. I've heard they are bad at recovering money and you need to pay your excess regardless who is at fault. If you are not found to be at fault the excess will be refunded.

    Anyway what I'd recommend you do is drive as an unlisted driver. If you insure yourself it'll cost a lot, but the excess for your mum as the main driver with a policy that allows you to be a unlisted driver might be cheaper.

    Call the RACV and ask what they suggest.

    Also you need to organise the insurance for your new car BEFORE you drive it out of the showroom. Hopefully the salesperson won't let you drive it out without some sort of proof you have insurance.

    To save time the day you pick up your car give the dealer a call find out the VIN and Rego then call the RACV and add it to your policy.

    • suchislife12 on 25/11/2015 - 20:31

      Not true and just generalisations.

      Bingle are the same as AAMI and GIO. They offer they same quality of service. Only thing about bingle is they're all online and they only offer Market Value.

      Coles is owned by IAG…which owns RACV. They're slightly slower but they're a growing company and are hiring more assessors and call centre staff. I'd rather complete an insurance policy with a cheap company honestly rather than lie and remain unlisted with a bigger company.

      This whole excess debacle is the same with all companies. The truth of the matter is that no where in the policy does it state they must recover the damages before refunding the excess. It used to with bingle but no longer. The reason why they charge an excess in some circumstance where a person thinks they're not at fault is because the cases are not as black and white as the person thinks and they're may be some degree of liability on their part.

      Go with whoever is cheaper. The only companies to avoid are those owned by A&G insurance. This includes Budget Direct and DODO ect. They're nasty to deal with.

      • fillit on 25/11/2015 - 20:35
        -1

        Bingle requires you to pay excess upfront regardless who is at fault.

        Try progressive, they are quite reasonable price wise, cannot comment on claims process though.

        • suchislife12 on 25/11/2015 - 21:46

          I'm a customer with bingle who has made a not at fault claim without neeeding to ever pay an excess. This changed in June last year.

          Page 7 of the PDS states:

          'When you claim you will need to pay the applicable excess, unless we agree you, or the person using your car, was not at fault in causing the incident, and you can
          give us the name and address of the person who was at fault, and/or the registration number of the vehicle(s) involved. '

      • zeomega on 25/11/2015 - 23:05

        Bingle will not allow you to choose your own repairer. AAMI will but if you go to any 1/2 decent euro shop, their prices will be too expensive and they'll send you to their own repairers, which is ok if you don't nit pick quality. I personally nit pick a lot so… choice of own repairer is very important for me. Budget allows for that and in terms of cost has been relatively decent. I haven't much dramas with budget claims, only once when they did take a while to approve the quote.

  • [Deactivated] on 25/11/2015 - 18:14

    Have you tired NRMA? They cover anyone who drives the car. So get a quote with yourself as a listed driver, and a quote with you not listed as a driver. Or try getting it just under your dads name (assuming his driving history is good.) With you being young and your mums incidents it will make the premium go up significantly. The money saved in premiums by not listing yourself or your mother might make it worth while paying the additional excess if you do happen to get into an accident.

    http://www.nrma.com.au/we-cover-anybody-who-drives-your-car

    • Settero on 25/11/2015 - 19:56

      Additional excess applies to drivers under 25, or with less than 2 years’ driving experience
      the excess can get pretty high for under 25's.

  • zeomega on 25/11/2015 - 21:45

    No one suggested budget direct? So far they've been pretty good for us and we've made some claims.

  • eqv on 28/11/2015 - 16:42

    Which model of the HRV are you getting btw, and how much did the dealer quote you?
    I'm thinking of getting an HRV as well, but couldn't really get the features that I want on a price point that I like..

    • BargainisLife on 28/11/2015 - 21:52

      We got the limited edition for around $33000,I'd say it's worth it but better act fast tho I live in Vic and the Northern and Southern Honda dealerships already ran out of stock.

      • eqv on 29/11/2015 - 02:57

        Thanks, got quoted ard that price as well, wanted to see whether they cld bring it down to 30k ;p
        Good luck with the insurance, make sure you read the PDS well so you know what you're paying for

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