Shopping around for insurance for a new Mazda 2 sedan and finding many quotes are almost as high as my partners SUV which costs more than 50% more. Have had the automobile association insurance recommended but it's 20% dearer than my current provider, however it offers unlimited windscreen replacement and lifetime new for new replacement as long as the policy is taken out from day one and maintained.
Any advice / suggestions from the good folks here? Thanks in advance.
AFAIK Bingle only does market value as well.
When I was shopping around, it didn't make sense to saving a few bucks for (potentially) thousands wasted in the event of a serious crash
I was able to set my Value
I have an agreed Value on my policy with Bingle.
Saying that I personally do not mind Market value
I used to work for a major insurer in claims and almost every "agreed value" policy has clauses which allow the insurer to only pay market value in the event of a write off.
Mostly it relates to the agreed value being higher than what it would "reasonably cost" to replace the vehicle. Essentially if your car is insured for agreed value of $35K and the insurer can show it would cost $25K to replace it then they can pay the lower amount or Market Value which ever is the higher. So if Market value was $23,500 they could pay you $25K.
I am much like you in i prefer Agreed Value but i check how much the policy price changes when you take AV, cause if its a big diff i would take MV given AV is not set in stone in every instance of a claim. With Bingle the Agreed Value option was a very small change in price so i set my own value at what we paid for the car.
I didn't know they were able to do that, thank you for the insights.
On the plus side, when I was comparing (about 6 months ago) my new policy with Allianz worked out to be cheaper, and for Agreed value. And the agreed value that I set was a bit higher than what I paid for the car, so I thought it was a good deal
@steff: yeah I am like you when I can take agreed without paying a massive premium to do so I will.
Having agreed value will get you the most for your car in event of a write off regardless.
" a large number of claims for that type of vehicle" which makes sense given Mazda 3's are one of the top selling cars in Australia
I don't think that's right, if it was a more popular car like some sort of Toyota I doubt it would be more expensive.
There are always other factors, like the price of parts for repair.
I think they mean that a large number of claims (due to a lot of them around) means they consider the car a higher risk of a claim and they charge premium accordingly. it could all be BS who knows :P
I did notice our Suzuki Vitara Turbo was super cheap to insure and it cost 30K and the Mazda was 30K also… but the Mazda costs almost 300 more a year to insure and this was generally consistent across all quotes.
@Scab:
The compare insurance website doesn't even list 2-17 as an option for Mazda 2! Stops at 2016…
:S
I never posted it for that specific car, simply as information on what insurance companies take into account when charging premiums.
@Scab:
Appreciate the recommendation and read the info, thanks. Surprised the site was like that is all.
Probably replacement part cost is driving higher premium
This issue is a minefield and I reckon the insce companies make up stories as they go along.
As a matter of interest, relative it item (5) what happens if you have an accident and your car is not driveable? Do you leave the car then go home and jump on the PC in order to progress a calim?
Shop around more is my suggestion. For my wife's 9 year old Merc. I received quotes ranging from $500-$1,400. All same excess, sum insured etc.
You can also claim through an app on your phone, with option to upload pics (same app AAMI uses)
But agree with this:
This issue is a minefield and I reckon the insce companies make up stories as they go along.
Mazda 2 vs SUV in crash. Who will suffer more damage?
Brand new Mazda 2 go around for 17-20k and 2nd hand can go for <10k.
From memory if there 60-70% repair cost of the car market value it is deemed a write off.
Mazda 2 small frame and compact engine setup mean it cost more to fix when in an accident compare to larger, more expensive cars like SUVs.
In an accident, small cars like mazda2, Yaris, corolla etc have a higher chance of being deemed write offs hence why they cost more to insure.
When VicRoads didn't charge a fee for checking vehicle status checks and I was helping my cousin look for a corolla, the 10 car links she send to me to get my opinion 7 of them came back as write offs.
I noticed when i was recently insuring my wifes Mazda 3 that the premium seemed higher than our other cars.
I called my current insurer and the reason they gave was " a large number of claims for that type of vehicle" which makes sense given Mazda 3's are one of the top selling cars in Australia.
In the end i got a policy from Bingle who were around 200-300 less than others. (they include hire car and windsceen cover)
Some downsides to Bingle (which does not bother me but may bother you)
1) Owned by Suncorp (could be a plus for some)
2) Cant pick own repairer (my exp with AAMI is good so i dont mind this)
3) No option to pay higher excess to reduce premiums (fixed at $750)
4) They make you pay excess regardless of fault, but will refund if you are found to not be at fault.
5) no call centre, all claims, enquiries etc must be done by email/through their website.
If you want AMMI without the high cost then Bingle is a good option.
At end of day premiums are based on many factors, and Bingle may not be cheaper for you.
As for me, They offer exactly what i need, are a suncorp company so they are "ok" and use reputable repairers and price is reasonable.