I have been with AAMI for about the past 10 years. They were just about the only company that would insure me for driving an SV6 commodore for a reasonable price. I was shocked this morning when I tried to get a quote from them to renew my insurance and it has basically doubled in price. My circumstances have not changed. I have the same car, I have not been in a crash, I have not made a claim. Just wondering who everyone uses for car insurance and if others have noticed this price hike as well from AAMI or other insurers.
Car Insurance - Who's the best?
Mr Haj on 14/05/2021 - 09:19
Last edited 14/05/2021 - 09:22
Last edited 14/05/2021 - 09:22
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When you’re forced to sell your house to pay for a car accident, maybe you’ll realise the value of insurance …
Just going through a claim with YOUI, not my fault, and other party has been difficult not admitting liability. Once we provided evidence and detail of what happened YOUI were great, waiving the excess and offering free car hire during repair as they will seek compensation from the other insurer.
Every insurer does this.
I assure you, dashcam footage and the other partys details will make your claim easy and fast.
Maybe try giving them a call - seems bizarre to jump that high. AAMI was by far the cheapest for me ($1300 for my ‘15 GTI, agreed value of 30k and just off P-plates). Previous Aurion was also much cheaper through AAMI.
I guess I’ll find out next year when the renewal comes through…
Hi Donnot, read my experience with AAMI as I said earlier above claim if you are at fault. Do you know that they are different from other insurance companies if you are at fault that you have to pay both excesses I.e. the standard excess $650.00 plus premium excess of $? ( if you add on this).Formerly it was not well revealed explained and shown for this unusual restriction. Please be aware.
The Flexi-premium excess? Mine is $150 on top of my standard $550 excess. I chose a $700 excess when signing up, so it’s as expected - they just split it up.
In a disposable society older cars are seen as higher risks by insurers. Plus they charge you a complacency tax.
It's cheaper to cycle out insurers every 6 mths and get $100 gift cards with sign up, see those that don't charge you extra for paying monthly. Mostly they resell the same insurance policies just rebanded from hollard or Allianz etc.
Woolworths
I switched to them and after 14 days they still never responded to my email despite being told id get a response within 48 hours. Can't imagine how god awful they will be with a claim no thanks.
Give them a ring
needed to send images and was told to send by email
Bingle
I used to be with NRMA every year. I had multiple policies with them and was loyal. I had also never made a claim in my life.
This gave me a 60% no claim discount + a 10% loyalty discount which brought my policy renewal this year down to the low, low price of double other competitors.
I did a spit take. Legend has it they are still wondering why I left to this day.
I had NRMA CTP on my car, and after an at-fault claim that did not make a CTP claim (I scraped my car against a post in a carpark), they wanted extra on the CTP. Every other insurer on the CTP search site didn't raise their premium when I entered I had the accident, so I changed.
A week after my rego was due, they called and asked why I hadn't renewed. They couldn't answer me why they were the only ones who wanted more money from me.
Even now, when their price is in line with others, I still won't use them for CTP!
That is very strange. I thought CTP was mostly a set price. I know that NRMA CTP covers more than everyone else so they have always been slightly more pricey.
See this comparison.
They all vary differently depending circumstances. They have the base rate, which the vast majority of people fall into, because they don't have enough risk factors to bump it up.
This was also ~5 years ago, so things may have changed as well.
I don't see why anyone going to the comparison site - that is promoted in the rego paper mail-out - would choose to pay more to a business than they have to.
@photonbuddy: I mean Allianz and NRMA pay out more in certain circumstances (loss of limbs or death) when you are at fault. No one else does this which is why they are dearer. It's not paying the business more for no reason or benefit.
The question needs to be rephrased to which insurer gives me the best coverage to premium value. They scale with each other and you will find that budget insurers are good with premium but terrible with coverage.
Anyone ever dealt with Poncho Insurance ?
I got quotes from 4 insurers for my new car and Suncorp was hugely cheaper. $1500, $1100, $1050, Suncorp $650
I usually can't get insurance from the usual suspects (aaami et al) , turbocharged car, but I'm over 40 and ha e 20 years driving experience. But still!
What car is it? Most cars are turbo charged these days.
AMG GLA45S.
Nice. Plenty of power.
Handles as well as the A45s?@NotAnAudiophile: I see. Was curious how the gla45s handles.
Bro recently picked up a car of similar category and it drove like a truck. Suspect the gla45s would be better - smaller.
@[Deactivated]: I've had bigger SUVs before and the GLA45S definitely handles better - for me, the tradeoffs are worth it over the A45S, bigger space internally and out, my previous FL 2016 A45 was stupidly small internally.
The 'best' insurer is the one that provides the best customer service at claim time imo.
Who stays with the same insurance company for 10 years.
Renewal comes in and I jump on the computer and get quotes from all the major companies, I won't go near the budget players.
I'm not paying the lazy tax, no such thing as loyalty with insurance companies.Only with my modified WRX I don't shop around and stick with Shannon's as most companies won't touch it.
The price is good anyway, I checked with NRMA and AAMI and unmodified they would insure the car for about 60% of the agreed value Shannon's offered but near double the cost.
Woolworths insurance always seems to be the cheapest for my cars (~5 year old Toyotas - nothing fancy). I just cancel after 12 months, sign up again under whatever offer available, rinse repeat.
I even had to lodge a claim a few months back and it was easy and painless. I was honestly shocked lol.
Same, AAMI rates went up, and insured amount went down.
I changed to QBE, cheaper premium, and the insured amount is more inline with replacement/market value.
Westfarmers were the cheapest for my Skoda but oddly not my Territory. Great old fashioned customer service. Downside to that is no online quotes.
Also rate WF highly for home insurance after the recent bushfires here in WA. Furthermore, were the cheapest for home insurance with a great written policy to boot. 👍
My car is only worth ~15k but I pay 1.3k in insurance. Bloody ridiculous. But even if you switch to one of these cheaper ones like Budget or Woolworths, it is only a few hundred $ difference and a lot more restrictions on who can drive the car, have annual KM allowances or they use market value (and then it bumps up significantly if you opt for agreed). No insurer is fun to deal with at claims time, they all play games and the vast majority of cars which come out of these 'approved repairers' are riddled with defects, they just hope you don't spot them (and the majority do not). But if you don't want to risk it and want a policy without restrictions I think its better to just pay the little bit more and go with one of the so called premium insurers.
it is only a few hundred $ difference and a lot more restrictions on who can drive the car, have annual KM
Because the more restrictive they are, the lower the risk profile is, the lower premium they can charge.
I have been with AAMI for about the past 10 years.
This is your issue. You will be paying a loyalty tax. AAMI did this to me as well. Shop around and you will get a better price.
What would you be paying a week? You could open a separate account and bank that amount each week. That would be a win / win. The big catch with insurance is that you never know if you're covered or not until they actually pay, if they do.
Had same with AAMI this renewal. Ended up with Budget Direct, $300 cheaper than AAMI + $60 gift voucher. Youi was the other I nearly went with, but couldn't offer gift card. They did offer about $10 below BudDir quote. Youi were awesome to deal with over the fone and will def contact them when renewing next time.
While some insurers reward loyalty it pays to shop around providing they have a decent repair network.
Never stay loyal to a bank though, **** them.
It's because of the car… High performance Holdens are becoming a big target for thieves (speaking from experience)
They are risky cars to drive.Not much choice left. Suncorp is a ruthless giant but as others point out cheap has many meanings. Ultra fast Comminsure settles in just under 6 years!
Try NRMA :)
I moved my AAMI insurance to Virgin Money.
Unfortunately had to make a claim - at fault - for the first time ever.
Virgin were absolutely fine to deal with, all claim process etc smooth. Happy to recommend them if the price is right for you.
I pay $150 a month for an Bf Falcon. The insurance is almost as much as the car.
This was posted on OZB before so I'll just repost.
IAG own both CGU and NRMA which is the largest insurer of Australians. They also own SWANN, Mutual Community General Insurance, SGIO, SGIC, WFI -Wesfarmers Insurance, Lumley, 70% of Insurance Manufacturers of Australia (RACV) and Coles Insurance.
SUNCORP own SUNCORP, GIO, VERO, AAMI, Shannon’s, APIA, Promina (formerly Royal & Sun Alliance), Just Car, Insure My Ride, Terri Scheer, Bingle, CIL, Asteron & Tyndall and are the 2nd largest insurer of Australians.
QBE (formed by BurnsPhilp as North Qld Ins Co Ltd, QI, Q = Qld B= Bankers & Traders, E= Equitable Probate & General Insurance) own Australian Eagle, Trade Indemnity Australia, Mercantile Mutual, bits of HIH, Elders and Cuna Mutual in Australia. QBE is the largest Australian insurer in Australia however 69% of their business is overseas business.
YOUi is owned by a South African insurer called Outsurance.
Budget Direct is owned by a South African Insurer called Auto & General. Auto & General Insurance also have Dawes which is owned by Calliden which specialises in the prestige end of the market and won't even write the business that Auto & General will write so there is no true comparison of insurers, only comparison of brands.
Real, Woolworths and Al Insurance are all owned by South African Insurer called Hollard.
Ever seen that stupid meerkat on TV claiming to compare the market? That meerkat is South African as he only compares products from Hollard and Auto & General.
Progressive is owned by an American insurer believed to be the largest motor insurer in Chicago.
All of this is called brand separation. When one company has 15 brands like Suncorp do, they get your money whichever way you turn.
Now lets look at the other comparison website “iselect”, they claim to provide choice. However they compare 9 brands underwritten by the same insurer. Now that's great! Whilst a duopoly in the Australian market can never happen, questionable marketing practices that lure people in under false pretences such as i-select and compare.the.market are well and truly out there.
Whilst you all moan about Woolworths and Coles holding such a large market share of the grocery game, have a think about who insures your assets?
Next time you want a fair comparison, on the best product for your circumstances use an independent broker and get real some advice, but then again most brokers get commissions or kickbacks from insurers, so tread carefully. Nothing beats making the phone calls yourself and doing your own research and find the policy and deal that is right for you.
Finding the policy and deal that is right for does not mean simply insuring with whoever gives you the cheapest premium.
I'm with Budget Direct for my Rio who have been the cheapest whenever I have renewed. For my 350z I'm with RAA who are the only insurer that will do fixed value it seems.
I just get a new quote from AAMI online as a new customer every year and get the $100 new customer credit.
Once I’ve paid my full premium and waited the cooling off days I then get my new policy added to my current profile. Been doing this for years.Sometimes I change my address to next door or down the road as others have stated, pay the premium and call up after the cooling off period and correct my address whoops 😅
2 can play at poker!
BBBBBBIIIIIINNNNNGGGGGLLLLLLLEEEEEE
the only true provider for bargain hunters
bingle.
I have my old car (17 yo Magna) insured with Woolworths which cost me $320 and I get 10% off one shop per month. I make sure that it is my biggest shop each month (around $200) so I get back well over $200 of the cost - bargain.
NMRA were one of the few insurers who would insure my modified car without putting up a big fuss and wanting to charge the world.
I think car insurance differs a bit depending on whether you are driving a boring pos corolla or a performance car.
Im with RACV - I have made a claim (not my fault)
Overall i have found them good
I use allianz Insurance and they always seem the cheapest as most other smaller insurance firms are just resellers for Allianz.
Progressive Insurance and Budget direct are also cheap…
I used Progressive for years on my car but now I just insurer third party with Alliance
Perhaps it’s not about u ?
Perhaps that new model is stolen much more frequently or involved in crashes ?
Aami is quoting me $322 for 3rd party which I'm satisfied with, Bingle quoted me $422 lol WTF?
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@nigel deborah: Have you considered that you may hit my $200k AMG in your $30K car?
What about taking out powerlines?
I see these claims daily.