My car has been in an accident. Have a comprehensive insurance, which is about to auto-renew on 1st December. Do I renew the policy, or do I let it lapse?
My car is a Honda Civic 2008 sedan. Hence, I have strong feeling that the car will be written off as a result of this accident.
Will me not renewing have any impact on my claim. I have a hire car inclusion - will that be affected. Is there anything else to consider?
I am in NSW.
Not sure I get the context.
Wonder how much thread is left on run flat tires.
Which weight oil do I use?
I swear by Neo 75w90
If your car is written off, your policy will be cancelled upon payout.
Do what you want. Your insurance at the time of the collision is what matters.
Is switching to pay by the month an option so you are still a current customer, but the up-front cost of that is much smaller?
You timed your write off claim perfectly. Well done OP. Nothing worse that a write off at the start of a new policy. No need to renew with the same insurance company.
Just make sure the claim goes in before it lapses and pay out the remainder, they'll be required to see it through.
When you claim is almost not relevant (so long as it's within a few years). It's what insurance you had at the very moment of the incident.
How so?
Because when you pay for insurance, you are insured for the period you're paying for.
If you have an accident Nov 20th and your policy lapses Dec 1st, you're still paying for the insurance (and thus are still insured) during the incident taking place.
You probably have to make the actual claim during that time, but OP has to that's fine.
@Drakesy: Having re-read your comment, that is what you said, yeah.
Upon first reading, it read as though you were saying that they won't see it through if the policy lapses, but that isn't what you've actually said.
Ignore me, go about your day.
The renewal has no impact on your claim, however, the claim will increase your premium when renewing.
If written off, your policy will end on the write-off day, so there will be no policy (and car) to renew.
So what happens in this theoretical scenario:
1) the policy auto renews on 1st Dec.
2) the car is written off and the claim settles on 10th Dec.
3) the insurance company cancels the policy
Will I get pro-rata refund less 9-10 days payment from the policy. Or does the insurance company keep the entire renewed policy amount and cancel the policy?
Cancel the auto renewal to avoid steps 1-3
Why does the policy auto-renew? Did you set the auto-renew? If yes, just turn it off. Never set auto-renew since they often jack up the premium at the renewal time, and you have to negotiate or switch to another company
You shouldn't renew, just wait for the claim to settle since the car is likely to be written off.
The written-off date is usually the date of the accident or the claim date, not the payout/settle date.
You won't get any pro-rata refund even if the accident happens on the first day of the policy (e.g 2nd Dec last year)
The insurance company will keep the entire amount you paid on 1st December LAST YEAR
In case you still choose to renew the policy on 1st Dec, they will refund you the entire renewal amount.
PS: A, You can get a pro-rata refund of the rego fee from the written-off date to the rego expiration date.
B. You need to disclose this claim when buying another insurance policy.
Insurance companies may access the databases of others so don't try to hide it or they will refuse to cover you when something happens.
You can get a pro-rata refund of the rego fee from the written-off date to the rego expiration date.
Pretty sure this doesn't always apply
@Muzeeb: yep, it can be. However, from the experience of my 3 written-off cars, they didn't care at all since they didn't have the time and staff to follow up with that. They just called the towing company to tow the cars directly to the auction yard. They don't want to move their asses out of their office.
As always, shop around for the a competitive insurance cost, while not sacrificing your needs for that policy.
For instance, in the last few years of renewals I have gone between AAMI, GIO and Woolworths Insurance as they seem to be the most competitive (For me) and offer what I want (Full Comp + Excess Free Window Replacement + Roadside Assistance). I can't speak on behalf of their insurance claim processes as I haven't had to put in a claim (touch wood) but I have used each of the abovementioned providers roadside assistance and they're all fine IMO.
Regardless of who you go with, your insurance premium will be pricier because you can no longer take advantage of the 'no-claim discount' but you still do have the option to shop around for the best price, albeit a more expensive price overall.
[Assuming OP's accident is an 'At Fault' accident]
Any lip balm in there that shouldn’t be?