Insurance again...
I know there are other threads about this which I have read, but after this morning I thought this was worth a thread.
I'm so tired of underhanded way insurance companies go about their business where the normal seems to be: Do anything to get a new customer and then punish existing customers.
Example: Boat insurance for me this year is my first renewal and after ringing around for quotes last year when I bought the boat and finding variations of as much as $400 I went with Suncoro who was the cheapest and had good cover. This year they send a renewal with an agreed value reduction of 6% and a premium increase of 9%.
After no claims this is obviously unexceptable!
I now have a spreadsheet to track these variations and the multiple quotes I am forced to get each year.
For the boat most were in line with or up to $100 more for the boat. However Be warned, do not waist your time with YOUI who sneakily start you off on an online quote and then immediately call you. It frustratingly took 40 minutes to get the quote in the end and it was 189% ($1200) more expensive with a higher excess. To say I was pissed off with this total waist of time is an understatement!
So this morning I had a very pleasant surprise Both my Ducati and my boat had a very good outcome. The Shannons renewal for the bike kept the details of the cover the same with an increase of 6%. After calling them to plead my case they dropped the price to 1% less than last year!
The Boat winner was RAC. I urge you to get a quote from them. They did make me call them after loosing the details of my online quote submission, however they ended up being a 10% reduction on my previous years premium with a $300 lower excess at $200.
RAC... Pat on the back...
Cover $55000 (agreed), excess $200, Cost $580 (Existing customer with the 200 series cruiser)
It will be interesting to see how much they try and gaff me when the renewal comes next year...
Moral of the story, track all your quotes for all your policies and change companies each year if necessary to keep the price down. It would be so much easier if they didn't change the agreed value without asking first and kept the price increases at or below CPI... I would just pay the renewals if that was the case.
PS: I have no affiliation whatsoever with the insurance industry and I have had the odd claim over the years and have never had a problem making a claim.
If that was a rant it is now over...
Marine trimmer NOR (available for clears, tops, carpet, upholstery, custom equipment covers)
timmy k (not verified)
Posts: 16
Date Joined: 01/01/70
it was a good rant tho
I should really pay more attenetion to my insurance renewals, but shannons do look after me with my falcon in the shed being highly modified and the 80 series having all kinds of shit on it, don't think any of the other clowns out there would come close to their price
Tradewind
Posts: 756
Date Joined: 18/09/12
Great readI suppose my
Great read
I suppose my question would be what is the quality of each company's cover
What do they actually cover?
You may for example lose cover for a type of accident or theft you thought should be covered but isn't by some policies
pelagicyachts
Posts: 1322
Date Joined: 23/02/11
interesting - will give RAC a
interesting - will give RAC a call when my current Club M policy is due
I also have shannons cover my LX - I have a really low premium as I list it as being driven a few days a month - in reality it has not been out of the garage for 12 month but I wonder how they track that in terms of you say its being driven 2-3 times a month (to reduce premium) but you are actually using it as your daily driver - not suggesting I would do this for a second (couldn't afford to fuel it up daily !) but how would they know?
sea-kem
Posts: 14960
Date Joined: 30/11/09
Yeah it's well worth going
Yeah it's well worth going over your renewals as they will autamatically change from agreed value to market value without telling you. I have to keep updating mine because if my boat is written off I want a replacement for the same. It adds a little more to the premium but I'm happy to do that.
Love the West!
Ben Derecki
Posts: 1926
Date Joined: 10/10/07
Reminds me of this episode on
Reminds me of this episode on The Checkout. Worth spending the 4 mins watching it.
sunshine
Posts: 2600
Date Joined: 03/03/09
Concerned I can't actually sight PDS (actual policy wording)
As a retired insurance specialist it concerns me that despite spending some time on RAC website you can't access the full PDS .......small print if you want to call it that. Having fought several fights for members on this site the devil is always in the detail !
Rob H
Posts: 5795
Date Joined: 18/01/12
I have found the same with
I have found the same with RAC premiums, very easy to deal with.
Regarding the PDS, I just went on there and found it after a minute, at the bottom of the page it says "please check the PDS to see if this is right for you" but in quite small writing.
Opens on the PDS which is a PDF file
Give a man a mask, and he'll show you his true face...
The older you get the more you realize that no one has a f++king clue what they're doing.
Everyone's just winging it.
gruntre69
Posts: 533
Date Joined: 15/10/16
rac.com.au/~/media/files/rac
rac.com.au/~/media/files/rac-website/pdfs/products/insurance/boat_pds_01012015-pdf.pdfstyle=
Marine trimmer NOR (available for clears, tops, carpet, upholstery, custom equipment covers)
sunshine
Posts: 2600
Date Joined: 03/03/09
Respectfully you read the PDS really well.......NOT
The link you have included has TWO pages critically containing to policy exclusions missing ???? Goes from 15 to 18/19
Rob H
Posts: 5795
Date Joined: 18/01/12
Ive just opened his link,
Ive just opened his link, and it has pages 15,16,17,18 and 19 there?
Give a man a mask, and he'll show you his true face...
The older you get the more you realize that no one has a f++king clue what they're doing.
Everyone's just winging it.
sunshine
Posts: 2600
Date Joined: 03/03/09
Opens on my Mac not the pad
And now I have even more concerns given the people I have helped on this site with claims denied by other insurers importantly where the wordings were very very similar. One was denied because a short in a wire within the wiring loom caused a fire which destroyed the motors electricals.....denied in full ! See RAC first exclusion. Another member whose fully serviced trailer had a catastrophic bearing failure resulting in resultant and severe damage to the trailer itself.....denied Both of which I got overturned and eventually paid yet the RAC wording provides sufficient vaguaries for me to see similar results ....denials under their wording.
I call it as I see it after 44 years as a claims specialist working world wide .......I do not like the product being offered, seizure of the motor from any cause excluded.....what about a bait bag or ribbon weed wrapped around the leg.
The quality of claims management has degraded to the point many insurers (-and I am not singling out RAC ) routinely deny first and back down during the dispute resolution process. You get what you pay for and it is very much buyer beware
Rob H
Posts: 5795
Date Joined: 18/01/12
I know you have done good
I know you have done good stuff for guys here with insurance.
But when I read that PDS it seems to clearly say that it doesn't cover consequential losses directly or indirectly "caused by seizure/overheating"
Not that it doesn't cover such as a bag over the intake?
Am I reading that wrong?
Give a man a mask, and he'll show you his true face...
The older you get the more you realize that no one has a f++king clue what they're doing.
Everyone's just winging it.
sunshine
Posts: 2600
Date Joined: 03/03/09
Yes you are......the pivotal word is indirectly
literally opens pandora's box ......this is precisely what happened to the people I have helped on this site, inexperienced claims people (regretfully either interstate or overseas) read the words in the very broadest sense NOT the intent of the policy and look for every and any possible reason to deny claims. Had another one today for a fusion of an electric motor, denied because the repairer told the claims person the winding was "open circuit" and they read that to mean a switch wasn't working and switches are excluded.....in reality the winding itself had burnt out and hence clearly covered yet a denial was issued !
quadfisher
Posts: 1146
Date Joined: 28/09/10
Rare Rare falcon ute?
I was with SGIO and have had a gq diesel insured with them for a few years , its a 1995 , value around 8k , premium around 500.
Thats not what this is about but , I also bought a 1998 XH falcon ute about a year back so called them for quote.
I paid 4k for it , there valuation was 3.5k , and there quote was 650 bucks!!
In between laughing I asked the nice gentleman , not from Australia why so much?, He said hang on a sec , oh he said its because that car must have really expensive parts and they are rare.
I did try to school him in the availibilty of falcon utes in Australia , but he was adamant.
I am no longer with SGIO.
I am just off to wash my expensive and rare falcon ute.
quadfisher
gruntre69
Posts: 533
Date Joined: 15/10/16
I had the cruiser with those
I had the cruiser with those wankers at SGIO. One of the rear tyres seperated on a trip up near headland and it was a 33" heavy tire which caused heaps of damage. They actually handled the claim really well but don't start me on City Motors who needed 3 attempts to match the paint colour... Anyway after they replaced the bent dual rear carrier and the whole claim must have cost them about $8k I was eventually happy. I had paid a $50 bump on the premium called no claim bonus protection. The next renewal came in at $400 more.
I rang them to ask them to explain how when a no fault claim (well they see it as my fault because there is nobody else to blame) and with the No claim bonus protection, did the $400 jump happen. They dribble on about risk profile... What a load of bullshit. They were simply trying to gaff some of their money back.
Do not ever buy no claim bonus protection from SGIO it is simply a GAFF
Hense the move to RAC
Marine trimmer NOR (available for clears, tops, carpet, upholstery, custom equipment covers)
Meeuwissen
Posts: 755
Date Joined: 29/03/13
rac
Have been good to me also. Have both cars insured and the tinny which is insured for $5800 for $140 a year. I did a lot of research but spent most my time looking up pds and online reviews as really what's the point of having insurance if they won't pay when you claim
Down the Line
Catch the Experience
Dale
Posts: 7930
Date Joined: 13/09/05
I went with Shannon's for my ute, almost $400 cheaper than anyone else and it's for for what we both agreed on.
"Just because you are a Character, Doesn't mean you have Character."
Mr Wolf
gruntre69
Posts: 533
Date Joined: 15/10/16
Yes, Shannons seem very
Yes, Shannons seem very reasonable but you have to talk to them every year. I explained to the guy that I probably only ride the Ducati 3 or 4 times a year and that I'm not even riding it at the moment until I get around to doing the fork seals. He sorted itr out on the phone.
Someone mentioned above that the premiums are a bit more exopensive if you keep the agreed value. This is what I hate about the whole rip off industry. Why should we have to fight not to get ripped off. The agreed value should not change unless it is agreed AND the policy price should not change other than CPI but even then after lotalty and no claims it should not rise at all IMHO.
The RAC PDS is reasonably basic as they specialise in cars but I have a good history with any claims from them and feel comfortable with them.
Marine trimmer NOR (available for clears, tops, carpet, upholstery, custom equipment covers)
Prego
Posts: 136
Date Joined: 03/06/09
I looked into RAC & SGIO
after reading reports in this forum. Quotes were ok but when it came to inspecting the boat at younger age then I just gave up. They're not apples and apples.
Cruise Control
Posts: 973
Date Joined: 03/11/10
Mmmmm . . . I was an SGIO
Mmmmm . . . I was an SGIO client for 15 plus years. I then changed my GXL 100 series for a Sahara 100 series and they stuck me for a $300 increase. Rang them, spoke to a couple of Supervisors and because I was a long standing client they offered me a $50 discount. Maximum no claim, never had a claim and the premium was a tad over $1k
Thanks but no thanks, went to AAMI and the premium dropped to $500 odd. Had a small claim of about $6k plus a windscreen, absolutely no problem. Sold the Cruiser and went to a Jeep. Im thinking Im going to get whacked with insurance. . . nope, premium $450 odd and car value $20k more. There goes the theory about expensive parts as anyone with a Jeep will be able to attest.
3 years later, no claims and premium still under $500 - have not found anyone even remotely near AAMI premium so I'll stick with them.
sea-kem
Posts: 14960
Date Joined: 30/11/09
Hey Bruce, how are you? Are
Hey Bruce, how are you? Are you heading north this year?
Love the West!
Cruise Control
Posts: 973
Date Joined: 03/11/10
Hey Andy, no mate, I cant get
Hey Andy, no mate, I cant get a crew for Coral Bay !
My eldest is more interested in the female of the species and my mates are all too busy or its too hard for them.
I might drive up and stay 3 days at the pub and do a couple of charters, I have to get s fix somehow !
You going up to Gnaraloo at the normal time ?
sea-kem
Posts: 14960
Date Joined: 30/11/09
Bloody hell what's wrong
Bloody hell what's wrong with them lol
We are hoping to head up on the 5th of June or there abouts, trying to go with the weather instead of a lock in booking. Fingers crossed, the boat is already packed lol.
Love the West!
Cruise Control
Posts: 973
Date Joined: 03/11/10
Best of luck mate, hope you
Best of luck mate, hope you have a killer of a trip.
gruntre69
Posts: 533
Date Joined: 15/10/16
I put this thread up ages
I put this thread up ages ago and its relavent bcause I just had my Boat renewal come in. There was a recent thread about insurance and I posted that RAC was the goods.
Anyway, I think it's important to say when companies do well rather than only say something when they suck...
RAC sent their renewal for my boat which has the same sum insured (no devaluation), the same $200 excess and the premium is unchanged from last year. This is a first for me in many years of renewals across many policies!
Top marks to RAC!
Marine trimmer NOR (available for clears, tops, carpet, upholstery, custom equipment covers)
Faulkner Family
Posts: 18023
Date Joined: 11/03/08
certainly cant complain
certainly cant complain about that at all.
RUSS and SANDY. A family that fishes together stays together
bradz
Posts: 693
Date Joined: 29/10/07
Claims
Ive used Club Marine for the past 20 odd years. Questioned the value for a while (not the cheapest) but Ive made 3 big claims with Club and all have been approved with minimal fuss.
The first was a catastrophic failure due to water ingestion into an Optimax. $10,000 claim approved. Next claim was a buggered engine mount from dragging the engine up the ramp (of course not my fault). $ 3,000 claim approved. The same engine mounts failed (problem with the replacement parts). Job completely covered again...another $3,000 claim.
I hear alot of guys saying they get claims rejected. All I can say is that I am stoked with my dealings with Club marine. Perhaps Im just lucky.
I did then the best that I knew how. When I knew better, I did better.
sphere
Posts: 101
Date Joined: 07/01/15
Home insurance is with
Home insurance is with Allianz they've been pretty good. Got broken into last year no saga with claims.
Wife's car is with AAMI. so far no issues.
Used to be with RAC but changed over to a bundle for home and contents. No issues with them.
Wasn't fussed with YOUI as they seemed like a hard sell.
I drive an old bomb. But it still goes and I got my dive gear into the back of it. Has probably been up and down more dunes than modern 4WD/Subiaco shopping trolleys.
Don't have a boat so can't comment on that.
Rob H
Posts: 5795
Date Joined: 18/01/12
I had to request YOUI stop
I had to request YOUI stop ringing me weekly, they reckoned they couldnt as its an auto dial system so I had to block the numbers.
Then its no caller ID, lasted about 3 months after I requested a quote...
Give a man a mask, and he'll show you his true face...
The older you get the more you realize that no one has a f++king clue what they're doing.
Everyone's just winging it.
sphere
Posts: 101
Date Joined: 07/01/15
Yep seemed to keen when we
Yep seemed to keen when we were looking around for car insurance. Couldn't give straight answers. Etc etc
I'm dubious about sales pitches or similar when people are like that.
Admittedly though at the time choice mag reckons they were one of the better.
Dale
Posts: 7930
Date Joined: 13/09/05
All our cars and home content is with Budget, haven’t needed to claim anything, but the costs are good.
"Just because you are a Character, Doesn't mean you have Character."
Mr Wolf
gruntre69
Posts: 533
Date Joined: 15/10/16
YOUI are wankers... They ask
YOUI are wankers... They ask you for a million details which takes ages only to quote you ridiculous numbers!!
Marine trimmer NOR (available for clears, tops, carpet, upholstery, custom equipment covers)
z00m
Posts: 1086
Date Joined: 10/05/14
Club
Another here with Club Marine. Just got my renewal, same premium as last year with the same agreed value.