I recently bought a small car for SWMBO, I then saw an add for Woolworth's insurance on T.V. which looked pretty good,
When I contacted them, they offered a cheap rate if I could state a low mileage of use for the following year,, So after a bit of working out, I stated that the Missis would be lucky if she used the car for 3000 km in the year.
Some weeks it doesn't even get started, it's mainly there in case I'm not home and if the wife has to see the doc in a hurry, she has transport.
Anyway, we got the car insured and also received a free $100.00 shopping voucher, now here's the catch,
If the car happens to exceed the stated 3000 KM PER YEAR there is an excess in the policy of $2000.00 THIS WAS NEVER STATED TO US,
I only found it in the small print hidden well back in the policy.
Needless to say as soon as the mileage is up or getting close, I will be looking around for a better policy, another clause is that if I cancel the policy now, there is a $30.00 deduction for admin fees,
So it pays to read it right through BEFORE buying any Policy. "BUYER BEWARE "
K.J.
Olley46 said
03:46 PM Mar 1, 2015
I would have payed the $30.00 just to p&@$ them off.
Lance C
-- Edited by Olley46 on Sunday 1st of March 2015 03:47:54 PM
Big Gorilla said
03:49 PM Mar 1, 2015
A lot of these cheap Insurers have a very high non negotiable excess ranging from $375 to $500.00. I check a few of them every year for my car renewal. To give you 3 examples, Apia $375.00; Youi $400.00; Budget Direct $400.00; Bingle (Suncorp) $550.00 I had my MH with Apia for one year only after I noticed the excess was $500.00 and non negotiable. Two years earlier, I broke a windscreen. The cost to replace was $700.00. If I had been with Apia, it meant I paid $500.00 towards the windscreen and they paid $200.00. Now that's not a good deal..
Cloak said
04:55 PM Mar 1, 2015
Yes we went back to our regular insurer after using Coles auto insurance. They just didn't give us the feeling they would actually cover a claim.
hako said
05:50 PM Mar 1, 2015
I'm slowly switching our policies over to Coles from YOUI after discovering Coles offered sweeteners which undercut YOUI by 25 - 33% with identical policies. One comprehensive policy I took out with Coles I cancelled after 22 days as I'd sold the car but Coles fully refunded the full premium with no deductions - they have a obligation free cooling off period of 30 days.
However, I know in 12 months time they will rise and then I'd do the rounds again, but the bottom line is that over all the policies we hold I am saving upwards of $600 by shopping around this year.
I don't like shopping around but I also don't like wasting money.
Good Luck.
littledick said
08:18 AM Mar 2, 2015
hako wrote:
I'm slowly switching our policies over to Coles from YOUI after discovering Coles offered sweeteners which undercut YOUI by 25 - 33% with identical policies. One comprehensive policy I took out with Coles I cancelled after 22 days as I'd sold the car but Coles fully refunded the full premium with no deductions - they have a obligation free cooling off period of 30 days. However, I know in 12 months time they will rise and then I'd do the rounds again, but the bottom line is that over all the policies we hold I am saving upwards of $600 by shopping around this year. I don't like shopping around but I also don't like wasting money. Good Luck.
I checked Coles insurance for one of my cars. When I told them they were much dearer than my present insurer, they hung up on me.
AND, they were located in South Africa. I Have 7 policies with GIO and have been with them for 15 years. Due to this, no one else comes close.
Dick.
hako said
10:24 AM Mar 2, 2015
Coles insurance is underwritten by WFI insurance which is owned by IAG who own many Aussie insurance companies such as NRMA Insurance, CGU, SGIO, SGIC, Swann, WFI and Lumley Insurance (Australia) according to their website. No South African connection.
Youi are South African owned.
Seems to me that whoever you insure with is owned by someone else who then is part of this or that group meaning they all go back to one parent company whose business is making money. In the meantime us punters think we get a good deal but like most affairs dealing with money it is all an illusion.
Regards
littledick said
12:00 PM Mar 2, 2015
hako wrote:
Coles insurance is underwritten by WFI insurance which is owned by IAG who own many Aussie insurance companies such as NRMA Insurance, CGU, SGIO, SGIC, Swann, WFI and Lumley Insurance (Australia) according to their website. No South African connection. Youi are South African owned. Seems to me that whoever you insure with is owned by someone else who then is part of this or that group meaning they all go back to one parent company whose business is making money. In the meantime us punters think we get a good deal but like most affairs dealing with money it is all an illusion. Regards
Yep your correct. Appologies. It was one of several I rang.
Hendo said
03:01 PM Mar 2, 2015
I have always used NRMA, sometime they are cheaper, sometimes not. Last December I took out a 12 month public Lib Insurance due to my employment requirements. My wife passed away suddenly in August and I no longer required the insurance as I quit working but as I had signed up for 12 months coverage didn't bother to notify them until January that I wouldn't be renewing.
Days after notifying them they refunded 6 months payments. I guess that's why I'll stick to the NRMA
Ame25 said
07:20 PM Mar 2, 2015
Hi KJ, most insurance companies MUST offer a cooling off period - from memory it's about 2 weeks - maybe you are in that time frame, good luck!
rosco532 said
12:35 AM Mar 3, 2015
We have just moved our 3 insurance policies over to Youi.....Whether it was a smart decision, time will tell.
The prices quoted were far less than what we have been paying (apples for apples)..and...They insure Caravans ....Which means we are only dealing with one company.
They have been warned that if their premiums rocket next year then my ''Hunting'' will begin all over again.....They assured me that, That won't happen.....Once again....Time will tell.
Cheers
kiwijims said
02:41 AM Mar 3, 2015
Ame25 wrote:
Hi KJ, most insurance companies MUST offer a cooling off period - from memory it's about 2 weeks - maybe you are in that time frame, good luck!
G'day Ame25, No such luck, mores the pity, we have had the little car for a few months now,
The annoying thing is that the question regarding the over use of the allowed KM's has been in the back of my mind for some time,
a while back I was thinking of giving the Company a ring and questioning them regarding this but, never got around to it,
it was only a day or two back that I came across the Policy and having a bit of time on hand, I decided to thumb through it,
a bit of a shock, I can tell you, $2000.00 excess on a car worth $ 2400.00.!!
We have our house, Patrol and Caravan insured with Q.B.E. that's where the little car will find cover shortly.
K.J.
jules47 said
07:33 AM Mar 3, 2015
Insurance - something we have to have, but hope never to use!
CCW said
10:57 AM Mar 3, 2015
Not just Woolworths. I had my house insured via Coles Insurance and when I was advising them that I would be leaving on an extended trip around Australia and that the house was to be checked every 2 days by my neighbour and my son, they Coles advised my insurance would be voided from the day I left on the trip.
On reinsuring with NRMA home insurance for a similar price they advised no problems with being away for an extended period.
Enough said.
PeterInSa said
06:09 PM Mar 3, 2015
Was involved in buying a small $5,000 car for a friends daughter, great automatic car with low Kms. Wanted to insure it for $5k with a popular insurance company would only insure it for market value and would not tell me the market value. Finally found out their market value $2,100.
Another company would insure at agreed value, premium was a bit higher but we were happy with the offer.
To me unless you know the Insurance companies market value its better to look around for agreed value, may cost a bit more but no surprises.
Peter.
-- Edited by PeterInSa on Tuesday 3rd of March 2015 06:10:07 PM
kiwijims said
07:26 PM Mar 3, 2015
PeterInSa wrote:
Was involved in buying a small $5,000 car for a friends daughter, great automatic car with low Kms. Wanted to insure it for $5k with a popular insurance company would only insure it for market value and would not tell me the market value. Finally found out their market value $2,100.
Another company would insure at agreed value, premium was a bit higher but we were happy with the offer.
To me unless you know the Insurance companies market value its better to look around for agreed value, may cost a bit more but no surprises.
Peter.
-- Edited by PeterInSa on Tuesday 3rd of March 2015 06:10:07 PM
G'day Peter,
I had a similar surprise a while back when I changed the insurance on my old 89 Patrol.
I only payed $4000 for it near on 6 years ago, when I went to re-insure it, the insurance said that it was worth $6.500 on their books,
under an Agreed Value Policy. even after telling them the old Girl had travelled over 400.000 km, they were still happy to insure it,
Happy happy Me
There's a good saying.... an Insurance Company is only good if they pay up when needed.
K.J.
PeterInSa said
08:40 PM Mar 3, 2015
KJ, Good deal, Another friend wanted to change insurance companies asked the Xxx in SA for a quote on a $35,500 Astra CDX car when new in 2003 but now with 250,000kms on the clock but still looks like new ( with heated leather seats, umpteen air bags etc etc), wanted agreed value of $8,000 was only offered $5200 agreed value., other companies would not offer agreed value under $10,000.
Suggest you don't change insurance companies on your Patrol......But U already know that.
Peter
-- Edited by PeterInSa on Tuesday 3rd of March 2015 08:41:41 PM
hako said
10:31 PM Mar 3, 2015
CCW wrote:
Not just Woolworths. I had my house insured via Coles Insurance and when I was advising them that I would be leaving on an extended trip around Australia and that the house was to be checked every 2 days by my neighbour and my son, they Coles advised my insurance would be voided from the day I left on the trip.
On reinsuring with NRMA home insurance for a similar price they advised no problems with being away for an extended period.
Enough said.
You must have misunderstood what Coles said - their Policy Disclosure Statement says in their general exclusions they "will not pay for your home or the site, if your home is unoccupied for longer than 60 consecutive days, unless you have told us about this and we have agreed to provide cover".
Also excluded: bushfires, grass fires, flood, storm, rainwater or named cyclone occurring within 48 hours of the start date of your policy.
I recently bought a small car for SWMBO, I then saw an add for Woolworth's insurance on T.V. which looked pretty good,
When I contacted them, they offered a cheap rate if I could state a low mileage of use for the following year,, So after a bit of working out, I stated that the Missis would be lucky if she used the car for 3000 km in the year.
Some weeks it doesn't even get started, it's mainly there in case I'm not home and if the wife has to see the doc in a hurry, she has transport.
Anyway, we got the car insured and also received a free $100.00 shopping voucher, now here's the catch,
If the car happens to exceed the stated 3000 KM PER YEAR there is an excess in the policy of $2000.00 THIS WAS NEVER STATED TO US,
I only found it in the small print hidden well back in the policy.
Needless to say as soon as the mileage is up or getting close, I will be looking around for a better policy, another clause is that if I cancel the policy now, there is a $30.00 deduction for admin fees,
So it pays to read it right through BEFORE buying any Policy. "BUYER BEWARE "
K.J.
I would have payed the $30.00 just to p&@$ them off.
Lance C
-- Edited by Olley46 on Sunday 1st of March 2015 03:47:54 PM
A lot of these cheap Insurers have a very high non negotiable excess ranging from $375 to $500.00. I check a few of them every year for my car renewal. To give you 3 examples, Apia $375.00; Youi $400.00; Budget Direct $400.00; Bingle (Suncorp) $550.00 I had my MH with Apia for one year only after I noticed the excess was $500.00 and non negotiable. Two years earlier, I broke a windscreen. The cost to replace was $700.00. If I had been with Apia, it meant I paid $500.00 towards the windscreen and they paid $200.00. Now that's not a good deal..
However, I know in 12 months time they will rise and then I'd do the rounds again, but the bottom line is that over all the policies we hold I am saving upwards of $600 by shopping around this year.
I don't like shopping around but I also don't like wasting money.
Good Luck.
I checked Coles insurance for one of my cars. When I told them they were much dearer than my present insurer, they hung up on me.
AND, they were located in South Africa.
I Have 7 policies with GIO and have been with them for 15 years. Due to this, no one else comes close.
Dick.
Youi are South African owned.
Seems to me that whoever you insure with is owned by someone else who then is part of this or that group meaning they all go back to one parent company whose business is making money. In the meantime us punters think we get a good deal but like most affairs dealing with money it is all an illusion.
Regards
Yep your correct. Appologies. It was one of several I rang.
Days after notifying them they refunded 6 months payments. I guess that's why I'll stick to the NRMA
We have just moved our 3 insurance policies over to Youi.....Whether it was a smart decision, time will tell.
The prices quoted were far less than what we have been paying (apples for apples)..and...They insure Caravans ....Which means we are only dealing with one company.
They have been warned that if their premiums rocket next year then my ''Hunting'' will begin all over again.....They assured me that, That won't happen.....Once again....Time will tell.
Cheers
G'day Ame25, No such luck, mores the pity, we have had the little car for a few months now,
The annoying thing is that the question regarding the over use of the allowed KM's has been in the back of my mind for some time,
a while back I was thinking of giving the Company a ring and questioning them regarding this but, never got around to it,
it was only a day or two back that I came across the Policy and having a bit of time on hand, I decided to thumb through it,
a bit of a shock, I can tell you, $2000.00 excess on a car worth $ 2400.00.!!
We have our house, Patrol and Caravan insured with Q.B.E. that's where the little car will find cover shortly.
K.J.
Not just Woolworths. I had my house insured via Coles Insurance and when I was advising them that I would be leaving on an extended trip around Australia and that the house was to be checked every 2 days by my neighbour and my son, they Coles advised my insurance would be voided from the day I left on the trip.
On reinsuring with NRMA home insurance for a similar price they advised no problems with being away for an extended period.
Enough said.
Was involved in buying a small $5,000 car for a friends daughter, great automatic car with low Kms. Wanted to insure it for $5k with a popular insurance company would only insure it for market value and would not tell me the market value. Finally found out their market value $2,100.
Another company would insure at agreed value, premium was a bit higher but we were happy with the offer.
To me unless you know the Insurance companies market value its better to look around for agreed value, may cost a bit more but no surprises.
Peter.
-- Edited by PeterInSa on Tuesday 3rd of March 2015 06:10:07 PM
G'day Peter,
I had a similar surprise a while back when I changed the insurance on my old 89 Patrol.
I only payed $4000 for it near on 6 years ago, when I went to re-insure it, the insurance said that it was worth $6.500 on their books,
under an Agreed Value Policy. even after telling them the old Girl had travelled over 400.000 km, they were still happy to insure it,
Happy happy Me
There's a good saying.... an Insurance Company is only good if they pay up when needed.
K.J.
KJ,
Good deal,
Another friend wanted to change insurance companies asked the Xxx in SA for a quote on a $35,500 Astra CDX car when new in 2003 but now with 250,000kms on the clock but still looks like new ( with heated leather seats, umpteen air bags etc etc), wanted agreed value of $8,000 was only offered $5200 agreed value., other companies would not offer agreed value under $10,000.
Suggest you don't change insurance companies on your Patrol......But U already know that.
Peter
-- Edited by PeterInSa on Tuesday 3rd of March 2015 08:41:41 PM
You must have misunderstood what Coles said - their Policy Disclosure Statement says in their general exclusions they "will not pay for your home or the site, if your home is unoccupied for longer than 60 consecutive days, unless you have told us about this and we have agreed to provide cover".
Also excluded: bushfires, grass fires, flood, storm, rainwater or named cyclone occurring within 48 hours of the start date of your policy.
Regards