house insurance

TAJ · Senior Member

house insurance

jetj · Guru

Just paid my premium probably same company. Loyalty can cost a fortune I've found.

rockylizard · Guru

Boothie wrote:
Honestly, I don't know why I bother to insure:
Broken window, excess was greater than the cost of repairing
Hot water service breaking down and causing leaks, not covered
Storm damage to roof, not covered under the act of god clause
broken pipe under sink, not covered as considered normal wear
broken pipe due to poor workmanship causing water damage to inside of house, carpets and wall, not covered because we could not produce a certificate that the work was done by qualified tradesperson. We had bought the house used!
Aquarium heater that blew up and caused a 4 foot aquarium to empty onto the loungeroom floor, not covered because it was not a built in aquarium
Fencing blown down due to a storm, not covered because it is a joint concern
The other aspect is that I have my house insured for fire, bush or otherwise, yet I still have to pay the levy for those that don't have fire insurance. ~~~~~

Gday...

Feel ya pain Boothie - but much of what you have mentioned can be covered by insurance. When you take out an insurance policy you should be reading the policy document, small print and all, and the Product Disclosure Document provided by the company/s. Then and only then compare the premium you are expected to pay. Make sure you are covered for the things you WANT/NEED to be covered for.

With building insurance (when I owned a building and lived in it - ah I love my caravan home and nomad lifestyle ) I used to always have the premium with nil excess - so that I could always claim for broken windows completely. Window glass is often broken - mowers, kids with balls, birds flying into them etc. That way they were fixed at no (additional) cost to me.

Regarding the Fire Levy. I don't know which state you live in but in Victoria the Fire Levy is no longer collected through House/Contents Insurance policies. The levy is now attached to the rates of a property so that EVERYBODY is now contributing rather than just those with insurance on their properties. Much more equitable.

[edit: small error - the Fire Levy will be on rateable properties from 01 Jul 2013 - see website - http://www.dtf.vic.gov.au/firelevy ]

Insurance, of all kinds, should be decided on the policy and what is covered and NOT covered rather than the lowest premium.

Cheers - John

-- Edited by rockylizard on Monday 18th of February 2013 10:25:19 PM

Tamey · Veteran Member

Could be worse if you were insured with RACV. Premiums in our street went form and average of $850.00 to $9,300!!

neilnruth · Guru

That's one way of shutting down a business. How many people are going to keep paying those prices??

Cupie · Guru

After many years of just paying the premiums I recently made a claim for storm water entering thru the brickwork weep holes on the upper floor & then into the power sub board.

I must say that the South African owned company were excellent to deal with & paid out promptly. I banked the final re-imbursment cheque today & no paperwork or follow up calls needed. Even talked to the same real person in my home town.

They were just as good to deal with when someone ran into the side of our town car last year ... no claim & no paperwork.

PM me if you want to know which lot they are.

Boothie · Senior Member

Honestly, I don't know why I bother to insure:

Broken window, excess was greater than the cost of repairing
Hot water service breaking down and causing leaks, not covered
Storm damage to roof, not covered under the act of god clause
broken pipe under sink, not covered as considered normal wear
broken pipe due to poor workmanship causing water damage to inside of house, carpets and wall, not covered because we could not produce a certificate that the work was done by qualified tradesperson. We had bought the house used!
Aquarium heater that blew up and caused a 4 foot aquarium to empty onto the loungeroom floor, not covered because it was not a built in aquarium
Fencing blown down due to a storm, not covered because it is a joint concern

The other aspect is that I have my house insured for fire, bush or otherwise, yet I still have to pay the levy for those that don't have fire insurance. My big question is why, if the insurance companies and government know that I have paid my insurance premiums and have not or cannot claim because of stupid rules, is why do I have to pay another tax to subsidise those who did not have insurance to cover them?

That is my rant and I consider it a valid rant after driving through some bush communities near Bendigo where new houses have been built in bush that is that tinder dry, I would not even camp in it!

I could not even consider covering the price of a down payment on the deposit of some of the houses with the assets I have, let alone keeping up the bank payments!

hako · Guru

We've insured all our houses, contents and cars for the 47 years that we've been married. Made probably 4 claims and all went through smoothly so really I cannot add to the complaint list.
I guess it's like our goverment - you've got to have them .
ps...we've got house and contents and 2 car insurances due in April....I may not be happy then from what I've read!

Boothie · Senior Member

rockylizard wrote:

Regarding the Fire Levy. I don't know which state you live in but in Victoria the Fire Levy is no longer collected through House/Contents Insurance policies. The levy is now attached to the rates of a property so that EVERYBODY is now contributing rather than just those with insurance on their properties. Much more equitable.
[edit: small error - the Fire Levy will be on rateable properties from 01 Jul 2013 - see website - http://www.dtf.vic.gov.au/firelevy ]
My answer to this is that I live in Victoria and have paid the fire levy for years and now I have to pay it through rates. Which means that people can still not take out insurance to cover them for fire and yet I still have to pay for fire insurance on my home insurance because I have a conscience and I know that by living in a town, the risk of bushfire is minimal. Why should I still have to subsidise what you consider an equitable arrangement? Why should I subsidise a person who wants to live in the bush with trees to the front door without taking out and paying for an insurance premium that should take the heat off me?
As far as the small print goes, I read it. I wish I had legal training because they bested me on every claim. The small print is meant for legal people, not normal people like me!

rockylizard · Guru

Boothie wrote:
rockylizard wrote:

Regarding the Fire Levy. I don't know which state you live in but in Victoria the Fire Levy is no longer collected through House/Contents Insurance policies. The levy is now attached to the rates of a property so that EVERYBODY is now contributing rather than just those with insurance on their properties. Much more equitable.
[edit: small error - the Fire Levy will be on rateable properties from 01 Jul 2013 - see website - http://www.dtf.vic.gov.au/firelevy ]
My answer to this is that I live in Victoria and have paid the fire levy for years and now I have to pay it through rates. Which means that people can still not take out insurance to cover them for fire and yet I still have to pay for fire insurance on my home insurance because I have a conscience and I know that by living in a town, the risk of bushfire is minimal. Why should I still have to subsidise what you consider an equitable arrangement? Why should I subsidise a person who wants to live in the bush with trees to the front door without taking out and paying for an insurance premium that should take the heat off me?
As far as the small print goes, I read it. I wish I had legal training because they bested me on every claim. The small print is meant for legal people, not normal people like me!

Gday..

Still understand how you feel Boothie .... but the Fire Levy has never been used to "assist" people affected by fire to rebuild their homes. It is to fund the MMFB and the CFA.

Given how strongly you feel, the solution appears simple - stop wasting money on insurance with insurance companies. Simply put that amount away each year into a bank account (or similar) and then you will have a 'nest egg' to cover the small items you have listed that have not been able to be paid for by the insurance company you had chosen.

Of course, if something catastrophic occurs you will be just like the mob you are so annoyed with - and expect financial handouts to re-establish your life and lifestyle.

Unless you have a mortgage and the lender insists on having building insurance there is absolutely no other obligation that is placed upon you to pay insurance. Paying for insurance is YOUR choice.

Actually, "small print is meant for legal people, not normal people" has been leglislated out - ALL policies and Product Disclosure Documents MUST have non-legal, normal print, explanations of their inclusions and exclusions. Do a ring around, get them all to send you their policy details and their Product Disclosure Document, compare what they offer and then, and only then, obtain a quote from the one that actually will meet what you want/need. There are a number of quality insurers with very good policies that cover the things you seem to have not been covered for with by your existing policy.

Cheers - John

Gerty Dancer · Guru

Tamey wrote:
Could be worse if you were insured with RACV. Premiums in our street went form and average of $850.00 to $9,300!!

Wow! what happened in your area, was there a flood?

neilnruth · Guru

It would be interesting to know if all insurers increased by that much.

Boothie · Senior Member

I really do give up, my post was to say quite simply that I am sick and tired of having to pay insurance and seeing people not paying insurance get all the benefits and payments. Okay, I need not pay insurance and put the money in the bank, that is not going to help me when I need insurance.

I know how the levy works in Victoria and I take offence that I have had insurance against fire for the last umpteen years, I also take offence that so many people did not take out insurance against fire given the nature of our country. The insurance has not worked for me because I have not chosen to pay the excess because it would have increased my premium!

I now have to pay on my rates, my insurance has not gone down!

What d they say, S?iT happens!