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Best insurance company to go with?

Posted: Thu Feb 06, 2014 1:28 pm
by Evo_Girl
So I have been with NRMA for almost 3 years and I got my renewal notice and the policy has jumped by almost $400. I just cannot understand how they could possibly justify that and when I call they aren't much help.

So I have decided to start looking around and I am having issues because as soon as I say the car is lowered and has an exhaust they decline me saying they can't insure it.

I have had RACQ ask me if the car is lowered evenly all around to which I answered if your asking if it is evenly off the ground all around then yes but I have different spring sizes front and rear because if the front get's lowered any more the ass of the car will be in the air which will make it uneven. Which she replied to saying that it has to be 30mm all around it can't be 30mm in the front and 32 at the back. Which is now making me worry if my car is legally lowered or not. Anywho other companies won't insureit if it's been dropped more that 30mm.

So far the only places that will insure me is Just car insurance and NRMA.

NRMA wants $988 which insures everything including fire, theft and storm (So flooding or hail).

Just car insurance want $712 but for those who are with them does that insure everything like fire, theft and storm?

Is Just car insurance any good?

Or can anyone else recommend a good insurance company.

Thanks

Posted: Thu Feb 06, 2014 1:48 pm
by SammyH
I'm with AAMI since they are the only insurance company that would cover a P Plater with a Ralliart and its only $15 more a month than my old ES go figure. But yeah they are very easy to deal with thats for sure. But i've never lowered a car so i'm not too sure on how they'd go on that front. Could be worth a shot though

Posted: Thu Feb 06, 2014 2:25 pm
by billy boy
shannons or possibly suncorp

Posted: Thu Feb 06, 2014 2:36 pm
by black_ice
enthusiast underwriting

Posted: Thu Feb 06, 2014 2:40 pm
by BST50N
I'm with Progressive - I pay about $1k per year for full comprehensive on the RA. Its something like $600+ cheaper than anyone else. How they go with a claim I don't know, and hope i don't find out!

Posted: Thu Feb 06, 2014 2:56 pm
by black_ice
Nick does progressive state anything about modifications??

Posted: Thu Feb 06, 2014 2:58 pm
by Kyrus
black_ice wrote:enthusiast underwriting


This^ with them at the moment for my s15

chose the limited use option which limits use to 8000k a year.

insured amount was up by 4k and i saved about 1.3k in premium as as compared to NRMA. give them a try.

Posted: Thu Feb 06, 2014 4:05 pm
by jordan.fuchs

Posted: Thu Feb 06, 2014 4:24 pm
by BST50N
black_ice wrote:Nick does progressive state anything about modifications??


I remember when I applied you can list a maximum of $3k in mods to your car. Pretty sure there would be something in their agreement that they need to be legal or something. Check em out.

Posted: Thu Feb 06, 2014 4:27 pm
by jordan.fuchs
Just car covers unlimited legal modifications. And fire and theft and they're the cheapest I've been quoted.

Posted: Thu Feb 06, 2014 6:04 pm
by Lancer09
I'm with aami and i payed about 1500 but that's prob because I was 23 when i bought it but at the time it was cheaper than the others.

Posted: Thu Feb 06, 2014 7:34 pm
by BZC-45S
Just car is part of the AAMI/Suncorp umbrella of companies. A pretty big conglomerate in this country, so I'd trust that their policy carries weight in a court of law, should 'grey areas' arise during any potential claims (I want the biggest baddest meanest insurance co representing me if I have a dispute regarding who's at fault in a claim if it's not clear cut).

The way I look at insurance is, you're not buying a product, or a service. You're buying a future promise from a company, and it is only when you make a claim that any differences between insurance companies matter (they will all make it easy to take your premiums without hassle).

AAMI/Justcar use the same system of bidding from potential smash repairers in order to get your car fixed, same as NRMA (ie. when you have a prang and your car needs fixing, you take it to the assessment centre of the insurance co and they take photos, post it up on a site that potential smash repairs interested in the job bid on it to see who can fix it at the lowest price). NRMA uses a similar system. They generally won't allow your choice of repairer - they say they do in their marketing, however read the fine print and it's full of loopholes. eg. repairer must be from their approved/recommended repairers list, must get 2-3 competitive quotes, etc. and ultimately the insurance rep and not the car owner gets the final say.

If you're shopping for comprehensive insurance, they all should cover fire, theft, flood and other events. The only catch is with the (sometimes optional) window cover. For AAMI/Justcar it applies to front windscreen claims only; while NRMA states any glass window (incl sunroof) gets broken and you make a claim it won't cost you your excess. That makes a difference in the event of a theft or attempted theft from your vehicle.

Shannons/Enthusiast Underwriting gets my vote of best insurance companies; having said that, I'm not with them. I'm with NRMA (soon to switch) because to some extent I value lower premiums than I do better service in the event of a claim. I'm not with Budget Direct or Progressive Online either - at the other end of the pendulum, they've given me lower quoted premiums, however as I don't value low premiums to the extent of compromised customer service in the event of a claim.

TL;DR - go with whoever offers the cheapest premiums for equivalent coverage.

Posted: Thu Feb 06, 2014 9:01 pm
by black_ice
jordan.fuchs wrote:Just car covers unlimited legal modifications.


But no car mods are legal if they are not engineered. Most people with exhaust and lowered suspension would not be legal so what happens if you get in an accident then?

Posted: Fri Feb 07, 2014 7:57 am
by Zaphod
I've insured different cars with different (major) insurers.

My personal preference is to avoid the online budget insurers - they're cheap for a reason - also, you're better off with an insurer that has an office you can actually walk into if there's a problem (like NRMA, SunCorp, RACQ, AAMI etc.)

Your best bet is to get on the interweb and do a series of online quotes - make sure you're upfront about your mods (but I wouldn't worry about the extra 2mm on your suspension, it's going to be hard demonstrate and easy to feign ignorance) otherwise you may have difficulties in case of a claim.

I insured my new Lancer at the end of december and AAMI was second-cheapest, but weren't concerned about any of the add-ons I had, and were unconcerned about the ones I am/was planning on doing as long as it was listed on the original quote...

I just found them easiest to deal with as far as the mods were concerned...

Posted: Fri Feb 07, 2014 9:22 am
by VRX_08
I am with AAMI, they are excellent from what I have dealt with them, have made a claim once not long ago and they have been really friendly and nice to me so far. They were also the cheapest for me by quite a bit! :D