Octavia Insurance

[brad]

There is not much point comparing insurance, we were with AAMI with rating 1 for life no accidents ever and were near 1k. Same with my Santa Fe. We are with RACV now but its not a whole lot different. I check around each year and can come up with no explantion why a lot of people have much lower premiums apart from living location. We are in a dead safe middle class area in Melbournw with them locked up in a garage at home and both of us have secure locked up undercover parking at work.

I agree, there's no rhyme or reason to it at times.
During my recent conversations with GIO the sales person tried to convince me that the reason my insurance was $200 cheaper if I used the neighbours address was because they were a lower risk. I asked how this could be when the son had twice stolen the mothers car & crashed it once & set fire to it a 2nd time - the sales droid couldn't answer me.

Allianz I can never get, they are always a lot more and yet some people get much cheaper rates. But smash repairers and most car dealers swear by them. Budget, Coles etc are dodgy when it comes to an accident, unless you are in dire straits do not touch them. Even AAMI and RACV/NRMA get pretty poor feedback. A smash repairer near me told me one other that is good, but I can't recall who they were.

I can understand what you are saying about Budget Direct but i can't see how Coles would be a known entity yet despite Wesfarmers having been in the insurance business fo decades. /checks - Coles have been doing insurance since 2010? I guess that's enough time to work out if they are incompetant or not.

[Harpoon]

I see. Very glad to hear I'm not the only one who can't work out what triggers high or low prices.

So my best bet it to ring m current insurer AAMI and tell them I'm leaving unless they can do a better deal.

[vEnOm_oz]

Allianz I can never get, they are always a lot more and yet some people get much cheaper rates. But smash repairers and most car dealers swear by them. Budget, Coles etc are dodgy when it comes to an accident, unless you are in dire straits do not touch them. Even AAMI and RACV/NRMA get pretty poor feedback. A smash repairer near me told me one other that is good, but I can't recall who they were.

I will have to disagree with your opinion on Budget Direct based on my experience with them. I was involved in an accident a year back and the incident was handled smoothly by them. They also have an assessment centre in Melbourne where you can take your car with an appointment.

I really don't understand why insurance companies have to push the policy price up if the car is financed. I have asked this question to the customer service reps themselves and they seem to have no clue.

[woofy]

I'm sure it was smooth. I was rear ended by a p plater just before Easter weekend. They accepted he was at fault and offered to give me a loan car, get it to their assessement centre or take it to one of the 2 or 3 repairers they prefer. There was no issue with any of that.

Where the issue lies and 3 separate repairers who I know well and are highly referred to said that they will do the cheapest dodgiest repair you will ever find. Most likely new parts are not used and shortcuts are taken. The Car dealer also said when I told them it was budget direct to take it to my preferred repairer for piece of mind as there are too many issues with their repairers.

If you do a quick google search you find much the same, and as my young friend who hit me has now been told, they will not insure him once his current insurance expires. Plenty of cases of that online as well. You do get what you pay for. Allianz comes up over and over again when you ask people in the know and most crash repairers use them after seeing the stuff going on with claims. There was one other insurer I was told but I can't for the life of me remember who.

[vEnOm_oz]

I'm sure it was smooth. I was rear ended by a p plater just before Easter weekend. They accepted he was at fault and offered to give me a loan car, get it to their assessement centre or take it to one of the 2 or 3 repairers they prefer. There was no issue with any of that.

Where the issue lies and 3 separate repairers who I know well and are highly referred to said that they will do the cheapest dodgiest repair you will ever find. Most likely new parts are not used and shortcuts are taken. The Car dealer also said when I told them it was budget direct to take it to my preferred repairer for piece of mind as there are too many issues with their repairers.

If you do a quick google search you find much the same, and as my young friend who hit me has now been told, they will not insure him once his current insurance expires. Plenty of cases of that online as well. You do get what you pay for. Allianz comes up over and over again when you ask people in the know and most crash repairers use them after seeing the stuff going on with claims. There was one other insurer I was told but I can't for the life of me remember who.

Fair enough, I had gone with a repair shop I know for the repairs. Thinking about it now, the BD representative did push me to go with one of their repairers, glad I didn't. Thanks for sharing the full story, this is what makes forums like this invaluable!

[spud75]

I agree, there's no rhyme or reason to it at times.
During my recent conversations with GIO the sales person tried to convince me that the reason my insurance was $200 cheaper if I used the neighbours address was because they were a lower risk. I asked how this could be when the son had twice stolen the mothers car & crashed it once & set fire to it a 2nd time - the sales droid couldn't answer me.
.

Just thought I would check this one out, it seems that my house for some reason is one of the most expensive in the street. By $120 per year. ????

Must be because my house doesnt face the street and my car is always parked off the street.....

If I live next door on either side of my drive, or up the street either direction I could save between 120 and 150 per year.

[readerr0r]

Just thought I would check this one out, it seems that my house for some reason is one of the most expensive in the street. By $120 per year. ????

Must be because my house doesnt face the street and my car is always parked off the street.....

If I live next door on either side of my drive, or up the street either direction I could save between 120 and 150 per year.

Same with Suncorp (which runs GIO) my neighbour saves $50! Maybe its some weird calculation on house values.

[brad]

The difference in price is because the computer pricing system is aware of which addresses have a business relationship with the insurer & which don't. If the address isn't in the "current customer" database then they give a further incentive to become a new customer.

Existing customer loyalty means nothing.

[Pana]

Existing customer loyalty means nothing.

So much for multi policy discounts....

[Skooter]

Been with AAMI with other cars for 20 years, have house & contents with them, and have our two vehicles insured with them, including the 2010 103TDI Skoda Scout. Me and my wife are over 40, rating 1 for life .. and they want $1150 after safe driver discount for market value $23,450 - and I won't pay it.

I rang them and asked for an explanation as to why my brother's brand new GTI, $53,000, garaged 5km away (we're both Melbourne inner north) is covered for $750. They won't negotiate so I'm going elsewhere and will probably take everything else (other car & house insurance) with me. I fail to see how Fairfield is a safer burb than Preston for a Skoda or a GTI! I'm totally p*ssed off.

Sounds like Coles is the go - if I get told it's where it's garaged, I'll register the car at a different address!!

[brad]

I just took advantage of the free windscreen replacement option in the Coles policy. I copped a rock directly in front of my line of sight that was about 10c piece size. Within 2 days the cracks grew about 200mm long.

The whole process was relatively painless & quick via O'brien Glass.

OTOH, I can't even get a quote out of Coles for my House & Contents and they don't return my calls /emails (4 times) asking for a sales rep to ring me. If they can't follow up on a sale then it doesn't bode well for a claim.

Next year I'll do the ring-around again & see what happens.

[daMama]

My OH used to work for GIO and said staff would get bonuses if customers had their car repaired with the GIO preferred repairer.
I was quoted about $570 w NRMA. Still shopping around though and Coles looks like an option.