Extended Warranty comparison

[kamold]

Yes, another extended warranty discussion..

This time its the 300lb gorilla of extended warranties, Allianz, up against the relative unknown- at least in this industry- Toyota Insurance.

I'm happy to post the PDS for both products, but wanted to see if anyone had first hand experience of making a claim under either policy?

The Toyota policy is being quoted at a more competitive price, but as the case with all insurance products the devil is in the details...and the details in the PDS are often vague at best...

[kamold]

Ok so given I didn't get any input from anyone I did some investigation on my own...

Came across 'leaseworks' in Parramatta who deal with 6 different insurers for extended warranties.

After much sleep-inducing PDS reading, I ended up with a policy from The Warranty Group which is underwritten by Virginia Surety.
This is what Subaru offered until recently moving to Allianz who are apparently swallowing up the market here in Aus.
Got a 3 year unlimited km warranty for $2k.

[kamold]

You're welcome. Kerry at Leaseworks was very good to deal with also. No pushing any product, just very responsive to my numerous queries.

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[wai]

The reason you may not have received responses is because in other threads, the value of such insurance has been questioned. Remember, it is Warranty Insurance and not an Extended Warranty, no matter what they call it. If you look closely at the policy you signed, you will find that they will make it perfectly clear that it is insurance you are buying.

The problem with insurance is that the insurer is not in business to pay claims. That's not how they make money. They do it by writing policies, taking premiums and paying out as little as possible. Most of the time, they will try their best to deny a claim.

It does not matter who the insurer is, or how pleasant they are. It's their job to be nice and pleasant. It is not their job to take on a risk where they are going to have to pay out. In many ways, if they are willing to write a policy, it would generally not be worth taking out as they are only writing it because their risk assessment says that they will never have to pay out.

As you've taken out a police, there's not much that you can do now. Just don't bank on them paying out. They will have clauses like pre-existing condition exclusions. Effectively, if anything is mentioned by you or the dealer or service garage during the manufacturer's warranty, that will be considered a pre-existing condition.

It's a bit like having storm damage and having a tree branch fall on your car. The policy will probably have a clause requiring you to maintain the tree in a safe condition. If a branch does fall on your car, then you will find that as far as the insurer is concerned, the tree was not maintained in a safe condition. What is a safe condition? One where if the branch did fall off, it would not hit and damage the car.

Think of what you might claim on and then see what reasons you can come up with to challenge that claim.

[kamold]

Yes it's an insurance policy. Not pretending it isn't. And like any insurance product it's a personal choice between risk and premium. But I can't imagine you wouldn't have a home insurance policy or comprehensive car insurance on the off chance they won't pay out.
I bought the policy because if I sell the car I can counter any stigma that exists wrt the DSG and a less known brand by the fact that if it fails there is recourse.
Each to their own if you have a personal experience with a policy payout being rejected by all means share that otherwise opinions are just that.

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[wai]

Don't get me wrong. Yes, there is insurance that is worthwhile, and there is insurance that is not. The difference between this and car insurance is that there are more clearly defined boundaries, and the risk is much more quantifiable. Even so, I have owned cars for over 38 years, and they have all been covered by comprehensive insurance. In all that time, I have only ever made a claim for $600 way back in 1976. Things did not cost as much then. That was roughly 1/4 the value of a new Mini. In today's money you would be talking of something between $5,000 and $10,000. I have paid something like $30,000 to $40,000 over that time.

I have to have building insurance as it is a requirement of the mortgage. Yes, I have contents insurance, but even here, it is not really worth it. I have never had to claim against either, but I have paid something like $20,000 over the years.

The thing about these extended warranty insurance policies is that they are sold as being an extended warranty, which they are not, and many buy them not realising what they are. It is a choice, and you can say it is peace of mind, but again, what may have been thought of as peace of mind ends up being valueless as when it comes time to claim, nothing gets honoured. I know of many individuals who have bought these extended warranties and when they have attempted to claim on it, they end up being rejected.

So, it is a choice, and there is nothing wrong with that.

[kamold]

We are all here to share our knowledge and experience for the benefit of the community.

Would love to hear specifics of the rejected claims so we all know what to look out for.

These products now come under the purview of ASIC's general insurance code of practice. So I am hopeful that in the event of a legitimate claim being rejected there is recourse available to the consumer.

They have had a bad rap in the past due to some shonky operators who hopwfully are no longer in the industry. I have rejected these sorts of policies in the past based on examination of the pds however I think there appear to be some genuine products in the market today.

Obviously the only way to tell is by making a claim which you hope to not have to do...

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