Good deal or bad mistake? NRMA car insurance

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NRMA Insurance

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  aladdin on 26/08/2013 - 23:16

  im with NRMA car and home insurances for 4 years now and so far so good. I made one claim about 4 years ago for my home and claim done fairly quickly than i've expected. your price, for me, is very very cheap compare with mine. how can you get that price for actually?

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  pyramid on 26/08/2013 - 23:24

  I assume $439 for a year? If yes then its cheap because I paid $400 yearly premium for my 12 years old car and also I need to pay $500 with claim as excess.

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  Geewhizz on 27/08/2013 - 06:21

  +2

  youi is not cheap. NRMA was the cheapest we found. Even with house insurance, youi was almost half as much again as NRMA

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  YTW on 27/08/2013 - 07:41

  You are better off with NRMA IMO. Both are reputable but we've had good experience with NRMA.

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  felipe1982 on 27/08/2013 - 08:14

  1 male driver and 1 female driver on the policy is cheaper than only 1 male driver. Also I think my type of car (Getz) helps to bring the cost down. They estimated my car to be worth around $10000 but I lowered it to around $8000. Thanks for all the feedback. I'm happy with my choice.

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  Paul Atreides on 27/08/2013 - 08:17

  nrma is the cheapest i've found too. only good experience with nrma

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  one man clan on 27/08/2013 - 09:08

  youi was cheap for me. They are salesmen though so they'll high ball you, but if you have another genuine quote they'll eventually beat it. Have yet to make a claim, so we'll see how they go on that front.

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  r2160 on 27/08/2013 - 09:12

  -3

  Just bear in mind, if you have an accident with the NRMA, they can and will use 2nd hand parts to repair your car. They source them from wreckers and accident damaged cars that they keep for this purpose.
  Read the policy carefully before you sign. Then make your decisision.

  And there are more than two insurance companies out there.

  • 

    mini2 on 27/08/2013 - 09:37

    Sometimes I don't know what's worse, second hand but genuine parts or new but aftermarket/"pattern" parts.

  • 

    blitz on 27/08/2013 - 10:07

    That's utter rubbish. From their policy:

    If we agree to repair your vehicle we will repair your vehicle using new parts or
    quality non-mechanical reusable parts. Our policy is to use non-mechanical reusable
    parts or non-genuine parts only when this:

    • is consistent with the age and condition of the vehicle
    • does not affect the safety or the structural integrity of the vehicle
    • complies with the vehicle manufacturer’s specifications and applicable Australian Design Rules
    • does not adversely affect the post-repair appearance of the vehicle
    • does not void or affect the warranty provided by the vehicle manufacturer.

    Generally, we do not authorise the use of reusable parts for the repair of any
    motor vehicle that is less than three years old

    • 

      r2160 on 28/08/2013 - 08:22

      +1

      Thats interesting. I can quote numerous situations but let me quote one in particular.
      A brand new toyota (800km on the clock) was in an accident.
      The NRMA assessed the vehicle, and then told the repairer they would provide second hand parts to repair this vehicle. The repairer refused, due to the age of the vehicle.
      As the customer had paid for "choice of repairer" the NRMA wrote the car off, removed the vehicle and took it to another repairer to effect the repairs.
      I might add that it is not the NRMA that provides the repair warranty of the vehicle either. It is the repairer that is forced to use whatever parts the NRMA dictates.
      So before you have a shot, make sure you know the real facts.
      I speak from personal experience.

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  [Deactivated] on 27/08/2013 - 10:25

  +1

  I'm in NSW, but probably still holds some interest…

  For years I've been with AAMI. Then our car rusted away and we let the rego expire. There was a gap of a couple of months where we didn't have insurance. Got another car, did an online AAMI quote, and found the insurance and greenslip had jumped to a ridiculous level. Phoned them up and was told the last 15 years with them didn't matter - because we'd had that short period not being a customer, we were back at the bottom of the pile. (No discounts, paying full price.)

  The car we purchased for $10,000 they'd only insure for about $3500. They recommended their other business - Shannons - saying I'd be able to get a higher agreed value there. However Shannons didn't do green slips. (I think they do now?) Then AAMI rep said if I "started" insuring with them again just using the greenslip, next year the discounts should kick back in and they would probably be cheaper than the NRMA again.

  That was two years ago.

  A couple of weeks ago I got the yearly quotes. NRMA is still about $90 cheaper. As I said, that wasn't the case for around 15 years. The last two it has been.

  Now… More related to the NRMA…

  NRMA has been around for decades and is one of the bigger and more popular insurers. It has branches you can walk into. Youi hasn't - and doesn't - that I've seen anyway.

  I phoned them up. Got quote. Quote quite cheap compared to others. Cheaper than their online quote too (which is never the case). So I phone again to check. Find out previous guy has quoted me as if I've been an NRMA customer for 5 years. Oh, great! I ask what happened if I were to pay that, had an accident, and NRMA found out I wasn't a customer for 5 years and refuses to pay out! Second rep says no matter, first guy's mistake - NRMA will have to honour the quote. Oh, ok.

  Wait four days for paperwork to arrive, only to discover the WRONG CAR is listed on the policy!? (So much for honouring the quote. Oh well.) Received an online survey about my phone contact with them. Filled it out, told them about it, but probably won't hear back (for a possible discount) before I have to insure.

  As to if if you can rely on NRMA… Well, until you have to claim, I always consider them all a gamble. Years ago there were stories regularly aired on TV, people being ripped off and left homeless/carless/assetless/businessless by greedy insurance companies weasling their way out of paying legitimate claims. Or at least delaying payment long enough to destroy people's lives. You don't see as many of these stories anymore. (Either all insurance companies have gotten better, or, the stories don't hold entertainment value anymore.)

  NOTE:

  1. NRMA online quotes are cheaper than their phone quotes. Next year, phone them to ask any questions - but do the quote online. It should be slightly cheaper. If not, phone and ask why - i.e. "What am I entering wrong?" Still let them send the mail quote out in the mail (as they will ask to). But then go do another online quote. (I have no problem doing this, because there shouldn't BE a price difference!)

  2. A rep told me a few days ago, NRMA recently changed their additional drivers policy (well, half of it anyway). You no longer have to tell them someone else drives the car. But if you do - it still increases the price of the policy! The rep said she could reduce my quote more, by removing my wife as a driver - also saying, people are no longer required to notify them, but if I listed her, the quote increases. So either next year remove your wife from your car (or vice versa), or be more proactive, phone up now and ask for a refund of the difference.

  3. NRMA gives discounts the more stuff you have insured with them. (As do several others.) This is not always obvious from the online quotes. This is why I do everything over the phone, get the price, then do the quote online - it should be slightly less. If it's more - or a lot less - then I know I've made a mistake, so I phone again. (For example, the comprehensive policy come out about $32 cheaper doing it online.)

  4. You probably know this, but NRMA has "Roadside Assist". Car breaks down - they come and attempt to get it going, or arrange a tow truck, etc.

  As I said, I'm in NSW but could still be of some use. :-)

  • 

    Paul Atreides on 27/08/2013 - 12:03

    Your #2 does not apply for everyone, and I recommend people to play around with this.

    I'm 23, male, got a quote to insurance my car with nrma normal comprehensive. about $1500.

    Put down my GF as an additional driver, 22 years old. Price went DOWN to about $1300.

    Our driving history is the same.

    • 

      [Deactivated] on 27/08/2013 - 15:16

      +1

      The rep said it's only a recent change - when did you renew?

    • 

      ProdigyShin on 28/08/2013 - 14:53

      It's a recent change that NRMA insured anyone that drives the car.

    • 

      tko6070 on 28/08/2013 - 21:31

      male/ female, 22/23, age you got your licences? by adding your GF it has spread the risk across 2 drivers instead of one, and generally young female drivers are safer than males (statistically speaking)

      • 

        Paul Atreides on 28/08/2013 - 21:46

        17, both of us. yeah thats what i was thinking, but i found it weird how it discounts a pretty huge chunk without asking how often she drives my car. i mean, she does drive it, but still.

  • 

    dsp26 on 28/08/2013 - 07:25

    Now that im in QLD i still keep NRMA because the money i save i invest in roadside assist.

    They have a permanent agreement with RACQ that when i call for roadside assist RACQ always come out at no extra and vice versa

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  r3volt on 28/08/2013 - 09:37

  I was with nrma for about 10 years and just recently left. Insurance jumped about 400 in 2 years for no reason of mine. Switched to aami and got a better policy for cheaper.

  • 

    [Deactivated] on 29/08/2013 - 10:44

    We didn't want to change, so lucky you…

    I still have the spreadsheet I was using to compare. For a NSW CTP Green Slip only - no other policy, AAMI was $584. NRMA $122 cheaper @ $472.

    The worst thing with AAMI was, their Greenslip wasn't cheaper if you got Third Party with them - it was still $584! If you get TPP with NRMA, their Greenslip drops $60.

    Another mark against AAMI was they were dearer even though we were previous customers. The NRMA was cheaper but we were new.

    There's so many "deceptions" their quote systems put you through though. I don't know if it's intentional or not. But I got about five different totals from each of them. You have to understand (and KNOW you're understanding it) every single stage of their quote system. Or I could have been paying ~$150 more.

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  felipe1982 on 29/08/2013 - 07:22

  AAMI: oz bargain and whirlpool are full of bad claiming experiences with them.

  • 

    mini2 on 29/08/2013 - 08:47

    +1

    Let's not forget people generally complain and if someone sings praise about anything or anyone on a forum, they'll be labelled sockpuppeting or being a staff/rep etc.