I have just been checking over my insurance policies with Coles / Westfarmers. Basically they (Car and Home) have doubled in the last 12 months (and I live out in the country and there has been no significant events to cause the rise).
Just warning people as I think Coles were part of the One Big Switch program, and you might get a surprise on your next renewal.
Almost every insurance company does this. Some people call it a 'lazy tax'. Basically every year you need to shop around for quotes. If you get two companies with a similar quote youre better off flipping between the two companies each year rather than staying with one.
I wonder if any of those comparison websites can email you each year to tell you the best deal.
+1 for lazy tax. There was a Chaser The Checkout mini on this very subject a few days ago. People recounted experiences of merely ringing up their existing insurer, saying they have shopped around and the CSG quickly offered a 'loyalty discount'. Others re-applied online to their existing insurer as a new customer and got quotes for much less than their existing charge.
So don't renew. Get a cheaper quote. Insurance companies are not our friends.
This is standard Insurance company practice as far as I can tell.
Haven't seen Premiums double but they always go up significantly in the second year.
There's no reward for loyalty.
I changed to SGIC, as they have a loyalty program. I always re do a 'fresh quote' every year and check just in case. If I stuck with Bupa on another policy I would be up for $850, but if I cancel and get a fresh quote $699. Interestingly I rang them and asked if they would simply change over my premium accordingly. Answer was no, you need to cancel and re quote. My answer…seeya! Changed this to SGIC for a multi policy discount.
In 2000 my stepson received an NRMA renewal approximating $1,050 for his standard Holden Commodore. I said it should be cheaper now he was over 25. Every quote I obtained beat it easily. So I went to the local NRMA branch in case there was an error. The lady there confirmed the original figure, looking at me as if I was stupid for asking. He transferred to another firm for about $375.
have you make a claim yet? small insurance companies take your money (premium), but when you make the claim and most in need, the first thing is not to look after you but to validate whether you have a policy with them - ie can they deny your claim. save anything else but not on insurance. stay away from the supermarkets one.
It was not a small insurance company. It was Allianz.
+1 on coverage terms, claims experience and complaints statistics being far more important than price. Speaking from the perspective of seeing nearly 15 years of our finance clients (motor, mortgage and commercial) who have vehicles, homes/investment properties & businesses they are insuring - cheap is always cheap for a reason. There is no such thing as a free lunch in the insurance game. Chase price after ensuring coverage and terms are identical and you aren't dealing with an insurer that has a reputation for being difficult (resulting in a large number of complaints). You can see the stats for insurance complaints here: http://www.fos.org.au/public/download/?id=38200&sstat=313012
An extra note on house/contents insurance - make sure you're covered for what you actually have or else you become the insurer for the difference.
e.g. if you have $100k worth of contents but only have insurance for $50k, you are effectively the insurer for the other half.
So, you have a small fire in the rear of the house that causes $20k in damage, your insurance company is only liable for half of it, (i.e. They are NOT liable UP TO $50k) you are liable for the other half as the 'co-insurer'.
If you're unsure what your contents are worth, get them to help with assessing it's value, that way you're covered (unless you tell pork pies).
and the extension to this is that the insurers usually offer new for old replacement. So if you do have a loss event, their assessor comes out and looks at all this old crap you might have placed no value on and he says that because of the new-for-old that all that stuff increases your total amount to be insured way above what you thought were insuring…suddenly that $100k of cover doesn't look nearly enough…and the co-insurance clause kicks in.
Have never personally heard of a story of this happening (and have worked in the insurance industry) - but it is a gotcha that they can use if they were total b-tards.
Damo76 is spot on. A lot of people think they can "catch out" insurers by under-insuring their assets. But insurers are wising up and writing it into their policies. The co-insurer clause catches out a lot of aussies. Don't get caught out! I found this article for the under-educated and under-insured: http://www.elliottinsurance.com.au/news/articles/are-you-und…
GIO just doubled for me. Called them and got no reason so switched to Real Insurance. Home and contents for $580 instead of GIO $1040.