Car Insurance Wa +Home and Contnents Insurance Wa

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  Hellfire on 08/01/2015 - 10:23

  I sometimes think insurance companies make it confusing so you don't actually know what it is you are buying.

  You need to read the features of the product you are buying. This will be on their website and also in a document called a PDS or Product Disclosure Statement.

  Insurance pricing is based on Risk. This means how likely they think you are of claiming. All insurance companies determine this in different ways which is why you can have very different prices. Some are also just cheaper overall. It is not unusual to get higher prices from cheap companies than well established ones. You need to shop around.

  The cheapest price is not the best. You need to weight up what you require with what it costs.

  Car Insurance

  Since you have a new car you will want comprehensive car insurance. This covers your car and the other car if you are at fault. If you are not at fault you can also claim and get your car fixed. If you claim it may affect your future price (especially if at fault) so isn't usually worth it for low value damage.

  Excess - When you are at fault or the other party can't be identified you have to pay the first $XXXX amount of the damage. This is called the excess. Typically it is around $500 but can vary a lot (especially for young drivers). Most insurance companies let you increase it to reduce the price. Some (usually cheaper) insurers will require you to pay the excess regardless of fault and will pay this back to you if not at fault and they recover it from the at fault party.

  Market or Agreed value - There are 2 ways to insure you can. Not all insurers offer both. Market means that you are insured up to the value that you car is worth based on what it can be bought/sold for. This is a fuzzy number and open to being offered a low amount. Agreed value is where you set a value of how much you are is worth. This will be reflected in the price. These values are really only applicable where you car is a write-off, which means that it has been damaged very badly or stolen. It doesn't affect the other cars in an accident, only yours if you are at fault. If you aren't at fault you need to negotiate this value with the other party (so it is more like Market value).

  No claim bonus - Every year you have insurance and don't make a claim your insurance company will reward you with a lower price. This is usually transferable between insurance companies but sometimes they do it slightly differently. I think there are a few insurance companies that don't have no claim bonuses and just work of when you last claim was.

  Choice of repairer - Some insurance companies offer choice of repairer. This means you get a choice of where to get you car repaired. Sometimes the insurer requires that to be for less cost than they can arrange. This is important if you have a car you love or is in some way unusual. There are plenty of stories of people getting poor repairs going to the insurers repairer. They are obliged to make it right but it might take a while and not be as good.

  Hire Car - This is often an option. If you aren't at fault you can request a hire car from the other party and they have to pay reasonable costs towards that. It is easier if you select this option as your own insurance company will organise it for you.

  Windscreen cover - This usually means you get a free replacement windscreen every year and you pay a little extra. I've never had a windscreen break on me in 20 years but my parents who live in the country go through one every few years.

  Multi policy discount - Many insurers offer you a cheaper price if you have more than 1 insurance policy with them. You can find details of this on their website. It is often cheaper just going with the best suited policy from different insurers.

  I might get to home insurance later :)

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    Hellfire on 08/01/2015 - 10:30

    Compare the Market and similar sites like iSelect only have a small selection of smaller insurance companies. You'll need to go to some of the bigger companies for comparison. Google "Car Insurance" for a good selection. Get an online quote from those on the first page (if you have time). Select the cheapest 3 and look at them in more detail.

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  pennae on 08/01/2015 - 10:43

  I took out new car insurance on 31 Dec and was pleasantly surprised that RAC had $100 off their policies when purchased online, making them by far cheaper than others I checked out. RAC is usually one if the most expensive, but has great inclusions. QBE is also worth consisting for new cars because they will replace with new for 3yrs in the case of a write-off.