About to Buy My First Ever Comprehensive Insurance for New Car - Need Assistance

akastyl13 on 31/10/2015 - 08:08
Last edited 31/10/2015 - 08:09

Hi there,

After getting advice from the forum, I finally bought my first "decent" car, a 2006 Mazda 6 limited with 103,000km. (when I say decent, it's because I always had old cars from 90's as I couldnt afford better before). I am 26yo, and have been driving since the age of 19.

I am now looking for the first time at comprehensive insurance, (I know I was crazy driving without one before) and being from Europe, I don't know what to look for, and mostly what does the Policy Excess means?

I have found Budget Direct being the cheapest, asking for $1,011 with a $650 excess. (or $955 with a $850 excess but I dont think it worth it?)

One question I have is: I had 1 accident at fault and 1 not at fault with a company car (under the company name) 2.5 years ago, so I guess I should tick the box "did the driver had any accident in the past 5 years?" correct? Or not, because the car wasnt under my name?

Otherwise, do you think the $1,011 is a fair price for this type of insurance?
Would you recommend any other insurer ? I have looked at progressive too, but way too expensive.

Thanks for your help

Automotive

Comments

  • modsec802 on 31/10/2015 - 08:17
    +5

    How much did you pay for your car? Was it about $5k?

    I wouldn't be paying $1k a year for a $5k car. I would just get third party property, fire and theft for a couple of hundred, and 'self insure' by setting aside the difference each year. After six years or so you'll have saved the money you would have spent on comprehensive.

    It's very important to have the third party property insurance, this isn't the same as CTP which only covers people not cars. If you don't have it and run up the back of a lambo you're screwed for life.

    • altomic on 31/10/2015 - 09:20

      Yep, what juicedpixels says. 3rd party.

      $1000 seems a lot for comprehensive (but I'm over 30)- I pay $450. Have you gotten a quote from progressivedirect? I've found them to be the least expensive.

      Policy excess is the amount you will pay if a claim is made on your policy.

      Personally, I'd go for the 3rd party insurance due to the value of the car (around $6000?).

      Congratulations on your new car.

      • akastyl13 on 31/10/2015 - 13:07

        Hi Altomic, I have re-quoted with only 3rd party property and also with fire/theft. I dont want to duplicate post so you will find it at the end of this thread :)
        thanks !

  • claire on 31/10/2015 - 09:38
    +1

    When I was younger and more of an insurance risk, I was with Bingle, and found them to be consistently the cheapest. There are some stories going around about how much of a hassle they are to claim from - it appears you have to pay the excess upfront, and they refund it if they recover the money from the at-fault party - I can't say for sure how problematic this is in practice as I never had to make a claim while covered by them.

    Regarding the work related claims - it's hard to see how they would find out, but the stakes could be very high if they do. For instance, if you're in an at-fault accident and write off someone else's car, but the insurer finds out you lied about something when applying for insurance, they can retrospectively cancel your insurance and refund your premium, leaving you uninsured (ie. liable for the full cost of the other person's car). This is too much of a risk for me, so I'm always as honest as I know how to be - I ticked the "yes" box for being in an at-fault accident for the whole of the 5 years despite the fact that I didn't even make an insurance claim.

    • zerocritical on 01/11/2015 - 10:55

      I second Bingle. I've been with them for about 5 years now. 1 not at fault and 1 at fault claim. No hassles what so ever.

      The only issue is, the excess has been increasing over the years from $500 to $695 when I last insured my car. Hopefully it stays at $695 now.

      • akastyl13 on 01/11/2015 - 16:31

        Hi There,

        But it looks like with bingle there is no Fire/Theft coverage with the Third Party?
        They are the cheapest one so far with Third Party Property so far.

  • tata1 on 31/10/2015 - 10:43
    -1

    The best option will be Coles car insurance. If your parents are in Australia (and have good record) insure the car in their name (preferably mothers name) and have her nominated as a main driver, but do not exclude other people driving the car. Exclude drivers under the 25 years old. In case of accident all you will have to pay is excess, nobody will ask for your driving history. The premium will be much lower then the quote from Budget Direct.

    • modsec802 on 31/10/2015 - 11:10
      +1

      I think NRMA also include any driver, but I would be very hesitant about nominating someone who doesn't drive the car as the main driver. I believe this would be classified as insurance fraud and the insurance companies would void your insurance claim should they find out you willingly did this.

      • lostn on 31/10/2015 - 12:32

        They've got no way of proving it. It's not about what you did, but what they can prove you did.

        I myself don't need to exploit the spirit of the law, but I doubt they'll ever catch you for insurance fraud.

        "Main driver" is a murky concept and ill-defined. How much driving do you need to do a week in order to be considered the main driver? If another driver drives one minute more than you do, are they the true main driver? But if the secondary driver drives one minute less than the main driver, it's all hunky dory?

        Unless they've explicitly defined what qualifies as main and secondary drivers in writing, I don't think they can prosecute you for fraud on that. Almost every <25 driver I know from Uni does this. If you make a claim and they ask, just say your mother normally drives the car every day. Today was just a one off. How are they going to disprove that?

  • berger on 31/10/2015 - 11:05

    I've had Bingle and no issues, $890 on a $46k car. The last 3 cars I've had were with bingle and roll over to new car is very easy. Do it all online, but they do have a call center when you need them after a bingle.

  • akastyl13 on 31/10/2015 - 11:33

    Hi there and thanks for all replies.
    my car was 6.7k$ and unfortunately my parents do not live in Australia so the car will have to be under my name.
    budget has currently 25% off and when I did the same quote on progressive it was 400$ more expensive

    • lostn on 31/10/2015 - 12:34

      Yikes. That $1k quote was after 25% off? From the cheapest insurer in the country, no less. You're getting ripped off.

      You are either living in a high accident area, or driving a high risk car (which I doubt), or leaving your car parked on the side of the road (also high risk).

      If you leave it garaged at home every night, it should reduce your premium.

      • akastyl13 on 31/10/2015 - 12:54

        I have selected garaged in building (cant remember the word used)…

      • Matt P on 02/11/2015 - 23:19

        problem is he/she has no insurance history

        • lostn on 04/11/2015 - 00:05

          When I had no insurance history, I was given rating 1 for life (whatever that's worth), simply due to no accidents, and age being >25.

  • lostn on 31/10/2015 - 12:26

    That is very expensive for an old car, especially for Budget Direct. It probably has something to do with your at fault accident.

    I buy brand new car and I go with a bigger name insurer RACV/AAMI, and my premium is still under $700.

  • akastyl13 on 31/10/2015 - 12:58

    For Third Party Property only, with basic excess $650 I am down to $375 / year.
    How that sound? with Budget Direct
    $517 with Fire and Theft

  • tata1 on 31/10/2015 - 13:11

    Just did a quick check online with Coles and it will be around $450. Apply for Coles flybuys to get a discount.

  • suchislife12 on 31/10/2015 - 18:27

    I really wouldn't recommend third party in your situation unless you have a decent cash stash to replace your car. The way you talk about the car suggests to me you really do value it high. Don't skimp on insurance

    If you insure it for market value it's not worth it. Have a look at Real Insurance…they're running a decent 30% off deal and they're agreed value.

    Also take a look at Just Car Insurance. Usually fairly cheap for higher risk drivers or younger drivers and there is only agreed value. Another + is that they only need you to list at fault claims in the past 3 years.

    Recommend staying away from Budget Direct in your situation. I think they'll only offer you market value given the age of the car.

    You do need to list the claims regardless who's name the policy was in if you were in control of the vehicle at the time. Let me know if you need any additional help.

    • akastyl13 on 01/11/2015 - 16:19

      Hi there,
      I am hoping to keep that car for at least 1 year, 2 years big max, then I think I will be leaving Australia.
      I paid it 6.7k$ and when I checked insurances, it was displaying around the 8k$ mark for the marker value, so pretty happy to get that is anything happen to the car.
      I do have a bit of cash stash to replace the car if anything happen.
      I am looking at the cheapest third, fire and theft I guess, which ever insurer is the cheapest one.
      Thanks for your advises

  • Steptoe on 31/10/2015 - 20:03
    +1

    Have a look at Third Party, Fire & Theft (Coles & NRMA offer) until you get a decent No-Claim Bonus.

    what does the Policy Excess means?

    The Excess is the amount you have to pay towards a claim.

    • akastyl13 on 01/11/2015 - 16:52

      Is Coles good with Third Party Fire THeft?
      THey are the cheapest one, it will cost me $311 for Third Party + Theft/Fire !

      • Steptoe on 02/11/2015 - 04:49

        I'm not sure what Coles payout limit is. NRMA only pay out up to $10000 regardless of book value.

        Put the rest of the money into your replacement vehicle account, and don't crash.

        • akastyl13 on 02/11/2015 - 10:26

          Hi, I actually switched this morning to Comprehensive. $537 with a $700 Excess.
          Hopefully it will be all good !

        • billjnr on 16/11/2015 - 11:42

          @akastyl13: who did u get comprehensive with for $537?
          im in a similar position

  • wabster on 01/11/2015 - 07:37

    I'm not sure how good they are for younger drivers but I'd also suggest you ring Youi and get a quote too.

    We used to insure with the majors until we returned to Sydney from living on the Gold Coast for 5 years, and the NRMA wanted 3 times the premium.

    Youi have been great to deal with, though at this point we've never made a claim.

    Cheerz Wabster.

  • akastyl13 on 01/11/2015 - 22:50

    Done !
    I went with Coles Third Party Property + Fire/Theft for $295 a year.
    Funnily, I found out by choosing "NRMA" as current/previous insurer to have a discount of $16 for some reason, price went from $311 to $295.
    Pretty satisfied with the price, thanks for everyone's help on my topic !

    • akastyl13 on 02/11/2015 - 10:28

      Hi, I actually switched this morning to Comprehensive. $537 with a $700 Excess.
      Hopefully it will be all good !

      • lostn on 02/11/2015 - 17:58

        Sounds reasonable.

        I don't know what their beef with you is. They obviously consider you somewhat of a risk. This is the price I would expect from a big name insurer like RACx or AAMI, not Coles or Budget Direct who you can never be confident you can trust.

        The other prices you quoted, you were definitely paying a lot more than I expected for a 2006 car. And that was with BD after a 25% discount. I can't imagine what RACV would have charged you..

        • akastyl13 on 02/11/2015 - 20:01

          Maybe because I had one claim in the past 3 years I guess ?

        • lostn on 02/11/2015 - 20:28

          @akastyl13: One claim doesn't raise the premium by anywhere near as much as it cost you.

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