I hope someone from the industry can answer this, how exactly does claiming insurance affect your future premium? Should one claim insurance if the damage is between $1000-$2000 (minus $500-$600 excess)? Or should one only claim if there is a high amount damage like >$5000 ?
When Should Insurance Be Used?
wildstone on 30/01/2017 - 17:20
Comments
Motor burnout? What sort of policy did you have? I've never heard of car insurance that covers "mechanical damage", unless it was the result of a collision of some sort.
I would guess it was motor burnout of an electrical appliance like air conditioning, fridge, etc.
Yes it was for a fridge.
I don't work in the industry, but from experience and what I've googled these are my thoughts:
1) Obviously only claim if the damage/repairs exceeds your excess
2) From googling, premiums will increase on average 10-15% the following year if you claim (they usually increase a bit regardless!)
3) The way I check (and it may not be scientific) is to simply apply online again at the same insurer and tick or select the item that asks "if you have made a (at fault) claim in the last x years" to see what the increase would be. You can do the same with a few other insurers; apply for a quote at each twice (one with no claim ticked and one with claim ticked) and see what the premiums are.Hope that helps
Thank you, so that said should we say that it is worth while to claim insurance as long as the damage is more than excess? For a $600 excess, it's still worth while to claim a $800 damage?
I guess it really depends? If you would prefer to save $200 right now in a lump sum and cop the potential 10% to 15% premium increase going forward, then sure. You could try and shop around and get a cheaper premium elsewhere though afterwards to avoid this maybe???
I am not from industry but I claimed motor burnout and I got $850 after excess.
I was with Aami where they increased my premium next year by $100. I am not with Aami anymore but I will lodge claim as long as I am getting more than $500 after excess.