50CARX
I found this to be a pretty good deal. I was shopping around for comprehensive car insurance as the renewal quote from my current provider (Coles) was very steep. While quotes from most companies were surprisingly higher this year, I stumbled upon this offer from Woolworths. They don't only price beat any other renewal notice but also send you $50 gift card.
PS: My renewal is due after a few weeks so I haven't received the gift card yet but looking at the offer, it looks like there's no catch. Please note that you are required to give accurate details of the comparable renewal quote for the price beat, else Woolworths has rights to cancel the policy in future when they ask for proof and find out.
Don't forget to enter your Woolworths Rewards card number when you purchase insurance policy. There must be some connected benefits in form of points but I am not aware of the exact details.
IAG own both CGU and NRMA which is the largest insurer of Australians. They also own SWANN, Mutual Community General Insurance, SGIO, SGIC, WFI -Wesfarmers Insurance, Lumley, 70% of Insurance Manufacturers of Australia (RACV) and Coles Insurance.
SUNCORP own SUNCORP, GIO, VERO, AAMI, Shannon’s, APIA, Promina (formerly Royal & Sun Alliance), Just Car, Insure My Ride, Terri Scheer, Bingle, CIL, Asteron & Tyndall and are the 2nd largest insurer of Australians.
QBE (formed by BurnsPhilp as North Qld Ins Co Ltd, QI, Q = Qld B= Bankers & Traders, E= Equitable Probate & General Insurance) own Australian Eagle, Trade Indemnity Australia, Mercantile Mutual, bits of HIH, Elders and Cuna Mutual in Australia. QBE is the largest Australian insurer in Australia however 69% of their business is overseas business.
YOUi is owned by a South African insurer called Outsurance.
Budget Direct is owned by a South African Insurer called Auto & General. Auto & General Insurance also have Dawes which is owned by Calliden which specialises in the prestige end of the market and won't even write the business that Auto & General will write so there is no true comparison of insurers, only comparison of brands.
Real, Woolworths and Al Insurance are all owned by South African Insurer called Hollard.
Ever seen that stupid meerkat on TV claiming to compare the market? That meerkat is South African as he only compares products from Hollard and Auto & General.
Progressive is owned by an American insurer believed to be the largest motor insurer in Chicago.
All of this is called brand separation. When one company has 15 brands like Suncorp do, they get your money whichever way you turn.
Now lets look at the other comparison website “iselect”, they claim to provide choice. However they compare 9 brands underwritten by the same insurer. Now that's great! Whilst a duopoly in the Australian market can never happen, questionable marketing practices that lure people in under false pretences such as i-select and compare.the.market are well and truly out there.
Whilst all moan about Woolworths and Coles holding such a large market share of the grocery game, have a think about who insures your assets?
If you want a fair comparison, on the best product for your circumstances use an independent broker and get real some advice, but then again most brokers get commissions or kickbacks from insurers, so tread carefully. Nothing beats making the phone calls yourself and doing your own research and find the policy and deal that is right for you.
Finding the policy and deal that is right for does not mean simply insuring with whoever gives you the cheapest premium.
That is a fantastic summary!! If only there was a way to get quotes from insurers en masse without having to enter the details into each company's website individually… they deliberately make it hard!
Good summary. Any reason you didn't mention Allianz? Always found them a reasonable alternative to the IAG & Suncorp brands in some years / cars.
Good bit of advice there, however I wouldn't expect a broker to represent your best interests. Like you say, if you have the time, collect your own quotes and read the damn PDS, at least they are more easily understood these days.
The biggest mistake people make is chasing the cheapest premium! Better to get value for money.
Insurers that advertise are generally not the cheapest anyway, so steer clear of them, they are just buying their book and can attract poor risk, resulting in higher renewal premiums.
Good summary, but not entirely true. (Source: I work in the industry)
Comparators like CompareTheMarket do make every effort to increase their panel of insurers. IAG and Suncorp (who together control some 80% of the general insurance market) flat out refuse to allow their products to feature on comparison websites in an effort to protect their obscene market shares.
If you look at Compare The Market in the UK, for instance, they represent a much more significant majority of competitors.
Yet again, the strength of a duopoly cripples competition in Australia and the consumer loses in favour of margins for big business.
Progressive is now holland.
Terrible, renewal notice up 15% and value of car down 15% on same notice. Joke
Just wanted to say thank you for this :)
I had no idea how centralised insurance is in AUS!