Lets Create a Wiki with Top 10 Car Insurers

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  Hithere on 11/01/2020 - 15:56

  Why isn't Shannons in your poll?

  • 

    yjun355 on 11/01/2020 - 17:03

    Added. I haven't come across them before. Thanks

    • 

      WoodYouLikeSomeCash on 11/01/2020 - 21:57

      +1

      Where is Shannons in the poll?

      Also:

      RACV (Victoria)

      What about RACQ, AANT, RACWA, etc?

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  MS Paint on 11/01/2020 - 16:14

  +19

  Pointless. Too many personal variables. Have you got a history of claims, bad driving record, drive a modified vehicle, postcode. What is awesome for me may well be sh!t for you.

  • 

    coxjon on 11/01/2020 - 16:40

    +4

    Or 6 other policies with that company

  • 

    k-rokfm on 11/01/2020 - 20:12

    Which is why it’s so fkn annoying when someone asks what the best / cheapest company is

  • 

    SlavOz on 12/01/2020 - 00:12

    Nor only that, most people don't realize that insurance is very strictly regulated in Australia. There is not much deviation allowed from the set way that the government demands from insurers, so ultimately most insurance providers end up being the same. The only difference is price which is based on countless personal factors.

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  [Deactivated] on 11/01/2020 - 16:59

  +2

  Your methodology is heavily flawed.

  By getting votes and user input with absolutely no semblance of a control/reference point, this top 10 is going to end up like all the other click bait popularity contest.

  • 

    yjun355 on 11/01/2020 - 17:04

    Well, vote is basically indicating who are people with now. That should have some sort of credibitlity as person has done some research. Happy for you to suggest a simple better approach

    • 

      [Deactivated] on 11/01/2020 - 17:10

      +1

      Unfortunately, there is a very big leap to suggest decision = information.

      My approach you wouldn't like. Firstly, you'd have to have a point of reference, an index. Perhaps it is disbursements made, ie % of revenue paid out as claims. Then there's the average % of successful claims, % of satisfied claims…

      I'll admit, I am only assuming you're unwilling to do the research, as am I but that's the point. Practically no one will therefore a compendium of uninformed opinions isn't going to collectively coagulate into a useful reference.

      • 

        yjun355 on 11/01/2020 - 17:13

        Sure. i understand. However, challenge is to get the data. I would think it is possible to get this data. Once the data is there, everything is possible :). However, given the constraints we have now, what do you think can be done better?

        • 

          MS Paint on 11/01/2020 - 17:18

          +3

          @yjun355:

          what do you think can be done better?

          Lock this thread.

          • 

            [Deactivated] on 11/01/2020 - 19:28

            @MS Paint: Or just retitle this thread and subsequently the wiki.

            OzBargain's Top 10 Most Popular Car Insurers

        • 

          [Deactivated] on 11/01/2020 - 17:20

          @yjun355: It takes someone who is willing and competent enough (or realistically, bored/paid enough) to do the legwork.

          To get a better idea of which insurer is objectively the best will take more effort that the majority of PhD thesis out there and the findings would only be relevant for as long as the insurers maintain the same protocols and pricing.

          Maybe start off with something small to see if you have the appetite for critical review. Lowest cost car to maintain?

          You just have to shortlist a nominal number of cars in each category, work out the average mileage, cost of petrol, cost of service, likely failures, cost of average repairs, depreciation… Honestly, that's still the shallow end of the pool. It's a lot of work and that's why click bait never contain any substance.

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  voiletmay on 11/01/2020 - 17:28

  +1

  Suncorp is fantastic, not cheap but claims are amazingly fast and brilliant! Need to live in QLD to get the best service though.

  RACQ is another QLD car insurance you have missed. Also very popular in QLD.

  • 

    savage bargain on 11/01/2020 - 20:31

    RAC (WA) is super popular too in WA and on the list, and for obvious reasons RACV isn't used, so state-based insurers would skew the results.

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  pegaxs on 11/01/2020 - 17:44

  Why didn't you just all these and their links to their respective websites to the Wiki??

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  cloudy on 11/01/2020 - 22:28

  If it helps, I research by price only and change insurance every year, if required, currently with Kogan. Easily the best price for our car and location.

  • 

    plmko on 11/01/2020 - 22:41

    +1

    That is literally the worst way to buy insurance. Without knowing what you're getting more or less then you've saved nothing.

    • 

      cloudy on 11/01/2020 - 22:53

      Wtf are you on about, same $$ covered on the car, same third party max, and same excess. That is all price

      • 

        bobbified on 12/01/2020 - 08:30

        +1

        The claims management element of a policy is a huge factor. While a low premium is important, I'd rather go with a company with a good reputation, even if the premium is higher.

        Many people find this out the hard way. When they make a claim, some companies may make you jump through hoops to get your claim moving. For eg, some will make you pay the excess regardless of who is at fault (and then refund based on a favorable liability determination), while others won't require the payment upfront if you're not at-fault. There's also things such as choice-of-repairer and the process of how your entire claim is managed. There are insurers who you can only contact via email (which likely drags out the whole process) while others allocate a specific person who you can speak to directly. These are just a few - there may also be slight differences in their PDS that don't seem to matter day to day but may come up during claim.

        To put it simply, cheapest is not the always the best. The only way to compare properly is to read and compare the PDS', then compare the premiums to determine what's important for you. Are you willing to pay more for a smoother claims process? If you search these forums, there are quite a number of threads with other users' experiences with certain companies. That should give you an idea of which companies to avoid.

        • 

          cloudy on 12/01/2020 - 22:07

          @bobbified: Everything you say is valid, but given claim frequency experienced here is zero in ten years, I’m happy to save 100 bucks a year and risk putting up with shit for a month in the off chance I need my insurance policy to perform.

          Of course if I crash regularly and need to chat to my insurer often, good service will be a important factor.

          • 

            bobbified on 13/01/2020 - 00:13

            @cloudy: It's not a problem as long as you know what to expect come time to make a claim. There are many clueless people who simply choose the cheapest and then get a shock at the lack of service or stricter conditions when they make a claim.

            • 

              cloudy on 13/01/2020 - 13:12

              @bobbified:

              There are many clueless people who simply choose the cheapest and then get a shock at the lack of service or stricter conditions when they make a claim.

              But the real shock, and just as often it seems, is when the expensive insurer does the same.

              It’s when you pay up and fail to meet expectations that people get pissed about, not when you go cheap and get shit service, that’s expected.

              But alas, some people will always be whingers no matter what

              • 

                bobbified on 13/01/2020 - 13:34

                @cloudy:

                But the real shock, and just as often it seems, is when the expensive insurer does the same.

                I won't argue with that - it happens!

                But alas, some people will always be whingers no matter what

                As a CTP personal injury claims assessor many years ago, I had the pleasure of dealing with these people. I went out of my way to make sure the payout figure for these people was always the absolute minimum. On the other hand, the genuine people I had to deal with, I made sure they got the absolute maximum.

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  HardlyCharly on 12/01/2020 - 10:55

  -3

  Absolutely steer clear of RACV/Q, they have no issue at all allowing you to be scammed via insurance fraud with zero evidence. They literally told me in no uncertain terms that if someone were to walk into a parking lot, kick over a motorcycle or kick in the panel of a car etc, then simply point to any random car there with zero damage or evidence and blame it then their word will be treated as if from a god itself and whoever owns that car will be liable. Based on nothing more than the word of one random person and zero evidence. They will not protect you, they will not fight for you, they will not do due diligence for you, they are completely useless and will allow you to be scammed.

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  OzHunterNSW on 12/01/2020 - 11:24

  +1

  Just go Coles or Woolworths… why pay extra for the same cover… i.e..NRMA

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  SlickMick on 12/01/2020 - 11:29

  I think the only thing that can be achieved with a post like this is to name and shame insurers to avoid, if you've encountered policies eg to not payout or increase premiums unethically (like the link above) etc. Maybe we could narrow down to a few insurers worthy of our consideration.

  I hope all these compare sites get shut down - I cringe at the thought that people use them. A government (or industry) website where we can enter details once and see all quotes would be great. (I'm happy for it to be voluntary. But I won't insure with anyone who doesn't play.) I don't use youi coz they won't give an online quote.

  • 

    yjun355 on 19/01/2020 - 12:46

    Yeah. To be honest, that is ideal or they should have more regulation. All comparison sites are biased. I've thing for sure that a insurance company should not be allowed to make a comparison website.

    However, this is next best thing. It is helpful to know who your friends, family and ozbargainers use for car insurance. That information needs to have some credibility.

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  Hoobz on 12/01/2020 - 14:11

  Mulitlpe choice not possible on poll.

  • 

    yjun355 on 19/01/2020 - 12:42

    +1

    Yeah. I know :(.