Youi - Quote Process, Cruel & Unusual Punishment or Designed by Nutters?

Daniel Plainview on 23/07/2022 - 14:00

Hi All,

Now we OzBers know in order to not pay the 'lazy tax' before you auto-renew with your service providers (particularly the slithering insurance ones!) you get another couple of quotes, am I right?

So our comprehensive car insurance is up soon - so I went to grab a quick few quotes. I'd gotten from NRMA, Budget Direct and a couple of others and decided to give Youi a try - as surprisingly they'd been who I went with my CTP Green Slip with.

OMG….straight away their online quote process asked more questions than any others - but thats cool, they're being thorough. Then when you're expecting to finally GET the quote - their final screen ambushes you saying "NOW WE WILL CALL YOU."

And we all know a real human on the phone is terrifying - but seriously WTF, can I just be asked if I prefer the quote or a call?

Anyway a lovely girl calls - and I do my best to soldier through as she proceeds to ask me a lot of the stuff I've already covered. Then it just gets crazy and she's asking stuff she simply does not need for a quote - like she wants to know the exact name and DOB for the other driver, my wife…..age I can give but there is no reason for this and as I explain to her NONE of their industry peers do this.

She's clearly as frustrated by their system as I am and apologises profusely - I essentially BEG her to just give me the quote so I can get off the call - which has now gone on for nearly 15mins (in addition to 15mins online). I get as I expected from her a much more expensive quote than my current insurer - she asks how much I'm paying, I say much less and say ok I should go - she says OK I can improve on this - I say - well why didn't you offer that immedaitely.

I ask her to email that through to me and I'll consider it - she says she will but says to do this she skipped over a bunch of questions and has to ask those now…..these are even more un-necessary for a basic quote (as done by their peers) and I say sorry but I have been patient but this is preposterous.

So unlike their peers you cannot get it done online - you cannot adjust the excess, options etc , payment options to see how that effects your quote - and they trick you into doing online giving way more info than ANY one else. As I said to her - has no-one from your end gotten quotes from your rvials to see how they're doing it? And in 2022 this is what you think people want?

I must have been feeling sub-consciously masochistic, but it'd have been only marginally more painful to slam my genitals in a drawer such was the shyte show that is their online quote process. Amusingly she told me that, essentially yes their process stinks for new customers but once you are a customer renewing is super easy - to which I replied, but this is so bad it's a wonder you actually have anyone who signs in the first place!

Has anyone else found their quote process to be 'delightful' or was I the subject of a Friday arvo prank by them?

:-)

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Comments

    • whatgift on 25/07/2022 - 14:31

      And those are designed to give you the best quotes for that comparison site (not necessarily the consumer) and will only include select insurers and offers.

  • pegaxs on 23/07/2022 - 14:02
    +71

    Christ… TL;DR??

    Doing yearly round up of car insurance
    Got on YOUI website and was asked a lot of questions
    Didn't get a quote but a phone call instead
    Asked more questions
    Asked to just be emailed quote, which triggered more questions
    OP then goes on to liken process to slamming wedding vegetables in a draw

    • Gunther on 23/07/2022 - 16:14
      +29

      +1 for slamming wedding vegetables in a draw

      • 900dollaridoos on 25/07/2022 - 08:36

        ELI5

        • blitz on 25/07/2022 - 12:48
          +7
          1. Find a drawer about waist height.
          2. Open the drawer.
          3. Get out your wedding vegetables.
          4. Put your wedding vegetables into the drawer.
          5. Slam the drawer shut.
          6. Youi!
    • Kayrhcp on 24/07/2022 - 09:46
      +5

      You forgot the final step where OP took the time he spent on the phone and doubled it writing this rant on OZB

      • Daniel Plainview on 24/07/2022 - 10:08
        +4

        So you're saying I had no purpose….? Kind of like your post now. ;-)

        • brisdaz on 24/07/2022 - 13:01

          If you click on related store when editing post you can link to YouI for maximum exposure.

        • Kayrhcp on 05/08/2022 - 08:44

          I read your rant while taking a shit, and took 10 seconds to type the comment. Not really comparable in terms of time wasted.

    • Daniel Plainview on 24/07/2022 - 10:44
      +1

      I like your post and readily concede it was a bit of a rant. In other news grass is green. ;-)

      That said, in another decade or so will TLDR apply to just about everything longer than Twitter's max character input? Haha I can see everyone so edgy to read, digest, react and repeat they're driven crazy by the use of multiple paragraphs.

      The thing is if that was TLDR, which I understand - rest assured I didn't even manage to come close to documenting the actual call. Shame their rate in the end seemed vaguely competitive but never got the quote as we apparently had loads more to go - after 20mins + online already in the bag.

      I don't think they're naive - they do it for possibly catching folks out….and also you invest so much time on phone with them that you feel 'I've come this far' and want to see the sucker out.

      Anyway if you have a free hour or so to kill & want a cheap thrill give their 'online quote' a spin. :-P

    • Nickels n Dimes on 24/07/2022 - 19:11

      Slamming veg in a draw ? Was that a duel between two, of drawing your aubergine and sprouts?

      I generally just slam them in a drawer instead of all that shenanigans.

      • Hangryuman on 27/07/2022 - 11:01

        ow my eggplant !

  • PissLUR on 23/07/2022 - 14:12
    +7

    Ignore the call. They will give you the quote within an hour or two.

    • ATangk on 24/07/2022 - 21:15
      +4

      They once gave me an insurance premium which exceeded the cost of the vehicle being insured. Just saying.

      • Tleyx on 25/07/2022 - 15:06

        That just means they think you are going to write it off in less than a year

  • DGrayson82 on 23/07/2022 - 14:13
    +9

    I got a quote from them last year and found it to be a pretty painful process as well. Fortunately it was worth it in the end as I saved about $500 by switching to them. I just hope I never have to make a claim with them because it'll probably be 10 times as painful

    • Cleartripe on 24/07/2022 - 11:49

      I haven't had much experience claiming insurance other than once with Youi, and it was as simple as one phone call. Even had a replacement car for a bit at fault accident, though I had chosen not to have one when I signed up

    • Nickels n Dimes on 24/07/2022 - 19:14

      I think their point of difference is that they know more about where, when and how often you use your car. To determine that they claim to need a lot more information than other providers, which is a hassle but I've found its worth the time.

    • Hangryuman on 27/07/2022 - 11:03

      lol - the easier it is to pay money for insurance, the harder it may be to get money from them for a claim ?

      dunno - but jes' sayin' y'all …

  • Sawtell on 23/07/2022 - 14:20
    +3

    Just had a similar experience with Youi and I agree on the two points you made being the pointless online quoting and their great customer service staff.

  • Dlw on 23/07/2022 - 14:35

    I thought that was the point of Youi, it's not a blanket cover and much more personal. Therefore, depending on your individual circumstances, it's cheaper.

    • Daniel Plainview on 23/07/2022 - 14:53
      +3

      As mentioned, there's tailored - as in you drive less, pay less or fall into higher/lower risk demographic and as mentioned earlier stuff that for a quote will not make any difference an is just needed if you go ahead with the quote e.g full legal name of 2nd driver, their job description etc.

      I'm all about saving $$$ - so if the questions were even vaguely applicable I'd have humoured her longer than the 20mins I did but in the end it was like a prank call. :-)

    • dogboy on 25/07/2022 - 10:52
      +10

      I barely drive my car (<50kms/week) am over 25, no claims and have the car constantly garaged. The insurance quote from Youi was still considerably more than almost all the other insurers so I call BS on their cost saving personalised insurance gimmick.

      • imurgod on 26/07/2022 - 20:39
        -1

        It is BS. They use the info to deny claims where they can.

      • Hangryuman on 27/07/2022 - 11:05

        when I do my annual checkaround for insurance renewals (I have many) - if I get one of these 'we'll call you' sites I just cancel and go on to another company

        that may be why most of my insurance seems to be with BudgetDirect now - got some coming up in a couple months so we'll see then

      • clover on 28/07/2022 - 19:03

        Same here. They are the most expensive for me. Their actuarial team need to check the model again

  • ribze1 on 23/07/2022 - 14:35
    +42

    I've never found Youi to be the cheapest, or even top three. They're ads annoy to represent otherwise.

    • Willy Beamish on 24/07/2022 - 10:48
      +5

      Youi are ads annoy?

    • RefusdClassification on 24/07/2022 - 12:07
      +15

      Youi, how I despise that company. Car insurance for people who don't drive cars. "We get the bus, we get the trains, we get you".

    • ribze1 on 24/07/2022 - 22:20

      Their ads annoy me to represent otherwise*

      Whoops

    • bulletbill88 on 26/07/2022 - 11:49

      I figured they can’t be that cheap with the amount of advertising they do.

      • Hangryuman on 27/07/2022 - 11:09

        my general principle - the more they advertise, the worse the value you can expect

        best companies rely on word-of-mouth - friends recommend to friends - the quickest way to expand market share

        the $#ittiest value-proposition companies have all-singing all-dancing ads on TV

        an advertising principle I've read 'if you can't say anything good about your product or service, put it to song and dance'

  • capslock on 23/07/2022 - 14:38
    +29

    If they find out you had given a wrong answer to any of the questions then they have an excuse to deny you a payout.

    • imurgod on 26/07/2022 - 20:40

      Correct

  • meowsers on 23/07/2022 - 14:39
    +8

    Youi has these gooey warm feel good ads when in reality come claim time they can be real stooges. Just read claims reviews.

    • Fobsessive on 24/07/2022 - 12:58

      Their ads must cause road rage if they're on radio

  • SF3 on 23/07/2022 - 14:42
    +4

    OzBlogging?

  • GrueHunter on 23/07/2022 - 14:46
    +2

    OP: Ima just call an insurer that has always advertised that its lower prices are derived from an exhaustive assessment of your particular driving risks

    Also OP: omg why are they asking all these questions about my particular driving risks

    • Daniel Plainview on 23/07/2022 - 14:50
      +8

      If you're aware of an algorithm that needs the 2nd drivers full name (which is the easiest example I can remember) to figure out your 'driving risk' pls let me know.

      I had no dramas answering valid questions - but they asked the exact same stuff I had done online (as I said to her why bothe ronline if we're going to redo) and others that had nothing to do with it and was stuff you'd only give if you were going ahead with the quote.

      Pretty sure was one of them was your job title or similar - rest assured while I'm often in a bad mood this was just plain daft stuff.

      • brisdaz on 24/07/2022 - 12:05
        -3

        Well certain professions attract risk takers so that may be valid.

        Also listed driver's drive your car so affect the risk of claims.

      • GrueHunter on 24/07/2022 - 20:45
        -2

        f you're aware of an algorithm…pls let me know.

        The algorithm is called "let's take advantage of what we already know". Sophisticated stuff, yeah?

        "Oh hey this person is already on our database, and they're a good / ok / terrible driver, let's adjust their risk and so their fee accordingly; oh hey this person isn't known to us, so let's run with our actuarial assumptions instead"

        Because the alternative is "We've got an opportunity here to learn as much as we can, but let's not bother and just guess, which is the opposite of how we advertise our services."

        Any other really obvious stuff you need a hand with

        others that had nothing to do with it

        You seem to think that the identity of another driver "had nothing to do with it" so I'll just put that over here under this gigantic bag of pool salt

        • Daniel Plainview on 25/07/2022 - 11:28

          The algorithm is called "let's take advantage of what we already know". Sophisticated stuff, yeah?

          No, as you have to state number of claims, accidents, disqualifications, demerit points etc ALREADY - so that covers that aspect i.e is this person a bad driver.

  • AndyC1 on 23/07/2022 - 14:50
    +14

    Wait for the spam and calls to start.

  • Hvrd on 23/07/2022 - 15:04
    +9

    same process for me, ended up being an extra $1000 than being with AAMI. They just want personal info to sell.

    • Drj55 on 26/07/2022 - 23:13

      Thanks for that. With that article and this post I'll be sure never to even think about youi. Who wants to spend an hour on the phone peppering you with questions just so in the event of a claim they can find one detail wrong to reject it.

  • prisonmike on 23/07/2022 - 15:53
    +2

    Maybe that lovely lady had a crush on you. Play it along man and maybe you will end up with the digits (I mean the quote $).

  • Euphemistic on 23/07/2022 - 17:31
    +3

    I’m not sure how they get customers intros online quite age. Who wants to sit through 50 verbal questions after you’ve already done the online bit. I’m one that gave up - then got hounded for ever more.

    Maybe they should give a base quote and then call to see if they can improve it.

  • Ocker on 23/07/2022 - 17:40
    +15

    Youi are a bunch of con artists with the sales people under high pressure to make a sale

  • chrisd262 on 23/07/2022 - 17:54
    +18

    YOUI does not mean you insured it means you idiot!!

    • Hangryuman on 27/07/2022 - 11:16

      tanks for the belly laugh !

  • plmko on 23/07/2022 - 18:17
    +10

    Why are people using YOUI.

  • Silvo on 23/07/2022 - 18:54
    +6

    I went through the YOUI drama. Never again.
    First it took forever, then they had no idea that my Lexus was the 3 series, not the 2 series. Lastly, they under valued the car by a huge amount. I bought at the low point in car pricing… They tried to say my car was worth 10 grand less than it is worth.
    I went with Shannons.
    Never a drama!

    • Vote for Pedro on 24/07/2022 - 09:41
      +5

      then they had no idea that my Lexus was the 3 series, not the 2 series

      Gee oh, gee gee oh. Not the dart.

  • Lexus101 on 23/07/2022 - 19:03
    +7

    I had a awful experience with them as well. I politely told the nice lady, I am now choosing not to insure with Youi. The process leaves a bad taste.

  • WreckTangle on 23/07/2022 - 19:13
    +9

    I don’t even bother with Youi anymore…its the exact same painful process you described. What a waste of time.

  • prodrome on 23/07/2022 - 19:31
    +27

    TLDR; They're dodgy on purpose:

    Youi insurance fined $320,000 for misleading sales techniques

    Youi pleaded guilty to representing that consumers could obtain a quote online when in fact this was not possible for the significant majority of customers. Instead, they received unexpected telephone sales calls from Youi salespeople seeking to complete the quote and sales process.

  • El cheepo on 24/07/2022 - 01:22
    +3

    Got tricked into that call once. Got frustrated repeating the same answers to ones filled in online and then got quoted double what everyone else was offering.
    Told them that’s nuts and a rip off, they said nothing they can do about the price then still tried to push the sale! Haha

    Never again.

    Plenty of better options out there.

  • alxr0101 on 24/07/2022 - 07:26
    +10

    Youi…never again even a quote.

    I experienced this torturous process years ago…online plus extended call of stupid questions…all to end up with "sorry, we can't offer you insurance"….all for a question they should have defined much earlier in the process instead of leaving it to the end. (something like are you currently employed, but I was studying).

    I suspect it's information harvesting. They would have sold my data.

    Utter cons. The sales rep was waaay too chatty which made the process even longer.

    Budget Direct similar silly experience.

  • hairybum on 24/07/2022 - 07:58
    +1

    Maybe give Elders Insurance a try. Not the cheapest, not the dearest, however, the customer service for me, was first class. Unfortunately needed to make a claim a few months later after moving over to them, again, customer service first class and follow-up calls to ensure repairs were to my satisfaction. No complaints from me.

  • HelpMeiCantSee on 24/07/2022 - 08:15

    Let’s not forget they do a hard (inquiry on your file) credit check. They’re dogs

    • Coops1 on 24/07/2022 - 10:29
      -2

      I don’t think so

      • HelpMeiCantSee on 24/07/2022 - 12:53
        +8

        My credit file says so. For. A. Quote.

  • QualGOTl on 24/07/2022 - 08:22
    +11

    Absolute nutters. It got to a point where I told the guy on the phone that if he asked one more question I'd already answered I would hang up. He did so I said goodbye politely and hung up.

  • blwnhr on 24/07/2022 - 08:35
    +11

    The reason they ask a million questions is so they can deny a claim based on you providing incorrect information.

    Short example, they ask you if you have a pet, it's name, age etc. It seems like they're being friendly. Sadly your dog passes away and you get a slightly larger dog. You don't think to tell Youi, why would you.

    Something happens, you make a claim, they re-confirm every question they've asked. They find out the dog is slightly larger, work out a way to justify the risk to them has increased because of the larger dog, and deny your claim.

    They ask more questions so they can deny claims. It's as simple as that.

    • gimme on 25/07/2022 - 07:43
      +3

      Is this a fact or amusing anecdote?

      • blwnhr on 25/07/2022 - 11:10
        +1

        Fact. Industry knowledge based on first-hand accounts of people who are moving away from Youi.

    • brisdaz on 25/07/2022 - 07:56
      +2

      Is this fact or conspiracy theory?

      On 5 October 2021 due to the royal commission duty of disclosure changed - insurer has to ask you and you don't have to volunteer information. See https://www.bnlaw.com.au/page/Insights/Insurance_Alerts/Gene…

      • blwnhr on 25/07/2022 - 11:11

        Fact. Industry knowledge based on first-hand accounts of people who are moving away from Youi.

  • Bronnie on 24/07/2022 - 09:11
    +2

    It's true that Youi have a painful initial customer regime. However, somehow we managed to get cheapest quotes from them for our car(they beat Budget Direct's quote) & home insurance.
    We had to claim on our windscreen in the first year, and they were so easy to deal with.
    They weren't cheapest for our other car. So we went with Allianz.

    • GourmetFoodie on 25/07/2022 - 06:59
      +1

      I’d make sure you are comparing like for like. The Youi quote I originally got actually covered me for significantly less than my slightly higher AAMI quote.

  • onetwothreefour on 24/07/2022 - 09:29
    +9

    As soon as an insurance broker asks for a phone number to provide a quote I either enter a fake number or give up on the quote. I know a fake number would not get me a quote from Youi so I don't bother try with them.

  • Vote for Pedro on 24/07/2022 - 09:36
    +7

    That’s their shtick. Get you on the phone for the high pressure sales. Much harder to say no to a person.

  • Ciderfizz44 on 24/07/2022 - 09:47
    +3

    Youi - where boomers/grey foxes think they're saving bucket loads because they ride their bike / semi-retired or catch the train to work.

    Have always found Budget much cheaper.

  • brisdaz on 24/07/2022 - 10:07
    +1

    How do you find out those with the fairest claims service? Price for insurance is worthless when it comes to claim and you get denied or it takes too long.

  • golfer dad on 24/07/2022 - 10:09
    +1

    Yes, I copped the same thing a few years ago the first time I did an oline "quote" with them so sounds like they have not changed their routine. Certainly did not appreciate they calling me without giving me an option to opt out and the many personal questions that not required to gave me a quote. And for that wasted 15mins on the phone to get a quote which was not only way more than our current insurer but even higher than RACV despite the car is parked offstreet under carport, no claims in the past 5 years, etc. When advised of how expensive they are, then he rambled on about how much their customers save by being with Youi and all the awards that they have won…. I don't bother getting a quote from them anymore and I've warned all my friends

  • brisdaz on 24/07/2022 - 10:11

    When I applied for car insurance a few years ago I also had a follow-up phone call but it was nothing memorable so I presume it wasn't lengthy.

    This was for Aramex version of Amazon Flex Blu-Courier and YouI were the only one to offer it for courier delivery for my car but it was five times my existing private insurance. However there was a month cooling off period so I went with them.

  • gres on 24/07/2022 - 10:14

    Yeah, thieves,
    Should you buy a policy they only accept auto renew, my experience 7 or 8 years ago and friends experience more recently, auto renew price jumped 30% ish.
    I've never bothered with them again,

    • Coops1 on 24/07/2022 - 10:30

      Mine was less, go figure…..

  • THICKnSLOW on 24/07/2022 - 10:31
    -2

    The moral of the story is you MUST ask the YOUI customer rep on the phone to slam your wedding vegetables in a drawer.

    End thread.

  • l2p10 on 24/07/2022 - 11:43
    +4

    Quoted once with youi, a painful long process. Their quote at the end was almost double of the other competitors.

    That was 15 mins of my life I will never get back. Never again

  • herecomestheoost on 24/07/2022 - 11:46
    +1

    I got to the bit where it said they'd call me.. I just didn't answer and went down other avenues.

  • Davo1111 on 24/07/2022 - 12:08
    +2

    I don't bother with youi any more for that reason.

    Happy to talk to people, but I take issue with sitting through their youi dollars spiel, only to be given a quite several hundred more than anyone else

  • Member 0230 on 24/07/2022 - 12:08
    +2

    In case it helps, Canstar's 2022 Car Insurance Ratings awarded their 5-star national awards equally to Bingle, Budget Direct and Coles Insurance

    By simply switching to a 5-Star Rated policy, drivers could save themselves $609 per year on average compared to other policies on our database, Canstar has found.

    Hmm… 10% off two shops a month at Woolies is pretty good, saving us about $400 a year, but this makes me think I should at least check if I can save more by switching…

    • Daniel Plainview on 24/07/2022 - 12:25
      +1

      I'll concede Canstar are a step up from comparison sites like iSelect, Choosi etc - but they're still pretty questionable IMHO and a long way behind truly independant reviewers like Choice (who, yes have their own issues with often very flawed review methodology). :-)

      • Member 0230 on 24/07/2022 - 12:45

        100%. Where there's any commercial interest - Canstar included - one cannot claim truly independent reviews. At least with Canstar there is no direct kickback for each sale like I imagine there would be for a mob like iSelect.

  • croc330 on 24/07/2022 - 12:10
    +4

    Nikko
    Thanks for the timely warning as I was considering contacting them for my old (but new to me ) car I just picked up.
    I read the bit about them being fined and Pleading GUILTY to misconduct charges filed by the New Zealand Commerce Commission and can only answer that with a F%*K YOUI!
    Criminals should be removed from the system. Instead they get a swat on the wrist. I think Shannon's might be my next call.

    Croc

    • Save Medicare on 25/07/2022 - 12:43

      Quotes over the phone at Shannons as well sadly… And they ask you to 'substantiate' that you're a motoring enthusiast ie do you go to track days, do you watch F1 etc Merely driving a sports car was not enough. So weird. Anyway the price was still above what the big brands were quoting so I didn't go with them at the end of the day

  • footscrayvic on 24/07/2022 - 12:22
    +2

    I tried to get a quote from them once and it was so painful that I have never even considered talking to them again.

  • joshash on 24/07/2022 - 12:59
    +6

    If you think getting a quote from Youi is bad wait until you try to make a claim…

  • Zondor on 24/07/2022 - 13:20

    Yeah had this experience too, they would only cover my 350z for $8500. Ended up having to go with RAA.

  • tikei on 24/07/2022 - 13:20
    +1

    Same experience here. Tried getting a quote online from them once, got a call instead, which wasn't even cheap. Never attempted to try with them again for this reason.

  • Vglencoco on 24/07/2022 - 14:27
    +1

    I remember back when I bought my first car at 19, I tried getting a quote from Youi only to have them call me and try and hard sell me saying they're the only insurance company that's worth going with. But they cost ALOT more then other quotes I got AND covered less. Will never look into them again.

  • vengeance88 on 24/07/2022 - 14:27

    Yep had a similar experience about 10 years ago with car (comprehensive). Don't bother with them anymore except if the Greenslip comparison site tells me they are cheapest.

  • Speckled Jim on 24/07/2022 - 15:25

    Geez Nikko, you'd think as a proud Oz-Bargainer you'd know the YOUI USP: under-insuring with tokenistic discounts to con you into thinking you're getting a "deal".
    You're not. If lucky, you're paying for just enough insurance and nothing more.

    I'd invoke my deep-seated belief shared with Ned Flanders, that insurance is a form of gambling, but this is an unpopular position in our risk-averse world of 2022.

  • mauricem on 24/07/2022 - 15:37

    There are a few insurers that wont provide home insurance if your land area is larger than 5 acres. Unfortunately this is like question 549 so after wasting several years (it feels like that) giving every bit of personal and property info imaginable it just bounces you with a "sorry we dont insure houses on blocks larger than 2.2 or whatever it is in hectares".
    How about mentioning that somewhere up front??? They know the address in the first few questions after all.

  • kaleidoscope on 24/07/2022 - 15:48
    +1

    Has anyone else found their quote process to be 'delightful' or was I the subject of a Friday arvo prank by them?

    Went through similar process when I was first comparing years ago. Waste of time as the quote was higher than what was offered by some others including racv. When I told the agent I’ve had much lower quotes for similar or better level of cover, the fellow was still upselling why I should go with youi despite the cost. I simply hung up the call at the time. Dont even visit their website nowadays when my renewal is due for comparison.

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