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

  • akyeeeahdude on 24/07/2022 - 18:31
    +2

    I can assure you that conversion is significantly higher via this method of ''intercepting'' prospects completing an online quote - which is why they do it.

  • 91rs on 24/07/2022 - 18:31
    +1

    "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"

    AAMI and Shannon's do or have done to me in the past.
    I was the main driver, she was an additional driver but over 25, they also asked how many years driving or licensed as part of that as well as DOB etc.

  • WT on 24/07/2022 - 18:47

    I hung up on them 15 mins into a call

    They were asking about house insurance etc when I wanted car or bike. Seems they just wanted to bundle it together and were at a loss when I said I didnt want home insurance

  • spite on 24/07/2022 - 19:30
    +3

    I once chased a quote from YouI. Ended up on the phone and the questions/data they were asking for was WAY outta line.

    I challenged what they needed it for, to which they really had no good answers.

    It was TOO much info. I just said thanks, and dropped the call. No chance they would get my business.

  • knasty on 24/07/2022 - 19:48
    +1

    Tried Youi once. Process was ridiculous. Never again. That's the story.

  • DiscoJango on 24/07/2022 - 21:55

    Ive had the same experience as the op

    filled in a quick online form expecting a rough quote, and then they call you on your mobile straight away. they ask a million questions.

    both times ive got a quote from youi, they were substantially more expensive than what i was currently paying, not sure why anyone would sign up with them

  • Windows7forever on 24/07/2022 - 22:04
    +1

    Hence why I don't use this mob

  • andyken on 24/07/2022 - 22:16
    +2

    Put real information except dob and mobile. Then if all good, repeat or edit with your proper info

    • Tleyx on 25/07/2022 - 15:08

      Doubles the time taken

      • andyken on 25/07/2022 - 19:09

        safe you from unsolicited call, for a quote, it wont take that long

  • Tuftsdude on 24/07/2022 - 23:05
    +2

    After the painful quoting process I experienced similar to yours, I vowed to never use Youi. Their price was also double the quote I got from Coles insurance.

  • mrhugo on 24/07/2022 - 23:37

    Youi are f#$ked. I hate their stupid ads and the million and one questions they asked. Waste of bloody time.

    After painfully going through the process the quote was more than A&G (BD in my case). The guy on the phone then wanted to go over the PDS to make sure I was comparing apples and apples. FFS!

    In the end I needed the block the bloody number because the guy kept wanting to call every day to see if I changed my mind.

    Right now Youi is one of the few companies I just don't want to deal with.

    Funny, I was never a customer and I dislike mostly everything about them. Not getting a cent out of me.

  • Commander Shepard on 24/07/2022 - 23:59

    I always figured Youi targets the older folk with their adds and prey on people who don't cross shop insurance.

  • GourmetFoodie on 25/07/2022 - 06:53
    +4

    Had exact same experience. Was shocked and pissed off. And they were not even the cheapest. Will never consider them again unless they stop their bait and switch process and let me get the price online. If I wanted to speak to someone i would choose that. Having it forced upon me was a disgrace and especially as they asked me all the same questions again!!!

    • jellykingdom on 25/07/2022 - 07:50
      +4

      I was pretty impolite to the person on the phone when they called me after this BS. I think what REALLY pissed me off was that they then went through the entire f**king quote in every detail. So what was the point of the quote online process??????

      In the end, they were not the cheapest. Which i told them. Then they dropped their price by about $100, and became the cheapest. So i changed to them

  • jellykingdom on 25/07/2022 - 07:52
    +5

    Based on the posts in this thread, I am very very surprised that someone senior approved that process flow. Its a good way to burn bridges and never have anyone come back and/or specifically recommend that you DON'T use Youi

    • brisdaz on 25/07/2022 - 08:22

      Modern society is changing but there are more customers that can be acquired this way then those that are annoyed and tell everyone else.

  • Brick Tamland on 25/07/2022 - 08:45
    +3

    I've had a similar experience. They are shockingly egregious with their sales spiel. Its like talking to the Wolf of Wall Street, you get the full on, unashamed hard sales techniques put on you. The questions they ask are insane. One guy wanted to know how tall the tree is on my nature strip. Are you seriously asking me to get up on a ladder and measure a tree???
    Then they have the cheek to offer an insanely expensive premium that is more than double everyone else.

  • tanksinatra on 25/07/2022 - 09:48
    +1

    Tried Youi once. Process was ridiculous. Asking me all sorts of questions about the building materials in my 70 year old home. I don't know mate… the house is twice as old as me how would I know.
    Absolute waste of my time, and their time. Never again.

  • 2ndeffort on 25/07/2022 - 10:46
    -3

    They literally all do this, the online quote part is simply a thinly veiled sham for a way to get your phone number as a warm lead for a sale. They give these warm leads to commission paid salespeople that then call you. Youi is just like all the others unfortunately.

    • Davo1111 on 25/07/2022 - 11:23
      +4

      Unless something has changed in the last few months, they don't all do this.

  • [Deactivated] on 25/07/2022 - 12:50
    +2

    Youi (profanity) suck. I made the mistake one year of putting my real number down, when I got to that screen that said they'd call me instead of providing the quote - (profanity) that. Didn't answer the call and blocked the number, from now on I use fake numbers until I decide what quote I actually want to go with.

    They're no doubt selling your info and number on for future marketting so (profanity) them. There's plenty that will give a fair quote online without any personal identifying information.

    • derrida derider on 25/07/2022 - 21:34
      +1

      The dead giveaway on that is wanting exact DOB and phone number of your spouse or other potential drivers. The only reason they need that at this stage is for another warm sales lead. Companies that behave like that are shonks, and I try to have nothing to do with shonks.

  • stumo on 25/07/2022 - 13:46

    We are due our renewal early next month. And my wife just had an at fault crash which we are having to claim on.

    I'm really hoping they already posted the renewal before we made the claim. I will take their arm off on the renewal lol.

  • slowmo on 25/07/2022 - 13:54
    +1

    moral of story - if the online quote process is giving you grief at the time you hit submit, imagine the time you REALLY need to make a claim.

  • PurchaseAnxiety on 25/07/2022 - 15:28
    +4

    Yeah I also found this frustrating. I went through the whole online process only to be told they'll call me (luckily I'd put in a fake number). It's clever from their perspective, but annoying when you're trying to do a quick whip around of quotes. They get you to invest some time with them and then since you've come that far, you might as well answer their call. Once they've got you on the phone, they can bargain with you more effectively under the guise of personalisation and are much more likely to score a sale overall. For me though, I just don't consider them as an option anymore.

  • knk on 25/07/2022 - 15:30
    +3

    Personally I won't go near YouI again.

    I signed up both house and car insurance with them, after a discussion and confirming a few different scenarios. Laptop in car, engagement rings (listed separately) as personal items.

    Anyway, I sign up. Get the PDS etc sent across and read it all. Laptop in car specifically was exempt from the coverage from memory, a whole bunch of coverage caps they on the phone literally said didn't exist.

    I cancelled the policy on the same day I signed up and put in a formal complaint.

    Coverage being shit is fine, outright misrepresenting it is not.

  • birnie on 25/07/2022 - 17:54

    Had the same experience.
    Online questionnaire only to talk to to someone, go through it all again, get an overpriced quote, told them i already had it lower, boom - lowered the quote.

    You also get locked into roadside assistance which doesn't help the price.
    You cant remove it.

    I though they used to be a more premium-cheap service.
    Now they're just one of the most expensive.

    I went with AAMI as it was nearly one of the cheapest out there…also a suprise

  • Cluster on 25/07/2022 - 18:29
    +2

    I gave Youi a try years ago and thought the system was awful. Every insurer gives you a quote online within seconds… except Youi. I had to take the call to find out the price, and when the sales rep called they started the heavy sell. After giving the price (which was much higher than all my other quotes), the rep started going into the 'it's a great deal, isn't it!?' spiel. I had to answer the same questions I already answered, but this time on the phone. WHY?

    Spare me.

    Youi. We get you… annoyed.

  • CalmLemons on 25/07/2022 - 21:25
    +1

    Same here. Youi was a pain in the arse.

    Just did a quote online with bingle or budget direct and it's done in 2 mins literally.

  • derrida derider on 25/07/2022 - 21:29
    +1

    Sheesh, if they are this bad to deal with when ther's the prosepct of a premium being paid, imagine how horrific it will be if you ever lodge a claim.

    I would assume that a company so oblivious to the customer experience could never offer a competitive quote and conditions anyway, and simply refuse the phone call.

  • jtc13 on 25/07/2022 - 21:37
    +1

    Youi have the worst quote process in history IMO. So painful but just like you they were not even remotely in the ball park for me… I guess there are customers somewhere that actually get a big saving at which point that painful process would seem worth it.

  • fredk1000 on 26/07/2022 - 01:07
    +3

    Been through that process.
    They quote was more than the existing I had.
    The person kept reducing the premium, it was about 5 times still not cheaper than existing.
    I think the excess was increased to like $2000 for it to drop closer.
    The ads all say how much they saved but never how much they paid.
    Was it how much they saved from YOUI themselves from the initial quote they gave???

    Initial quote was like $2000 or more, in then end it was $1200. I could of saved $800.

  • hasher22 on 26/07/2022 - 01:14
    +3

    When I had a Yaris 2005, was paying average around 1000 to 1200 for full comprehensive, when I was driving the car 2 days a week, less than 10km per driving days, I went to Youi.

    They effing quoted me 2500!!! I questioned them and they said it's an old car. Right….. Youi sucks.

    When I got my Mazda cx3, thought Ill try youi again…. Got quoted 2700, I pay 850 with budget direct for under 10k km per year driving……

    A company that promotes drive less pay less is false advertising

    And yes I had to get someone to call me back. Worst user experience ever.

    • Brick Tamland on 26/07/2022 - 08:31
      +2

      I've made the mistake of trying them again. fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me. I can guarantee that I will never shade their doorstep (website) a third time. I blame the advertising, its pretty good but a lie.

      • Cluster on 26/07/2022 - 09:40
        +1

        The guy in their ads looks super smug, and the ads are solely centered on how much money these fictional people saved. I had one exposure to Youi, and their quote was by far the most expensive. Hopefully people shop around and don't just believe the ad.

  • Daniel Plainview on 26/07/2022 - 08:20
    +4

    Great replies - much thanks to folks.

    Is funny contrasting the vitriol I got in the initial responses, to what admitedly was a frustrated and angry OP by me - but these against the number of people that have had similar experiences with YOUI. Much thanks to the latter - sometimes I just think I'm a complete grump but appreciate atleast on this I'm not completely out on an island. :-)

    • Brick Tamland on 26/07/2022 - 08:33
      +4

      Nah I dont think you're a grump. Their sales technique is blunt force trauma and its quite stark in its difference to most other providers.

  • awelch on 26/07/2022 - 09:42
    +2

    I found them as painful. When they called I said I didn't have time for that and to forget it. Immediately after I hung up they just emailed me the quote with price, no more info required

  • Brianqpr on 26/07/2022 - 10:30
    +3

    I got a quote from them before and it was ridiculously expensive compared to other insurers. They make out their 'tailored' cover should reduce costs but I suspect all it actually does is minimise the amount of claims they have to pay.

    They aren't cheap and yet this seems to be the basis of their advertising (don't pay for things you don't need). They seem to be relying on people who won't bother researching other options and like the sound of the nice man in the commercials.

  • sashatheman on 26/07/2022 - 13:22

    If I can't get a quote online I don't bother.
    I find those compare Insurance websites do this as well. You have to speak to someone, no sorry i am out.

  • Q3211 on 26/07/2022 - 13:57

    Apparently they get rated on how long they can hold the customer on the line for. The longer you are on the call - the better they rank.

  • happyhammer on 26/07/2022 - 14:32
    +3

    This exactly mimics my experience! I don't know who is actually saving $ with them? My quote was $2k+ for a Mazda 2! Everyone else was around $500. Such a waste of life answering their questions.

  • Retchey on 26/07/2022 - 15:43
    +3

    I went through a whole phone quote many years ago for home & contents , when they asked if I had children living at the address which I answered "yes 4" they abruptly ended the phone call with "I'm sorry we can't offer you insurance" I asked why and they said , it's because you have a big tree in your front yard ! Wow wtf …..never even considered them for my insurance ever again….

  • Pratty on 26/07/2022 - 15:44
    +2

    I can't stand the ridiculous questioning either. Market research parading as insurance.

    Vote with you feet. Don't bother in future.

  • dimitryp on 26/07/2022 - 17:34
    +1

    same experience, a while back. awful. will never quote with them, even if it'll save me money. the process is just too painful.
    they were more expensive than alternate quotes too, when i finally did get a dollar figure out of them.

  • Littlevu on 26/07/2022 - 20:01

    I’m in the minority here. I had Youi for last car. Had an accident and it was a write off. Was drinking that night too which I disclosed. Cops didn’t come. There were lots of neighbours that came out cause of the loud crash.

    Long story short, my claim was investigated and they ended up paying me out the finance and maybe 20k more as it was under agreed value. So my experience is with them has been good that I insured with them again cause if I have another accident they have my history and any claims would be easier. My investigator was professional and polite and I sent him a nice email afterwards commending his professionalism throughout and keeping me updated.

    • fredk1000 on 26/07/2022 - 20:25
      +1

      The question was about the quote process, sounds like they were not being difficult when you were making a claim which is a good thing.
      If you do not mind telling, how much was the insurance premium and excess for claiming?

  • Littlevu on 26/07/2022 - 21:21

    Premium was around 2.2k excess was standard. Company car (mixed used). Maybe $800 or $1200 (had to pay an extra 300-400 due to type of car being insured). Don’t really remember as that was deducted from the payout.

    My advice where there is an agreed value option, over insure your car if possible. See what it would cost for same car with similar mileage, condition and options. Add stamp duty and initial service costs. The idea is if i have a write off, I don’t want to be out of pocket if replacing like for like car.

    When it comes to insurances having better claims handling trumps everything (quoting process or even rock bottom prices).

    • fredk1000 on 27/07/2022 - 21:57

      Thanks for the reply.
      I am with NRMA, this year I paid $1160, excess is $850
      Paying excess of $2000 is too much, even if they deduct it from the pay out which you do not notice. If you had to pay the excess out of your pocket you would feel it.

      • Littlevu on 28/07/2022 - 11:06
        +1

        Sorry for confusion. The 2.2k is the premium.

        Excess was $800 or $1200 which was similar when I shopped around. Youi had the better agreed price. There’s a bunch of ads ons which I didn’t take up such as hire car (wouldn’t been nice since claim took awhile during the investigation).

    • Daniel Plainview on 28/07/2022 - 08:35

      Thanks for sharing and I agree that in theory claims handling process does vastly outweigh other factors such as how painful the initial quotation is. Hard to argue this.

      That said, IF the intitial quote is so painful to get that you're getting a massive % of prospective clients terminating this mid-quote - you 'd think this would be assessed. Go figure.

      Glad all ended well for you. Cheers.

  • Drj55 on 26/07/2022 - 23:26
    +1

    Wow this thread is incredible. Who are these guys and how can they still be in business? They must prey on the weak and meek.

    • Davo1111 on 27/07/2022 - 14:25

      A younger family member uses them and it was the cheapest. Given the quote they offered me (which was hundreds more than anyone else), i find it hard to believe.

      I think the sales technique is polarising.

  • pennypacker on 27/07/2022 - 09:01
    +1

    Yes, I had the exact experience a few years ago. I was researching buying a car, so I needed to know total up front and running costs, hence was doing an insurance comparison.

    Got the "phone call" from Youi, where they proceeded to badger me about having an uninsured car, despite me telling them over and over I didn't have a car (obviously reading from a script and unable to improvise).

    The whole experience seemed to be designed to be so utterly painful and offensive in the hope that potential customers suckers would buy a policy on the spot just to make it stop.

    Never again Youi, never again.

  • samfisher5986 on 27/07/2022 - 09:31
    +1

    Youi should be illegal, They are similar to something like a medical insurance that only insures Olympic athletes for obesity conditions.

  • Hangryuman on 27/07/2022 - 11:28
    +1

    so - 'Youi insurance fined $320,000 for misleading sales techniques' in NZ in 2016 - https://comcom.govt.nz/news-and-media/media-releases/2016/youi-insurance-fined-$320,000-for-misleading-sales-techniques

    and still doing it in Oz in 2022 ? - sounds like a plan !

    • Davo1111 on 27/07/2022 - 14:27

      What part of the AU website is misleading? It says "start a quote"

      • Daniel Plainview on 28/07/2022 - 08:41

        Depends if we're talking common sense definition of mislead or in a court of law misleading? The quote is initiated online, it's the year of our lord 2022 - everyone else in the industry (except for apparently Shannons?) starts and ends the quote online, and it's possible to do with within under 5mins easily.

        YOUI start the quote online - and then with no warning or option - at their final screen drop on your that they're going to call and finalise - which means ask most of the questions again plus bunch more that as many folks have said are more market research and are not asked by pers for quote alone (only if you sign up AFTER quote). Thats misleading in itself - unsure of specifics in NZ case.

        Let be frank they know what they're doing - and that they're pissing a lot of folks off and even 20+yrs ago the Qantas call centre I worked in as my 1st job tracked call abandon rates etc. So they're clearly counting on higher conversaion rates from the folks who stay online and also getting higher margins on them. Maybe it works for them but it looks like a horrid business model from here and I pity the call centre workers dealing with pissed off callers all day.

        • Davo1111 on 28/07/2022 - 09:13

          I think it's shitty (and I won't use youi), however I don't think its misleading.

  • sydneybargainer on 05/02/2023 - 20:42

    I have not read all the comments so dont know if someone has put it our there…But search on their website outside their business/call center hours and website will give you quote.

    I have tried before and tried today - it works.

  • mannyTheMemmoth on 31/07/2023 - 22:52

    Pathetic experience, got an online quote and few questions before finalising, all answers were no, never had any claim, no demerit points, blah blah somehow the final quote was 300$ more that initial quote. I don't get it, how did it increase by that much on all positive answers? Initial quote it just a scam to lure you in, final quote before sign up could be just anything.

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