Which Insurance company are you with?

[REXman]

I found NRMA/RACV? is the best. They were very competitive and paid out in 2006 when I had some stuff stolen. I have been with them since my Ps and am now 28 (29 on the 27th of this month - yikes!) and I got a quote of $1100.

[elisiX]

28yo, Low Risk Suburb, Market Value Cover - $840 w/ NRMA.

[AdamD]

Here in SA I'm with Allianz. 32y/o rating 1, garaged in good suburb, agreed value of $54k, $820. Far better than what I could manage with the RAA (our equivalent of the NRMA) or Shannons - the only other insurers I'd consider.

[elisiX]

Why go agreed value on a new car (unless you have mods you want insured)?

NRMA (and I assume most other companies) offer new for old replacement in the first 2 years.

After the first 2 years i'll be switching to an agree value.

[AdamD]

Why go agreed value on a new car (unless you have mods you want insured)?

NRMA (and I assume most other companies) offer new for old replacement in the first 2 years.

After the first 2 years i'll be switching to an agree value.

Well, I was told (and this could be wrong) that the insurer will only pay up to a maximum of the vehicle purchase price (and not rrp) if you go market value. Through a complicated set of circumstances I ended up getting a very significant discount, and I'm not confident I'd easily match it again. Further, there was next to no difference in my premium to go agreed, and while my agreed is significantly lower than rrp, it is higher than the price I paid (the insurer requested both values and thus knows this). And lastly, yep, I'll inevitably add a few extras here and there and I want my agreed value to reflect this.

Agreed that, in the majority of circumstances, Market is the way to go while the insurer offers new for old.

[Corey_R]

Why go agreed value on a new car (unless you have mods you want insured)?

So there are no surprises come write-off and new for old time when you think they've been insuring a car worth $42,990 when it actually costs $56,060?

[ConR]

I always insure for agreed value...never market.

[Maverick]

Why go agreed value on a new car (unless you have mods you want insured)?

NRMA (and I assume most other companies) offer new for old replacement in the first 2 years.

After the first 2 years i'll be switching to an agree value.

I'm with CGU who are three years new for old, QBE are four years new for old but I changed to agreed value after changing the alloy wheels because of the way car insurance works.

GTI comes with 17" alloy wheels, the 17" wheels are $570 each and the tyres $400 each. I fitted the R32 wheels which are $670 each and the tyres $500 each. The insurance company is exposed to an additional $800 risk in the event of a claim however it doesn't work like this and I had to insure them for full replacement at $4680 even though I didn't have the original wheels (which were valued by the insurance company at $3880 which I was paying for in the base premium). It worked out better to go agreed value as I would be covered for more in the event of a claim and the extra cost was minimal.

[elisiX]

I haven't modified my car, so new for old is simply that. If the car is written off in the meantime, they will need to replace it with the same options. Regardless of what I paid. However if any modifications are made to the standard car + options, I would expect to be out of pocket under the market value premium. Therefore would change to agreed once the mods start coming along (wheels and so forth).

So there are no surprises come write-off and new for old time when you think they've been insuring a car worth $42,990 when it actually costs $56,060?

Corey i've asked about this specifically and been told time and time again, whatever options I had fitted from the factory (or in taking delivery) are covered. Regardless of whether the RRP is $40k and with options its $60k. Personally I think they're nuts allowing such things but i've confirmed it a few times on 2-3 cars now in the past 6 years with NRMA. From what I can tell, its fine to go Market Value when buying new with no mods.

[Corey_R]

There's a catch with "New For Old". It's in your PDS. The car needs to be available and within the country. Otherwise they may simply pay you out. (This has happened to other forum members... some happy about it, some not so happy about it).

If this turned out to be the case, I would then be concerned at what the figure is that will pay you out on. The RRP price or drive away price of the base car? The RRP or drive away price of the car with options? Your invoice price? What they believe the current market value is?

Depending on which method they you, it could be fine, or it could end up in tears....