How has your insurance increased this year?

[The_Hawk]

"sticky" customers

I agree, there is no more loyalty from the insurers side and it definitely pays to shop around. A few years ago I went through the motions with my then insurer NRMA. In previous years they had (surprisingly) ended up the best option for my particular circumstances.
I asked why my premium had gone up so much and offered a couple of alternative providers who were significantly cheaper. I asked if they could offer something better or some incentive (like roadside assistance) or anything to make their offer more compelling. About the only thing I got was “NRMA pay the highest percentage of claims of all insurers”…
So I sign up with the new insurer and call back to cancel the old policy and I’m asked if I have spoken to the retentions team. I had enough free time and was interested in what they might offer so I accepted and was transferred to the other team… who asked if I know that NRMA paid the highest percentage of all claims, kept reminding me that I would lose my ‘loyalty discount’ (which I reminded them was still significantly more expensive WITH their discount that the alternative) and my favourite… “are you sure they cover everything you currently get”. That one pissed me off since I had read the vast majority of the PDS documents and when pushed for any specifics they simply said “we can’t know every aspect of every competitors PDS”… so it’s fear mongering? They could offer more?

It’s all bit of a ****ty game and do believe there is very little reason to stick with a particular insurer without at least considering the alternatives (and that goes for all your products).

As for comparing prices, as had been said there are so many factors it sometimes seems totally made up. I’ve seen 20 year olds with brand new R spec cars paying less than a 40 year old with a TSI.

[DV52]

@The_hawk:
We are in complete agreement!! My personal view is that these renewal processes (doesn't matter for what service) are more examples of product value. By which I mean that the ultimate decision turns more on how the consumer values stuff, rather than on it's cost!

There are clearly customers who value their own time more highly than any discount that can be achieved through the effort of seeking competitive quotes.

And for those that are prepared to investigate alternatives, there are a range of different insurance cover terms that are valued differently against varying prices.

Because ultimately value choices are deeply personal decisions, of course it's wrong for anyone to criticize individual outcomes. Nevertheless, I suspect that insurance companies are well aware of of this dynamic and I reckon that they segregate their customer market sectors accordingly.

More importantly, I suspect that the price points in their renewal notices is based on value based profit maximization for the various value-sets (I'm guessing of course).

Ain't nothing inherently wrong with the practice - it's just the way stuff is done in commerce!! However and ironically, the practice does promote a changed response from "sticky" customers to become "un-sticky" customers (like both you and me) - which is a good thing!!

Don

[Ralfi]

Thanks @DV52 & @The_Hawk.

I’ll be cutting the tentacles & ‘unsticking’ from RACV for both Car/Home & Contents. Saving $850 odd for the year.

& I’ll be shopping around every year to hopefully make a small dent into their profiteering shenanigans..

[Gutoneto]

Hi,

My is not a GTI but my insurance went through the roof as well with QBE with no claims and not changes (actually, I told them that I'd be driving less per year on both cars). They also put the max fix value down without give me chance to keep it as it was.

2022 - $1726.53, $1000 ex, fixed valued @18,500, two drivers over 40yo, over 20,000KM per year, 2075.
2023 - $1949.26, $1000 ex, fixed valued @16,573, two drivers over 40yo, 10,000-20,000KM per year, 2075.

I have another Nissan insured with them, the premium went up $387.32 and the fixed value went down $1037. Kms changed from 10,000-20,000km to less than 10,000km per year.

I'll probably be shopping around for a new insurer soon.

[ABCD]

Agree completely with Don. It always pays to shop around with car insurance, including even obtaining a new policy quote from the same insurance provider which will often be cheaper than your renewal quote and which you can use to renegotiate a revised figure.
And it is not too surprising that car insurance premiums have increased given the current economic climate.
For what it is worth I am with Budget Direct and saw a modest increase in premium from $966 to $1041 when I paid it last month.
This on a 2018 Golf R, comprehensive cover with $1200 excess, choice of repairer, drivers < 40 excluded, annual km < 8000, no garage/on street parking in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs. And late last year I did make a not at fault claim to repair about $1500 worth of minor front end damage, so all up I reckon the premium increase is more than reasonable.

[Ralfi]

Agree completely with Don. It always pays to shop around with car insurance, including even obtaining a new policy quote from the same insurance provider which will often be cheaper than your renewal quote and which you can use to renegotiate a revised figure.
And it is not too surprising that car insurance premiums have increased given the current economic climate.
For what it is worth I am with Budget Direct and saw a modest increase in premium from $966 to $1041 when I paid it last month.
This on a 2018 Golf R, comprehensive cover with $1200 excess, choice of repairer, drivers < 40 excluded, annual km < 8000, no garage/on street parking in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs. And late last year I did make a not at fault claim to repair about $1500 worth of minor front end damage, so all up I reckon the premium increase is more than reasonable.

So I take it you’re happy with Budget Direct? They’re THE standout right now for me.

[ABCD]

So I take it you’re happy with Budget Direct? They’re THE standout right now for me.

Happy with Budget Direct. First time customer when I insured my R in early 2022, at which time they were way cheaper than any one else I could find at the time. And good to deal with when I had to make a claim. Only minor complaint was that I was unable to deal directly with my chosen repairer (I had Choice of repairer option), had to first take the car to one of their Assessment Centres for approval. But otherwise completely seamless online process.
Interestingly late last year when it came time to renew insurance on my wife's Golf GTi Budget Direct could not better her existing renewal quote from NRMA.

[Gutoneto]

Agreed. The suburb is a big factor as well as whether the car is parked on the street vs in a garage or locked driveway etc.

Im with Shannons insurance, and my car (Mk7 GTI) is always parked either under a carport or in the garage. No accidents ever - although I did have to make a claim a few years ago as my previous car was flood damaged and written off.

$1,137 last year
$1,184 is my current cost

To the OP, if your cost has jumped by $230 odd dollars and nothing has changed, then its definitely worth shopping around to see if you can find a better deal. BUT, perhaps your suburb and or surrounding suburbs have had a rise in claims in the past 12 months and so your risk has increased?

Hi Lucas,

I saw that you're using Shannons as the insurer, what are your thoughts about it? Did they act quickly with the claim? I saw some reviews about them and there are several complains about when need to put a claim through.

I made a quick quote with them and if I switch over I can save almost $1400 with them (for both cars), not counting the excess goes down from $1000 to $700. It seems a very good deal.

Thanks!

[Lucas_R]

Hi Lucas,

I saw that you're using Shannons as the insurer, what are your thoughts about it? Did they act quickly with the claim? I saw some reviews about them and there are several complains about when need to put a claim through.

I made a quick quote with them and if I switch over I can save almost $1400 with them (for both cars), not counting the excess goes down from $1000 to $700. It seems a very good deal.

Thanks!

The claim for the car was quick (its the first car related insurance claim ive ever made). It was taken away for assessment, and I was called 2-3 days later and told they were writing it off due to the flood water damage, then 2-3 days later I had the agreed $ value in my bank account.

At the same time we made a claim for home & contents as we had some flood water damage to our garage, garden shed and backyard. That claim did take longer because everything had to be itemised and a value put on it, but that was taken care of in a few weeks. (Also with Shannons for home & contents).

So yes, i am happy with them. But we tried to insure my wifes car with them and they were about $400 more than GIO so her car is with GIO.

[Flipper Dog]

Just received my renewal, increased by 27.6%. Nice of them to spell that out to me.
Similar pricing for what I was quoted from the other providers in the like for like area.

Interesting I tried the on line quote of my current provider and it was $50 cheaper. Next is to ring them to see what I can get.

There is a guy down at my local pub selling cartons of VB for $15 out the back, he reckons he can do a deal on insurance for me.