Club 4X4 - Insurance for 4X4 Enthusiasts

[bazzaboy]

G'day Bazza,

I completely respect your views here and appreciate you calling them out.

A few things that i will call out from my own experience working with mainstream, but also with enthusiast insurance brands over my short 20 or so years.


Many people truly don't understand what they are or not covered for. Now i'm not disputing the fact that reading through these documents is about as exciting as watching paint dry (and i've done that for a crust in my time too!), but i believe that the market, including insurance providers, aggregators and finally customers have created a focus so intent on driving down price that this becomes the sole criteria when shopping. You've expressed this in the first line of your response, so for you, price is the most important factor and this is absolutely fine.

Many people have a view of insurers and their intent to always minimise costs but i wonder how many times a claim has been refused and it's actually as a result of the policyholder not adequately understanding their coverage and their responsibilities when taking a policy out. Things like the duty of disclosure (the spiel you'll hear or read before every insurance quote) call out these responsibilities. When you're so focused on getting the price to move to the next insurer, how could you expect to actually absorb that sort of information, or read that question in the quote appropriately? I'm a customer too and i will say, you wont! You will dash through, it write down the premium and make the next call.

As enthusiasts, looking for enthusiast cover, the process of understanding what you're covered for is all the more important. Combine that with a brand new player like us, where the coverage cannot be replicated elsewhere, your need to fully understand is compounded again.

My message here is that yes, price is important. But, there should always be a balance where you understand the coverage as well.

Hi,

Please don't think that I'm out just to bag your company, that is not the case. I dislike ALL insurance companies equally. It is the nature of all vehicle insurance in this country that rubs me the wrong way. Sell a product for the highest price possible, while being exposed to the least possible risk, and with the greatest possibility of declining the claim. Indirectly, that statement is the creed of all insurance.

The American vehicle insurance is a much better and fairer method ... insure the driver, not the vehicle. Unfortunately, that will never happen in Australia because of our much smaller population of possible policy holders and the need to acquire more revenue for our excessive amount of insurance providers. This is why many companies see the Asian market as the next "goldmine".

Anyway ...... your message. "price is important, but there should always be a balance where you understand the coverage as well".

Price IS extremely important to the prospective policy holder, as is understanding the coverage, but reading the "fine print" or PDS ( policy disclosure statement ) is CRITICAL. You will discover that nearly all standard vehicle policies have the same "exclusions" ( non-disclosure, roadworthy requirement, existing damages, previous claims ...ect.... )

A number of insurance companies are now claiming to be better than others because they cover all your accessories. Don't be fooled, you will be indirectly paying for it. I would rather pay to replace any stolen accessories than "inflate" the policy cost. All company's have done their homework and know the statistics of total vehicle loss against stolen accessory claims. They will always be in front.

In conclusion ........

IMO, cost is the only difference between all of them. So, after checking everything's equal, go for the cheapest price.


* Note : This is my personal opinion only and not intended to defame any particular company or individual.