Thread: Minor Bingle - Insurance Claims

My wife was in a very minor bingle but the other party wanted to go the insurance route hoping to have a win but lost.

The work was carried out by Harveys , Coomera , Qld

Never have I seen such a highly professional, efficient and nice company to deal with.

The car has been returned in better condition than when it was purchased.

Just an update - I claimed on my Allianz insurance and my car has been repaired. My insurance details and claim number were passed to the other car's insurer the NRMA with instructions to deal with my insurer. The other car has also been repaired.

So the end of the process - well no.

Late last week I received a letter from the NRMA advising of their "intent to sue" me for $1980 plus costs if the amount was not paid within 7 days. WTF - isn't that what my insurance is supposed to cover?

So I call the NRMA and they say that Allianz has denied their claim - seems odd as it was a minor bingle with no technicalities involved - straight forward.

So I call Allianz and they say things are not quite as the NRMA had outlined. The cost of repair of the other vehicle was $1700 and is not contested. However there is an additional $280 for 7 days car hire which Allianz does not agree with. The repair job was 3 days yet the NRMA is claiming 7 days car hire. When challenged the NRMA consultant became abusive and indicated that was the claim. Allianz counter offered 4 days hire which resulted in a dummy spit by the NRMA, threats to see them in court and slamming down of the phone.

Now we are talking about $40 a day car hire - 7 days is $280 and 4 days is $160 so the two insurance companies are going at each other over $120.

The Allianz consultant asked me what was the date of the demand letter which was the 25 July and she said that was the same day as their diagreement.

So as the NRMA could not get their way, they have sent me an "intent to sue" letter to try an intimidate me which has not worked. In reality to take a matter to court over $120 is nonsense and the magistrate would be most upset at the waste of time.

I any case the "intent to sue" letter has now been forwarded to Allianz who have advised my policy protects me with their legal team dealing with any legal action.

Just goes to show the dirty tricks insurance companies can try to intimidate to get their way.

Garry

We got wifes car insurance the other day & they have bumped up the premium over $100 so I gave them a call yesterday to ask why sa we have had no clames in past 10 years & have been with this co for over 40 years. I under stand it could go up a small amount but not that much . Also as the vehicle gets older & market value goese down so should premiums . I was told it is what it is & the only way I can reduce it is to accept a larger excess which they have already increased from nill to $650 which they did last year. So I am now on the search for a new insurer.

Insurers automatically rack up the premiums every year unless you object, because their focus is on only giving discounts to win new customers. They rely on most customers just meekly paying the higher premium without questioning it, which boosts their profits.
I suggest you go to the sites of the major insurers and get online quotes, then go back to your insurer and quote the lowest online quote and ask if they can beat it. We do that every year and it works every time. Last time we did it the premium for one of our vehicles suddenly dropped by about $150.
Incidentally, you might find Youi is the cheapest if you answer their extra questions.
Another option is to package several vehicles and property insurance with a single insurer and try to save that way.

Originally Posted by 1950landy

We got wifes car insurance the other day & they have bumped up the premium over $100 so I gave them a call yesterday to ask why sa we have had no clames in past 10 years & have been with this co for over 40 years. I under stand it could go up a small amount but not that much . Also as the vehicle gets older & market value goese down so should premiums . I was told it is what it is & the only way I can reduce it is to accept a larger excess which they have already increased from nill to $650 which they did last year. So I am now on the search for a new insurer.

Exactly the same with mine, gone up $100 each year yet i have never had an accident or made a claim. they will be getting a stern call from me before the payment is due.

I have 2 vehicles with them & 2 vehicles with Shannons . I will give Shannons a call & insure with them. I also have all my CTP Insurance with this co so that would make 6 policies I will cancel with them.

Yep, you have to shop around every year or so to keep a decent premium - for any insurance. They all jack up prices regularly hoping you don’t notice and just continue on. Most seem happy enough to match what prices you can find elsewhere but that relies on you actually doing that which most don’t.

Originally Posted by 1950landy

We got wifes car insurance the other day & they have bumped up the premium over $100 so I gave them a call yesterday to ask why sa we have had no clames in past 10 years & have been with this co for over 40 years. I under stand it could go up a small amount but not that much . Also as the vehicle gets older & market value goese down so should premiums . I was told it is what it is & the only way I can reduce it is to accept a larger excess which they have already increased from nill to $650 which they did last year. So I am now on the search for a new insurer.

If you are old enuff and otherwise qualify, try APIA. Not perfect, but I have found them pretty reasonable to deal with for a number of unfortunate claims over the last 0 years (all of home, contents, car and caravan to date). Even they do the usual reduce value/increase excess and premium trick but will revisit if you query - which I do fairly regularly.