Insurance company trouble

Did you actually make the claims or just find out about them.

I had two dings in 2 weeks once and they made it two claims even though I did them both at once and theywere more or less on the same part of the vehicle.

A vehicle make and model and what type of insurance you want may get a better answer..

You get what you pay for really especially with cheap insurance companies

Sounds fishy to me. How long have you been with this insurer? Have they cancelled your insurance or just advised that they will not re-insure you?

BTW I don't know of any insurers that will counts two separate incidents as one, if that is what you were hoping would happen.

Steve

Are they actually cancelling your policy, or indicating they will not renew at the next renewal date? If you are confident you have met all your obligations under the policy I’d be asking them for more information as to why they are cancelling it. If they are saying they won't renew at the next renewal date, but not cancelling the current policy, I guess that is a decision they are entitled to make...rightly or wrongly so.

Their Product Disclosure Statement is (PDS) is quite explicit about cancelling policies, and says...

"By Us - we can only cancel your policy when it is permitted by law e.g. if you do not perform your obligations under the agreement. In such instances we will refund what is left of the premium paid and we will send written notice of the cancellation to your address last known to us."

Cheers, The Landy

We have Had 4 car claims, and 1 house contents claim after a break in, new for old with AAMI over the last 12 years.

And we could not have been treated any better, very prompt very nice at all times will not be moving to another company that is for sure. Just a pitty they don't insure boats aswell.

Cheers

That is bad luck Steve. Insurance companies are in the business for themselves and not for you, and will only insure people who they feel are not much risk.

You may be wise to take the case up with the insurance industry ombudsman, merely to get the black mark off you name, as this will disadvantage you in future.

Find a good Broker. They will get the best deal on the cover you need, and may even be cheaper than direct because of bulk business. They will work for YOU not the insurance company in the event of a claim, and have buying power clout to get a better deal on a grey area claim.

Motherhen

Disclaimer: No connection with insurance brokers or companies, other than taking out normal home and business insurances.

Hi Steve,
I have an 80 series as well.
I was with NRMA and had an accident in my previous 80 series and they wrote off the vehicle. They had reduced the value of the policy and I had not picked it up.
They reinsured me but they started playing games with the agreed value of the policy at renewal time as they had done before the accident. So I compared with another insurer (CGU) and saved a considerable amount of money. Then NRMA sent me a revised policy with a more realistic policy value but it was too late for them, I had insured with CGU.

CGU accepted the policy with my recent accident history and I have been happy ever since. I would suggest you try CGU as you might get a pleasant surprise.

I was insured with a broker for our house and contents but thought the price was too dear so I tried AAMI and saved a heap there as well. Brokers are not always cheaper as they will sell you the policy which generates the greatest return for them, but it costs nothing to ask does it.

Shop around mate and see how you go.
Cheers, Bruce.

G'day Steve

I have just done a comparison: Budget $238 dearer than AAMI for all the same extras and mod's.
Barry

Something that came up when I was applying for insurance before. I upgraded the suspension from standard to Old Man Emu shocks and springs. Is that a modification? Do I mention that in an application?

Had a similar problem with a few small dings.

Approached it differently though by getting quote from panelbeater against the excess and implications of claiming

Cost me $200 more than excess and insurance next year will stay the same rating.

Was well worth it.

Steve, you quoted above the letter from Budget ..."the current Insurer is not inviting renewal of the policy because the claims history of one or more drivers on the policy falls outside their acceptance criteria. You will need to therefore need to arrange cover with another Insurer by the expiry date"

Is it possible that the refusal is nothing to do with your 'inquiry' but more to do with someone nominated as a driver on your policy that may have had insurance problems that you are not aware of?

Cheers Neil

These mongrels still at the same game...My sister was hit from behind awhile ago now (years actually)...It was not her fault, some druggo had his head in his bong and forgot about the world around him and bingo,she was ok...

Next thing she gets the letter you recieve...

Steve

I haven't read all the replies so apologise if this has been covered...

If I were you, I'd be writing a letter to the Insurance ombudsman, with a copy of the letter to your insurance co. If it is as you describe, you've been treated unfairly and given time I'm sure you will get some justice, even if you have to change insurance companies in the mean time.

Just outline your situation and how you have been treated. If you're out of pocket and $$$ let the ombudsman know.

Nothing to lose. It's appalling the way some people are treated. They take your money and never intend paying out anything. I've had this trouble before and successfully beat the 'big boys' They know that to defend it will cost more than paying you and in the long run, you win, if legitimate.

I think there's a difference in not being invited to renew a policy versus being "refused insurance". Insurance companies manage their risk book in a number of ways, and part of that is through not insuring certain classes of risk - including those deemed a high risk of making a claim. In your case you are not being offered an insurance renewal - which, at least from my understanding, is different to you having an application to insure refused. Might be worth checking out the technicalities before you approach another insurer.

Mate if my insurance compasny(NRMA) treated me like that, *I would be busting to leave them , after ringing them and telling them that I will be telling everyone I know what a pack of bas they are.
For the record I have had two claims on Nrma in twenty odd years and always find them most helpfull. Its went you actually put a claim in you find out how good they are and if the premium was valve for money.
Good luck Mate
Pete

It is easy to beat insurance companies up, but in all reality they pay most claims they receive, and the ones they don’t (usually) often involve fraud or dishonesty on the part of the policy holder. And I’m not suggesting this post falls into the latter category for one moment...

Claims are made every day and if insurance companies didn’t pay-up no-one would insure and they’d be out of business.

And I’m not going to defend Budget Direct actions here, but it does highlight they are a business and it is a timely reminder to all that insurance companies get to decide who they may or may not decide to insure. Much the same as we get to decide which company we will offer our insurance requirements to.

Insurers don’t underwrite all the risk they take, but pass it on to re-insurers’ who cover the risk the insurance company has. The re-insurers will often place limitations on what they will accept or not accept and this is reflected in the policy offerings of insurance companies, and importantly, also price. One of the reasons that Budget Direct may be cheaper is because they may have agreed to more ‘stringent’ conditions with their re-insurers’ such as not insuring or inviting renewal from those that have had an accident. Or it might simply be a decision they have made as a business...

In this instance, whilst there hasn’t been a claim, there has been an admission that the insured has had two separate incidents with the vehicle. That might be enough under the Budget Direct business model to decide they will not issue an invitation to renew the policy, although they have not cancelled the policy and there is a difference. But it should be kept in some context, they didn’t refuse a claim, and had a claim been made there is no suggestion or reason to believe they would not have paid out under the policy as it would seem fairly straight forward.

And I’m not telling Steve to ‘suck eggs’ here because at face-value it does look rough, but what it highlights is that cheaper may not always be best and when taking out insurance always make the disclosures you are required to under your policy, for instance traffic infringements and vehicle modifications, as non-disclosure could lead to claims issues. And bear in mind there is a requirement to do this on an on-going basis, not just at renewal time.

But above all always read the policy to understand exactly what cover you are getting, and what you aren’t getting – as this is often where most complaints arise, but usually only after a claim has been made and refused because the policy doesn’t cover it...

As for the ombudsman getting involved here, it is unlikely you’ll get any joy as Budget Direct have made a decision to not issue an invitation to renew, something they are entitled to do.

Cheers, The Landy