Who is your home and contents with?

[AngelPunks]

Can't stand AAMI as a car insurer - my car went in 6 times for the same repair (somebody ran up the back, not a lot of damage) and they still couldn't get the freaking colour right so we gave up - each time it went in it came back with something else wrong (chipped window, chipped paint elsewhere) it wasn't until the 4th time it went back that AAMI actually gave me a hire car (then the hire company TWICE tried to charge me for it because the insurance company said one week for the hire and it took 3-4 weeks each time to get my car back & I'd rung AAMI to remind them to let the car hire place know). AAMI have wiped their hands of the situation - so much for the lifetime guarantee.

We swapped to Suncorp after that, they were ok until the day I rang them to let them know I'd modified my car (turbo in a Mazda 2) and they cancelled ALL our car insurances (3 vehicles) on the spot. That is when we went to Shannons and they've been brill. Am contemplating taking my contents insurance over to them because they cover a lot more "enthusiast" specific things (like tools, memorabilia etc). Shannons also do weekend driving cover (for 112 driving days a year) which means the Impala has comprehensive insurance but it isn't expensive - she only gets driven on weekends anyway.

[Doing my best]

We are with NRMA and get pretty good multi policy discounts. We have only ever claimed on the cars (both DH's fault mind you ) and they were fantastic both times.

However, I am not so sure on them for house and contents and am currently looking for something else. Main reason is that they don't cover for flooding, so if we get the cyclonic weather that is 'predicted' and it happens to be a high tide, and the storm water drains have no where to take the water, and my house floods, I am not covered. (I use this scenario cause it happened to my parents about 15 years ago). For me, I am paying insurance, I want to be covered, especially when there are others that will cover us.

But it is just a case of shopping around to find who will cover you for what you want to be covered for.. GL.

[Beckibee]

Bwwahahaha, mine isn't placed through my workplace. *L*

Anyway, we used to have our car through RACQ but when we moved to NSW, our comp cover went to AAMI and our CTP through NRMA. Home contents are through NRMA as well. Used to go through a broker which I still believe very strongly in, and now that we're moving back I'm going to ring up one of the brokers I dealt with and organise to have my insurance transfered back to them.

Have never had to claim under our home contents (*touch wood*) so I can't respond from there, but my experiences with RACQ to do with the car were great.

BTW - Nil excess home policies still exist with quite a few insurers - you just pay more for your premium.

RE Flood cover on home policies. This is a toughie because very few insurers cover flood damage across all aspects, especially in the example that Heather gave - for many you need to apply specifically for flood cover under your policy, a much higher excess will apply and each property gets individually assessed in order to consider extending cover for flood. ie. sometimes you'll be required to contact the local council for flood mapping for your suburb. In a few cases, particular areas are decline postcodes to be offering cover. For commercial properties/businesses there are many changes going on in the industry with regards to flood cover at the moment

[nic]

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[Trillian]

We're with an independent who is very reputable and has been around locally for a long time. He even comes out to our house for the odd visit and to sign policies etc (his office is over 1hr away) and nothing is too much trouble for them. We were with Elders Rural, but we had a few issues with them at our local branch so decided to change.

[AngelPunks]

Wow, some interesting info here. Punkin, we have our 2nd car with Shannon's and I had thought about getting a quote from them for H&C and checking out their policy and what it covers. I do remember them covering tools and memorabilia, i thought it would be good with DH's shed full of tools lol.

Shannons also do daily drivers now which is good

When we got a quote, their contents (we were renting) was a bit more than we were currently paying but it specifically covered the tools etc which was great considering xh was a mechanic and had a lot of tools.

Coz I'm back in the unit (which I own) I'm with Vero because they were the ones I was using when I had tenants in here, so I just swapped it over (had contents at the house with Vero).

[Astrid]

We are with AAMI for both cars and H&C. We have had 3 claims through AAMI in 8 years and they have been fantastic at all times. Have not had to do a H&C claim yet, but I do like the unlimited amount for rebuilding.

I used to work in insurance investigation, in particular MV theft and single vehicle accident. It is so important that you are honest with your insurer from the start about your driving history and any modifications on the car. In the case of a claim they can use a modification they did not know about to deny the claim. In particular if they have any doubts about the claim and cannot fully prove it, they will try to use the unlisted mod to deny. I found that if claims were quiet, then they were more likely to investigate minor claims than if they were inundated with claims.

[Beckibee]

^^ Ditto what Astrid said about ensuring that you're honest and disclose everything.

Remember to take 'reasonable care' (particularly when it comes to your vehicle), ensure you have all non-standard accessories noted and allowed for on the policy (nothing worse than someone thinking their written off vehicle actually had $10,000 worth of accessories not noted on the policy and then the argument that ensues over the payout including these....), and review your sums insured each year for home & contents (which you SHOULD be doing with your broker/intermediary if you have one) - it's another HUGE issue when it comes to claim payouts, especially if your policy has underinsurance clauses that apply.

[Freya]

Our car insurance is with AAMI who we havent had any problems with and we have just got h&c's for the first time (I know naughty naughty!) and we only have the choice of Suncorp or RACQ as we need flood insurance being up north and they are the only ones who cover the best. Pretty reasonable pricing and coverage imo!

[Frangipani]

We've got both home and contents and our car insurances with CommInsure (with CBA). I compared the policies and found this to be one of the best. I like that they don't charge extra to pay by the month. Also they cover unsecured theft for the house (as I'm not very good at remember to lock the windows and doors all the time )

We did a claim on one of our windows a couple of years ago and they were very quick to arrange someone to fix it. Also last year we had a burst water main, and they once again were quick to get someone out to look at it (but DH was able to fix it himself cheaper then the $100 excess).

Not sure if it helps or hinders that I work with CBA, but from what I'd seen when quoting, for some they can be a fraction more expensive, but alot were cheaper (ours was actually cheaper), but it all depends on what you want out of your insurance, and to me it is the coverage not necessarily the price.

Goodluck shopping around.

[nic]

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