Youi for car insurance

Forums › Transport (cars, bikes and boats) › Youi for car insurance - any good?

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Fred99

13684 posts

Uber Geek

#1105176 8-Aug-2014 22:14

joker97: if that was the case you could say if any one major local (within Australasia) insurer covered a huge proportion of Chch would have gone bust.

insurance is based on statistical data that goes back who knows how long. never before had NZ suffered such a catastrophe so the computer (the guys that crunched the gamble) didn't "see" it.

NZ is very lucky. in many countries the likes of flood, earthquakes, volcanoes, landslips, cyclones - not covered.

Well yeah, but without geographical/market spread of risk, it's all but impossible for new (startup) competition to emerge, so our industry is dominated by Aussie insurers, reinsurance sources from a small handful of European companies, Lloyds. Swiss RE, Munich RE, etc.
I think Warren Buffet's Berkshire Hathaway through acquisition is now the only US reinsurer with a position in the Australasian market.
It is a global oligopoly. That's not how insurance started - it was once all a "mutual" - like AMI.
You can get EQ and natural disaster insurance overseas, but it's either very high cost, or very high excess (and generally no "land cover"). Because that excess is effectively covered by the EQC "cap" in NZ, there's an illusion of affordability. But if you do the sums, even at present (trebled) EQC levy, it's going to take many decades to restore reserves to an inflation adjusted "pre Chch EQ" level. If NZ has another event in the next 30 years, then we'll be paying for it in our taxes.

alasta

6701 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Subscriber

#1105485 9-Aug-2014 15:51

Youi are promoting the concept that they set your premiums based on your usage patterns and circumstances.

Let's assume I tell them that I don't use my car to get to work. Then, one day I have a very rare occasion when I need to take the car to work and I have an accident on the way. Are they now going to tell me that they won't pay out because I was using the vehicle outside of my normal usage pattern?

Mantis

96 posts

Master Geek

ID Verified

#1105585 9-Aug-2014 19:33

I went through the online quote thing on their website only to be told they needed to call me. Was called the next day and the (Australian) guy I spoke to was quite pushy even though I only wanted a quote. It came in at $10 month more than I'm currently paying with AMI for what seems like a worse deal. Higher excess, that same excess on glass claims, an additional excess of $650 on unlisted drivers (which is everyone you don't explicitly tell them about) and only market value. They also wanted a lot of info, where do you park at home, where do you park at work, do you drive to work/study etc.
The guy I spoke to left me his direct number which I think was an Australian number as it was 8 numbers long. Not too worried as I don't plan on calling them anytime soon.

petercad

113 posts

Master Geek

#1105736 10-Aug-2014 08:15

Same deal here. Wanted a web-quote, only to be advised that I was a preferred customer and they'll call me.
Pushy saleswoman on the phone
Quote for ATV was $550 MORE than my current premium, their excess was double what I pay now, and if I claimed within 90 days of taking the policy, there was an additional $1000 excess as well.
When I questioned her on this, the reply was "It's a common thing in the Insurance Industry to impose this particular excess"

Not to mention the un-named driver/rider excess of $650 on top of the original $650 excess too
Wanted all details off me, almost down to shoe size and what I eat for dinner!

She kept asking for bank account details and/or a credit-card so they could set me up as a client and offer a multi-premium discount
Got sick of being asked for the account/CC details and her not listening so I told them they were too dear, imposed restrictive conditions upon the policy, never to contact me in any way again (call is recorded and I noted the time), and hung up

In short - AVOID at all costs, didn't get to quoting 2 cars, 2 houses, rentals, contents as ATV quote was scary enough

Martynnz

74 posts

Master Geek

#1105738 10-Aug-2014 08:44

We have just got back from Oz. Had our car insured with them. Had a relatively minor claim with no hassles at all. They were the cheapest. Interestingly when we went to insure our contents in our rental they wouldn't cover it as the area was historically flood prone (despite the council's remediation works etc).
Found out later that they cherry pick the risk which allows them to be cheaper as their overall exposure low. A teenager in a turbo charged car is unlikely to be insured by them but a 55yo woman with a clean record and toyota yaris will be welcomed with open arms.

Kyanar

4089 posts

Uber Geek

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Trusted

#1106106 10-Aug-2014 22:37

Mantis: I went through the online quote thing on their website only to be told they needed to call me. Was called the next day and the (Australian) guy I spoke to was quite pushy even though I only wanted a quote. It came in at $10 month more than I'm currently paying with AMI for what seems like a worse deal. Higher excess, that same excess on glass claims, an additional excess of $650 on unlisted drivers (which is everyone you don't explicitly tell them about) and only market value. They also wanted a lot of info, where do you park at home, where do you park at work, do you drive to work/study etc.
The guy I spoke to left me his direct number which I think was an Australian number as it was 8 numbers long. Not too worried as I don't plan on calling them anytime soon.

Weird they'd forget to mention what bloody country code and area code their numbers are when giving you their contact number

. Yeah, they're located in Sunshine Coast, QLD. So +61 7.

mattwnz

20141 posts

Uber Geek

#1106129 10-Aug-2014 23:57

Martynnz: We have just got back from Oz. Had our car insured with them. Had a relatively minor claim with no hassles at all. They were the cheapest. Interestingly when we went to insure our contents in our rental they wouldn't cover it as the area was historically flood prone (despite the council's remediation works etc).
Found out later that they cherry pick the risk which allows them to be cheaper as their overall exposure low. A teenager in a turbo charged car is unlikely to be insured by them but a 55yo woman with a clean record and toyota yaris will be welcomed with open arms.

I am guessing they are allowed to cherry pick? But wouldn't it be better for them to just to charge higher premiums to higher risk people., but I suppose if they do that, the average premium they charge will be higher.

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