Tower or AA for Insurance ?

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xlinknz

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#56698 21-Jan-2010 10:35

Hi all

I had had my insurances [home, contents, car] with Tower for 10 years and had no problems, indeed they have paid out no question when required

Every year I get a few quotes to make sure they are competitive and so far they have

BUT this time I discovered they had increased my premiums without advising me [I only realised as I have a spreadsheet tracking each years quotes]. When I advised Tower I would get back to them after getting a few quotes that advised they would apply a discount.

AA have come in a few dollars less than the revised Tower quote

I am temped to change as I am quite annoyed they increased the premiums without advising me and only offered a discount when I was obvious I was unhappy and was shopping around.

That said I suspect they all increase premiums without notifications...

What are peoples experience with AA and Tower insurance ?

rossmnz

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#291842 21-Jan-2010 12:25

I thought every year you get advice as to how much your insurances are etc?

I recently got my renewals from AMI, and it had gone up a little bit too.

Maybe this is just AMI and not anyone else. i found them good when paying out also.

The force is strong with this one!

vinnieg

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#291847 21-Jan-2010 12:33

AA, I've recently moved there from NatAuto and AMI, AMI wanted $895 a year for my car :( with less coverage than AA who wanted $490

I wouldn't go with State again, bad experiences trying to make a claim with them oh and also NatAuto, had a bad experience with them not helping out when I was crashed into

How old are you(over 25 etc, under)?
car modified in any way?

I have moved across the ditch. Now residing in Melbourne as a VOIP/Video Technical Trainer/Engineer.

xlinknz

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#291917 21-Jan-2010 14:28

I called AA and asked if they advise customers on their renewal whether their premium has gone up. They were honest and said if the difference is greater than 20% or exceptional they would otherwise not. They stated that premiums all change due to inflation adjustments etc

This is problematic since how many people remember what their premium was the previous year. I speculate that many assume it was the same when it was not. With three policies <20% could be easily be $200+ that one pays without realising

FYI My current Tower insurance is on National Bank letter head [orginally taken out through them] I'm not sure what value this adds but I'd like to think if there was an issue NBNZ would step in to keep a valued customer

I won't go with AMI as they their CEO refused to appear on Fairgo and was accordingly on their 'wall of shame'. I do not know whether he did appear to resolve whatever the issue was.

grant_k

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#291920 21-Jan-2010 14:33

I am currently looking at switching all our Vehicle and House Insurance to AA. Their premiums are much less than I have been paying through a broker, who previously was very competitive.

It definitely pays to shop around, and I always keep my Policy Renewal Statements for comparison purposes the following year. If I see any significant change (10% or more) I start asking questions.

tchart

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#291936 21-Jan-2010 15:17

Read the policy fine print, dont always take the lowest price. Some policies pay depreciated value rather than replacement cost. Friend got burnt with that when they got burgled. Things like digital cameras could not be replaced as the "depreciated value" was ridiculous (like $100 or something for a 2 year old camera).

Personally, Ive been with AA for many years. Last year our hot water cylinder burst (all over our 1 month old carpet). At first they said they wouldnt pay for the damage but then they said they would. I did have to kick up a stink though (talk to the manager etc) - perhaps they all try the "dodge" first time round to save paying out unless you are really persistent.

vinnieg

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#291939 21-Jan-2010 15:35

Actually, just realised my house insurance is still on tower and has gone up :(

My car has been changed to AA though, but I'm thinking about switching my house value soon once my fixed term rolls over in March

I have moved across the ditch. Now residing in Melbourne as a VOIP/Video Technical Trainer/Engineer.

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johnr

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#291941 21-Jan-2010 15:36

AMI

TOWER

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#291960 21-Jan-2010 16:17

Hi there,

My name is Debra Chantry, I am the Marketing Manager for TOWER Insurance. I came across your post and wanted to help.

TOWER generally does not apply any increases in premium rates (at any %) without notifying our customers through their renewal statements.

This also applies to policies that we underwrite for National Bank.

However there are a number of things that affect premiums, including package discounts, claims made etc. and without looking into your specific case then I cannot make a genuine comment.

We’d love to talk you through it and make sure that your account is all in order. Could you please contact me: debra.chantry@tower.co.nz with your details and let me know when is a good time to call and I will have one of our consultants call you and sort this out.

We do appreciate your business over the years and it saddens me when customers aren’t happy and are looking to other providers. Please give us a chance and let’s see what we can do,

Cheers,

Debra

Geese

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#292160 22-Jan-2010 12:49

Gee, I wish AMI was on here and could answer why my car premiums shot up 50%, as mentioned in another recent thread here.

One thing I forgot to add in the previous thread was that I had a car insured with AMI as a commercial vehicle, and for months I was paying the premium, blissfully unaware that, multiple people at AMI had made a huge error on my policy. When I went in there to renew another vehicle, they queried my commercial policy, went and had a talk with manager, and stated the policy was in error, that I was never covered in the event of a claim, and immediately cancelled the policy. No apology, no refund! The excuse was that multiple staff failed to notice that the exception to commercial vehicle policies are likes of couriers and taxi drivers.

I changed all my policies to AA. I'm very happy about the service I got from AA, and in hindsight should have been with them for insurance since joining AA 13 years ago.

Lurch

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#292182 22-Jan-2010 13:34

AA's quotes are interesting, I'd be paying nearly $300 more with them per year and I'd be paying a higher excess $400 vs the $250 I'm paying now.

I do notice they valued my car at a higher amount :-) Think I'll stay with AMI... and I'm an AA member LOL

Lurch

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#292188 22-Jan-2010 13:47

AA - $890 - no claim bonus 60% - excess $400
AMI - $540 - no claim bonus 60% - excess $250
Tower - have to wait for someone to call you
State - $986 - no claim bonus 65% - excess $300
Fintel - have to wait for someone to call you

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Lurch

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#292196 22-Jan-2010 14:01

insurancesave.co.nz -

Persits.MailSender.4 error '800a0004'

Connection refused.

/carDetailInsurance.asp, line 384

when you submit the online quote, so I guess will be staying with AMI :D

jen1001

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#292204 22-Jan-2010 14:26

Lurch: AA - $890 - no claim bonus 60% - excess $400
AMI - $540 - no claim bonus 60% - excess $250
Tower - have to wait for someone to call you
State - $986 - no claim bonus 65% - excess $300
Fintel - have to wait for someone to call you

I got a quote from Fintel straight away over the phone...not as cheap as I thought, more expensive than AMI for my car though

What I pay with AMI for the car is pretty good, and the value's been steady for the past 3 years (since 2006) but the agreed value for the car's decreased by $1000. Will shop around when the policy is up.

I second johnr though, AMI are pretty good.

Jen

johnr

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#292208 22-Jan-2010 14:30

Only thing about AMI is Motorbike insurance OUCH!!

keewee01

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#292221 22-Jan-2010 14:48

We've been with AA for many, many years without any issues. The 3 times we've had to use them it has been an easy and pleasant experience. Every year they send out letters about 6 weeks prior to renewal with the existing rates and the new rates listed in them.

I would highly recommend AA. (That said it has been years since I did a comparison, but when one is happy with the service, what need is there to compare!)