So Tower has just given me an 80% increase on my car insurance (includes multi-discount). Naturally, I'm now hunting around.
Online quotes from AA, AMI and AMP have all come out pretty similar (about $1,000 p/y w/o multi-discount). This is about $500 less than what Tower is asking for.
Another company, Cove, has quoted $800p/y - which is obviously cheaper, but I've not heard of them. Any thoughts, advice, experiences with anyone using Cove insurance?
I don't recommend COVE. They are problem-free till you get an accident.
Out of interest, what was the issue(s) you ran into??
I did make a claim last year with no third party though (wife drove to a wall). Claiming was done online via form then followed up by email.
Once claim accepted, all communication is done with the panelbeater.
The only difference I find is that all correspondence is done via email, form rather than phone calls (as opposed to my other exp with AMI).
So no issue as such, just less personal contact? If so, I guess that may explain their lower premiums with lower people overheads.
@Gibbo: I don't have any issues per say, but others may be able to chime in.
Mind you I have only done 2 claims so far: 1 with AMI and 1 with Cove.
There's been talk on Reddit about Cove running at cut-rate pricing to build a client base and that their pricing is unsustainable. Take from that what you will.
At the tail end of similar with AMI (100% increase on car insurance) Got a few quotes from around the place and have settled on MAS
Medical Assurance Society? By the name, they seem pretty specific in focus. What made you go with them ?
They're a general insurer. Heard good things from friends. Policy wording similar to AMI, slightly different coverage (wouldn't do fixed price on a vehicle, only market rate). I like the idea of their Area Coverage for house policies. Both of our cars are 'harder' to insure (ones a Toyota Aqua and the other is modified, certed) and provided competitive quotes for these with no issues
Daughter had same high rise with trademe insurance. She has gone with Cove, they were cheaper and also they have a special offer of $100 off a year. State Insurance premiums were only slightly higher than Cove, also offer $50 off a new policy online. If do State online have to pick the $400 excess then ring them if you want a higher excess which is a bit strange.
I went with cove, always check insured value and excess to get true comparison. Cove has no cover for drivers under 21. Have not experienced their claim process yet
Yeah, in the online quotes I tried to keep all those things consistent where possible. Thanks
Is your car a Toyota Aqua or a Toyota Prius by any chance? I was also with Tower and they wanted to double my premiums, I queried it and they said "Toyota Prius is one of the most stolen cars in NZ". This is actually false, the Toyota Aqua is one of the most stolen, but there is an Aqua variant that is called the 'Prius C' and I believe the insurance companies have now lumped all Prius under the same umbrella as Aqua (I have a Gen 2). I also went with Cove as their price was on par with what I paid last year, but I have seen a few comments saying they aren't the best at claim time, so we'll see…
No, Mazda - Atenza. They said the same wrt being on the top 10 theft and claims list. I also have a Demio which has been on the top stolen car list for a while. Be interesting to see what happens to that premium when it comes due.
I was planning on changing to Cove Insurance; however, they asked for too many details when signing up, such as speeding tickets in the last 5 years, and they are hesitant to cover if there is existing damage. In my case, I was waiting for panel beaters to fix a scratch from a hit-and-run, so they refused to insure my vehicle.
I ended up going with Toyota Insurance, which has the same underwriter as Cove (Aioi Nissay Dowa Insurance), but didn't have all the "gotchas" when signing up.
Don't most of them ask for speeding tickets (and accidents etc) over the last five years?
From what I have seen, they typically ask about accidents or claims within the past five years, but generally they don't seem care about speeding tickets.
I seem to recall being asked about traffic offenses too (can't recall who, but likely one or more of Tower / AMI / AA) - maybe I am wrong though.
Was this while going through their questionnaire online? Or did you speak to a person and they declined your insurance request? If the former, that's expected, but at the end it says to contact Support to discuss. Unless your car is a "sports" car or over 80K.
When going through their online questionnaire, there is an option for existing damage. If you select 'yes' you will be asked to submit a video. Cove then reached out via email to decline insurance cover.
exact same here. They had already accepted the insurance on our second car, so likely I will change that when a better offer arrives.
Anybody have Initio car insurance? Curious what their premiums for cars are like.
I'm with Initio, they were the cheapest option for me after Cove increased my premiums. Agreed value, excess free glass cover, underwritten by IAG so good enough for me. The only thing is it's only available if you have house insurance with them as well.
However, I haven't had to claim yet so I can't comment on that process.
Thanks yes I knew that, will try them when my car policy is up for renewal.
You should try do a quote online on towers website and see if it's cheaper, it was for me when I did that earlier this year.
lol, yeah, that would be interesting. Were you able to go ahead with the lower quoted premium or did you move on?
MAS
Yeah this came out when I was still a customer. Honestly, not too fussed. The customer service was outstanding, price by far the best for my car (EV) and the claims process was faultless. I only shifted to another insurer as they wouldn't cover for my business usage (high risk environment) otherwise I'd still be a happy MAS customer.
As nachos says above, check consistency of insured value (personally, I prefer agreed value policies as it eliminates uncertainty) and excesses, but also any 'add ons' which might be included as standard in one policy but not in another such as windscreen cover, breakdown insurance etc etc.