Insurance-is it worth the monthly fee.

hotspur (Chris) · #1 07-01-2011, 05:29 PM

Well after yesterdays' flash flood and the damage it caused,I made a call to insurance company,I knew what to expect-not much hope,but out of the six
claims I thought I might at least have a chance with one.

It appears not so so,every time I mentioned the damage and gave a report,they turned and twisted quicker than a brown snake on a hot summers' day (remember sun

)

While the damage and issues was not life changing,after paying $250 a month for over 12 years,I'd have thought they would cover some damage to antique furniture in workshop,only to find,that antique furniture is not covered,but valuables are-go figure!

Also timber was not covered.(this was Brazilian Rosewood 3 K a cubic metre)There was another shed I'd been paying storm damage on,but they did not cover the storm damage because of the way the shed was built,now what really annoys me is they came out to this shed to physically see it with there own eyes,and I was very specific in my questions to the insurance chap,well that insurance on that shed has been cancelled.

Really,time to do some very important homework on how mu camera gear and telescope gear is covered,if at all.

Here is a tip I just recalled,a chap I use to know,had his shed burnt down,and when he put the claim in of the contents,the insurance said there was no way he could have that value in the shed,well this chap had photos,not only that,he had a couple of those cheap aldi PS cameras,and every few months would take images of his gear.

He won,and they even got the daughters' 'barbie doll collection' replaced,along with his army collectables.The chap was in Vietnam war and a forward scout,and really knew how to think ahead.

So there is a good tip,we all have access to cheap PS,and large cards make simple back up to images stored elsewhere,and kept up to date.

Bit of a bummer all this rain,and insurance not really worth what we pay.

Chris

leon · #2 07-01-2011, 05:41 PM

Yea Chris I reckon you might be right, they are very quick to take your premium, but when it comes to getting some of it back because of any reason, they squirm and make some ridiculous reasons why you wont get a penny.

They, the insurance company's are a business and couldn't give a "you know what", about you as a customer.

I sometimes wonder why I even have insurance at all, as it will cost me $100.00 excess, 10% increase of the premium, for twelve months at the next yearly premium, which will be about $200.00 and my no claim bonus goes to number 2 from 1 for that same period.

All this for a $649.00 LCD that I damaged on my premises, you go figure, it is better for me to buy the bloody thing myself, and not involve them at all, which I'm considering.

Maybe if I have a total loss of the 5th Wheeler I might use up my points.

Leon

mswhin63 (Malcolm) · #3 07-01-2011, 05:50 PM

Insurance is only worth when you need to use it. It is a tricky one. I think for large quantity items would be worth it. But for smaller items need to weigh up the premiums.

Barrykgerdes · #4 07-01-2011, 05:52 PM

Insurance is just a gamble. You need to make a contract with the insurance co and make sure it covers what you want. Have it drawn up by your solicitor. It will cost you more but at least you will know where you stand

They work on the same principle as the TAB and all those other gambling joints (come in sucker) you can't beat them at their game.

I have never had any bother and the last claim I made was for a fence that was destroyed when a tree fell over. The insurance company would only pay half the cost because I only owned half the fence and the neighbour had to claim for his half. He would not have a bar of that (pommy B) and I could have sued him but that was messy. The quotation was to replace four panels of fence and accepted by the insurance company, The contractor put in two new panels and straightened up the other two for the quote so I was not out of pocket. The tree incidently was on another neighbours property but it only did minor damage to that fence and he fixed it himself.

Barry

hotspur (Chris) · #5 07-01-2011, 05:52 PM

Yes leon,for something like that,and the items I had of a similar amount.

Really just not worth the hassle.

I will be at their office cancelling the insurance on the one shed that has had the most damage.

The other work shed,which has contents supposedly valued at 5000 insurance,I seriously think I will cancel it too,

And just have house contents/car/labilty insurance (and portable valuable insurance on telescope/camera gear listed).

Still wonder if it would really be insured.

While,these claims are not so major,and has opened my eyes,and saved me money in the long run.

I now know the shed that had the most damage,I asked the insurance guy when he was here,if it would be covered if a wind storm came,he said yes.
I now know for a fact they would not pay,because they would use the same excuse they just gave me.So while this current issue is a hassle,I will save money over the next few years.

I had some exotic rainforest timber damaged,might start building a ark out of it.

RickS (Rick) · #6 07-01-2011, 06:13 PM

Sorry to hear that, Chris. I just put in a claim before Xmas for damage caused by an exploding tempered glass panel. It will be interesting to see if we get mucked around too.

What was your plan for the Brazilian Rosewood? It is much prized for guitar fretboards and necks.

Cheers,
Rick.

hotspur (Chris) · #7 07-01-2011, 07:35 PM

Yes Rick the rosewood looks fine,just got back from the shed,a smaller amount had some water damage.But the bulk looks a lot better was first thought.(its hard to access all sheds with so much water about)

I did have a large quantity I sold through IIS classifieds,a chap in Brisbane bought the lot for Xylophones,its used a lot for musical instruments.

I am not sure what to do with what I have,a entomological cabinet is on the cards,are you after some?

Cheers Chris

PeterM · #8 07-01-2011, 07:43 PM

It's a grudge purchase that you never know the value of (or what you never clarified) until you need to make a claim. I have worked in this area all I can say is if you choose bare bones cheapest premium, don't read the terms and conditions, and you assume you are covered for things, then at claim time you may have a rude shock. Claim time is not the time to find that out. Set it up right from the start, ask heaps of questions, read the policy booklet and keep it. Know where you stand and what you are covered for and what you are not. Insurance companies are not as bad as some think.
PeterM.

floyd_2 (Dean) · #9 07-01-2011, 09:05 PM

[begin rant]
I remember having a lightning strike that hit a tree next door to my house a few years back. It killed my printer and my scanner (and the tree). So....given that it was all covered by insurance, I decided to claim. That's where weeks of problems began for me.

They tried to replace my 8 colour A3 printer with a 3 colour A4 printer. It only took about 8 phone calls, and a couple of letters to get my printer replaced with an appropriate model.

They tried to replace my up market slide scanner with a $150 scanner. More phone calls to useless telephonists who didn't know a thing about computers trying to advise me that the $150 scanner was an appropriate replacement for my dead $1000 scanner.

It's a pretty sad state of affairs when you have to minute every phone call with your insurer to make sure that you can remind them of what is going on with your claim and to ensure that they don't lead you up the garden path without you even knowing.

I shudder to think what it would take to have home and contents replaced after a fire etc.

Boy, they ran me through the wringer. Fortunately I was like a dog with a bone and didn't let up. I finally had my gear replaced. However, you would think that if they were prepared to replace it appropriately all along, it would have been in the best interests of customer service to have done that on the first phone call.

[end rant]

Dean

leon · #10 07-01-2011, 09:09 PM

I have a story and it is true,

believe it or not.

This young woman thought she would weed and feed the front lawn, a very nice front lawn i might add.

Anyway she ran out of the usual weed and feed stuff that you can purchase at the nursery section of Bunnings and such.

She found some weed killer in the shed and mixed up a brew with some soluble lawn food, yep you guessed it she killed off the entire lawn.

To cut a long story short, she claimed the loss on her insurance and was granted the claim, $6000.00 for a new planted front lawn.

This is as true as I'm writing this post,

by which company, I really don't know.

Leon

Colin_Fraser · #11 07-01-2011, 11:17 PM

I've never had any trouble with my insurance company. They have paid out on each and every claim I have lodged without hesitation.
Is it worth the monthly installments? Of course not - until you are burgled or your house burns down.

floyd_2 (Dean) · #12 08-01-2011, 12:53 AM

Thanks for the tip Leon. Maybe I won't have to weed my lawn after all. I might just "water" it and then get a newie

blindman · #13 08-01-2011, 01:37 AM

If you are talking about Insurance companies you should mentioned NAME, otherwise it is just waisting everybody's time.
If Insurance company is good, recommend it to everybody, IF NOT tell everybody !!! RIGHT?
Do not be scared!
Clear skies Nev

cfranks (Charles) · #14 08-01-2011, 08:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Colin_Fraser

I've never had any trouble with my insurance company. They have paid out on each and every claim I have lodged without hesitation.
Is it worth the monthly installments? Of course not - until you are burgled or your house burns down.

I'm with Colin. I've only had 2 claims with my insurance company, Westpac Brokers, and they have paid with no problems. A shed roof was damaged in a hail storm and I told them the roof was old and would have had to be replaced in 5 years anyway so I offered to 'go halves' with them. The cheque came in the mail in less than a week. A burglary claim for nearly $10K had to be investigated but they paid very quickly.

Charles

Barrykgerdes · #15 08-01-2011, 08:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blindman

If you are talking about Insurance companies you should mentioned NAME, otherwise it is just waisting everybody's time.
If Insurance company is good, recommend it to everybody, IF NOT tell everybody !!! RIGHT?
Do not be scared!
Clear skies Nev

Just remember giving names with praise will go over OK but bad mouthing may bring you a Libel claim.

Not for this forum please

Barry

leon · #16 08-01-2011, 04:55 PM

Don't agree Nev, if we want to use a good insurance company than we do some research and find the best deal.

My insurance company may not suit the needs of your required cover, do your on work i reckon, and if it comes unstuck you can't have bad feelings toward the person that pointed you in that direction.

Leon