Car insurance costs

Hello,

I've bought a new car in Queensland and I need to get some insurance other than the legal minimum that comes with the car. The dealership has quoted me through their recommended company a rate of $660 for the year. As a Canadian I think this is amazingly cheap, but perhaps it's a rip off here? I have no clue.

Any thoughts?

I rang around a few places when I last renewed and tried the on-line ones like youi. Youi and another I tried were hopeless and just had a girl asking questions from a prepared checklist then gave me a quote on the phone.

I got the best service and price from RAC and for a little extra their roadside service. Never had to use it but my son has and he got a free ride with his car when he broke down in Perth rush hour. It's a peace of mind thing.

Youi rang me back about a week later and when I told them I'd gone somewhere else they could suddenly give me a cheaper quote. Too late then though.

Do an RACQ quote on line. We use them and they are reasonable prices.

Cal x

Thanks.. I just did comparethemarket.com.au and it came up with $609 as the cheapest with Budget Direct. RACQ was not one of the companies listed.

They do drop prices if you have a couple of cars, roadside assistance or things that need insuring, a bit like a 'bundle', if you have no claims than is accepted that reduces costs down too.

I learnt the hard way that sometimes dirt cheap policies can be a hassle when paying out if you need to claim, which is the last thing you need. I used Suncorp for a few years and they were more expensive but fantastic dealing with a claim we had to make after a bad storm and paid us out within days but every year after the Brisbane floods their prices rocketed hence we swapped to Racq who were much cheaper.

Cal x

Just an FYI, RACQ was more expensive than even the quote the car dealership gave me!

We use the Aus post for ours these days. We took out the policy with them when we arrived and each year when its come up for renewal its jumped a heap and I've gotten cheaper quotes elsewhere and then phoned our insurers and said we've been quoted X and you are asking for Y, can you come down in price to meet the other quote. And lo, they amazingly are able to knock $180 or so off their quote and its down to under $400. This is also with the reduction for paying in a lump sum up front instead of monthly instalments.

Our car insurance was with Aus Post as well. They were the cheapest when I was looking a couple of years ago and last year they were almost the cheapest and my OH managed to get a bit extra taken off the premium by calling them and threatening to leave. This year the renewal quote was cheaper than other quotes I got online but Coles were doing an offer where they bettered the renewal quote by $50. Plus I get extra flybuys points all year for having Coles insurance so I went with them this year.

Have found NRMA to be great since we came here

What happens if I buy a policy based on an address in a higher risk/higher cost area for which I pay for the year. If I move to a cheaper area, do they refund the difference?

Hello,

 

I've bought a new car in Queensland and I need to get some insurance other than the legal minimum that comes with the car. The dealership has quoted me through their recommended company a rate of $660 for the year. As a Canadian I think this is amazingly cheap, but perhaps it's a rip off here? I have no clue.

 

Any thoughts?

As Brit, now living in Melbourne, now moving to Ontario and still paying more than that in Australia. I think that is cheap!

What car did you get by the way?

I am shocked at the prices in Ontario, nearly 3 to 4 times what I pay here and that is not for a new car.

What happens if I buy a policy based on an address in a higher risk/higher cost area for which I pay for the year. If I move to a cheaper area, do they refund the difference?

You can always ask, they may do or hold you to the original price, which is probably more than likely.

Remember to check out what is covered in the policies, cheap does not always mean better. But I suspect less accidents here than parts of Canada!

Drivers in Australia, while i think slightly better than Ontario are still poor compared to the UK. Tailgaters, the amount of times I have been cut up, people overtaking on the left(which would be the right for you), pedestrians that just walk out and do not even look(reading about Toronto they would be run over, not here)

As a side note, please take note of the speed limits here a 100km does (usually) mean 100k, where as talking to my colleagues in Canada a lot more leeway. The amount of times on the freeway both lanes just sit at 100km. So different from the UK where you can go over a bit and not be stopped and people do not hog the fast lane at the legal speed.

What happens if I buy a policy based on an address in a higher risk/higher cost area for which I pay for the year. If I move to a cheaper area, do they refund the difference?

We got a refund on our insurance when we moved house. I think it may have been the home contents rather than the car insurance, although it may have been both (I can't remember). It probably depends a bit on the insurer and how much the difference is.

Evets: The car I got is a Kia Sportage. I paid cash so there's no financing on it.

As for the differences between here and Ontario. The biggest thing I've noticed how slow people drive here. With a limit of 110 most people are going closer to 100. In Ontario with a limit of 100 most are going 120. Overtaking on the inside is a huge "problem", but it's unavoidable because people just stay in one lane. I do it regularly because I don't have a choice. I've even done it to a cop. I don't think it's actually illegal in Ontario though. Otherwise I've found the driving standards here to be generally similar to there. I'm really loving roundabouts. You'll miss those!

One thing I have to strongly disagree with though is what you said about pedestrians. There they almost always have the right of way, even when they don't. There is almost no regard to the cars around them and they do whatever the hell they want. Keep your eyes peeled because you'll be at fault even when they were in the wrong. It's very refreshing when I'm in the UK to see pedestrians respecting the traffic around them.

Evets: The car I got is a Kia Sportage. I paid cash so there's no financing on it.

 

As for the differences between here and Ontario. The biggest thing I've noticed how slow people drive here. With a limit of 110 most people are going closer to 100. In Ontario with a limit of 100 most are going 120. Overtaking on the inside is a huge "problem", but it's unavoidable because people just stay in one lane. I do it regularly because I don't have a choice. I've even done it to a cop. I don't think it's actually illegal in Ontario though. Otherwise I've found the driving standards here to be generally similar to there. I'm really loving roundabouts. You'll miss those!

 

One thing I have to strongly disagree with though is what you said about pedestrians. There they almost always have the right of way, even when they don't. There is almost no regard to the cars around them and they do whatever the hell they want. Keep your eyes peeled because you'll be at fault even when they were in the wrong. It's very refreshing when I'm in the UK to see pedestrians respecting the traffic around them.

Thank you for the advice and comments above driving, really appreciated. Reminds me a lot of the UK, 70mph on the motorway but most people driving around 80/90 mph quite easily.

One thing about the speed limits in Australia, they are enforced quite strictly, probably why you notice that.

Agreed about the UK, the amount of times here I wave to a car that has slowed down on the main road turning into a side road and they are a little confused and hang there waiting for me to cross and I keep waving them to go. Still find it odd coming from the UK.

Not many roundabouts in Melbourne that I have come across, Melbourne is a mostly a grid system like NA with the a few dotted around.

Thanks for all the tips. I went with NRMA as recommended by Skippy1. Out of all the places I got quotes, this by far has the best reviews. I went with the super deluxe package they offered.. it was around $640 which is about what 4 months of a more basic plan would cost me in Canada. So easy to do too. I did in a 5 minutes on my phone.