all about insurance

Found a good price to insure your FTO? Or looking for insurance for your ride? This is the section to look in.

Moderators: IMC, Club Staff

Post Reply
User avatar
BorepYano
Forum Moderator
Posts: 4609
jedwabna poszewka promocja
Joined: Sat Aug 12, 2006 5:00 pm
Location: Brisbane

all about insurance

Post by BorepYano »

since we all seem to get into accidents, i figured i might as well write up a few things that come to mind, to clear up.
I know it's kinda long, but it's still better than reading through 60+ pages of PDSs. everything is set out in clear sections so it should be pretty easy to find what you need without having to read the whole thing... with that said i still would suggest you reading the whole thing.


Some terms to get used to:

Insured (insd) - the car that's listed on your insurance policy.
Third Party (TP) - the other car/person involved.
excess (xs) - what you have to contribute (pay) towards each claim.
Premiums - what you pay each year for your policy
Rating - this only applies to full comprehensive policies. your rating range from 7 to 1. lower the number the less you pay. (i'll explain this in more detail below.)

different policies:

Full Comprehensive - it covers dmgs to your car, whether you are deemed at fault or not.

Third Party Property Damage - it covers the dmg you cause to other ppl's cars and property (i.e. houses etc) when you are deemed at fault, but not dmg to your car no matter how caused.

Third Party Fire and Theft - it's exactly the same as Third Party Property Damage, but it also covers you for theft of your car (including dmg caused by attempted theft or dmg caused by the thieves while they have your car), as well as dmg caused by fire - fire means must have naked flame, does not include over heating etc.

Compulsory Third Party (CTP) - part of your rego, every registered car on the rd has it, it covers for personal injuries caused by that car to anyone except the driver (with the exception of some insurance companies now, which will cover the driver as well)

* with most Third Party Property Damage (and Third Party Fire and Theft) there will be an "Uninsured Motorist Extension", this will cover dmg caused to your car if you are not deemed at fault for an accident - only if the third party is known (i.e. if it's dmged while parked then tough titties), and they are deemed wholly at fault for the accident, and they are not insured (this means they don't have any property dmg insurance at all, so if their insurance company decides not to pay it because the driver was drunk as a skank, this cover will not apply). Generally speaking the at fault third party will end up paying for it eventually through SPER. keep in mind there's normally a very low limit they set for this (i.e. RACQ - upto market value or $5000, JustCar - upto market value or $3000)


Rating: (also referred to as No Claim Discount)

this only applies to full comp policies. your rating normally range from 7 to 1.

rating 7 - 0% discount, in fact they will actually charge your more than 100%, this normally means you have been very naughty (with your claim and/or traffic and/or criminal history) you should just be grateful that the insurance company is even answering you calls. It is at the discretion of the insurance company if they offer your this or not insure you at all, and what (if any) conditions to apply on your policy (normally means adding a huge xs)
rating 6 - 0% discount
rating 5 - 20% discount
rating 4 - 30% discount
rating 3 - 40% discount
rating 2 - 50% discount
rating 1 - 60% discount
rating 1 for life - you can guess right? just have to point out that if you make a crap load of claims, your insurance company probably won't take the rating 1 from you, but they will add a huge non removable or listed driver xs.

unless you have rating 1 for life. each at fault claim (inc dmg while parked when you dont have TP details, since you can't prove it) will effect your rating, generally dropping... ermm.. raising it (well the rating number goes up and your discount goes down) by 1. so storm claims and hitting an animal will not effect your rating. hitting anything (when there is TP but they are not at fault) will effect it.

Different excesses:

Standard - this always applies to any claim.
Non Removable - this is sometime added to a car because it might be a higher risk car, and/or because it's an expensive car to fix, this will also apply to any claim.
Age - if you are a listed driver and under 25, you get hit with this, different $$ amounts for each age bracket and sometimes also for different sex as well.
Unlisted Driver - if the driver is under 25 and not listed on the policy, the age xs doubles.
Inexperienced Driver - with some companies, if the driver is over 25 but have not been licensed to drive in Australia for more than 2 yrs this will apply.
Listed Driver - there may also be an extra xs for a listed driver, this is normally because you have been naughty with your claim/traffic/criminal history.
Fire/Theft xs - with "third party fire and theft" policies, there may be an extra xs for fire/theft


When and what excesses apply:


With the excesses, it is all added up.

your standard and non removable will always apply for any claim.

When age/unlisted driver/inexperienced driver/listed driver excesses apply - If it is deemed that the driver was in control of the car/situation (i.e. you can't control if it hails or a tree get blown over and lands on your car, but you if you loose traction or couldn't see in a hail storm and drove into bessy the 3 legged cow it's deemed as you are in control, you can't blame it on the storm either since you chose to drive in the first place anyway), you can only get hit for one of either the age, unlisted driver or inexperienced driver xs, but if you have a listed driver xs as well it will be added ontop if that driver was the one driving.

When your excess is waived

When you are not al fault and your insurance company can make full recovery off the TP, your xs can be waived.


What to do when you have an accident:

call the cops if there is more than $2000 worth of dmg, or if the other people involved are being agro or not providing you with the details you need. or if you think there might be a problem with proving who's at fault later on.

if there is a TP, grab their details.
the essentials: Full name, Physical Address (Not a PO box), Rego, Make and model. (if it's a company car, then the company's name, and physical address)
what else helps: phone number, who they are insured with, license number.

if possible/avalible also grab the name and contact details of any witnesses, in case there is a dispute over liability (who's at fault), this helps. it's preferred that the witness was not in any of the vehicles involved and not related or friends with anyone involved, for obvious reasons.

call your insurance company to lodge the claim as soon as it is safe to do so/possdible.

if you are not 110% sure that your car is drivable, then get it towed, your insurance company can organise this. because insurance will not cover for any dmg caused by driving the car after an accident, and also you could get fined and defected by the cops.

What you should have to lodge the claim

your policy number or your rego number.
when and where it happened.
the drivers license details (normally drivers license #, expiry date, type + class, where it was issued etc).
any TP and/or witness details.
if you had to have your car towed, where it's going, who towed it etc.


How the paper trail works:

there's 4 ways of settling liability -
all your fault - you pay your xs, your insurance company pays for the third party's whatever. and if you have full comp they will pay for your car obviously.
all TP's fault - TP or their insurance company will pay for your car. and you should have your xs waived (or refunded if you have paid it already).
Each bare own - if both parties are at fault or this is the only way to solve the sh*t fight regarding who's at fault, you and TP both have to take care of your own dmgs. so you have to pay your xs etc.
no one's really at fault - i.e. weather claims, hitting a roo on the road etc. you still have to pay your standard and non-removable xs (not no driver xs).

when settling a claim there's 2 ways -
if your car is deemed repairable - it will be repaired and any applicable xs not waived will be payable.
if your car is deemed as uneconomical to repair - you should be paid out the market/agreed value with any applicable xs that has not been waived. and depending on the company, some will charge you for the whole yr of premiums (if you pay by the month, the will take the remaining however months' worth of premiums out of the final pay out. and most companies will keep the adjustment of the rego etc.

when determining liability, it is always always ALWAYS what you can prove! actually that can be said about anything to do with insurance. it is always what can be proven that counts, in fact it's whatever that can hold up in a court of law that counts.

Exactly what part of your car is covered
everything that is factory standard for that model of your car (not including any factory options etc), and whatever is listed on your certificate of insurance (the pretty bit of paper your insurer sends you once a year)



and here's my disclaimer:
No sensitive (industry or otherwise) information have been disclosed, all information provided in the above article have been compiled from widely available sources such as but not limited to Product Disclosure Statements, general information provided from varies insurance company websites and certificate of insurances. the above article is intended to be advise only, please consult your insurance company and PDS regarding any of your insurance queries. I have taken every care to insure the information provided are current and correct but I take no responsibility for any event whatsoever resulting from the use or misuse of this information.

Edit: fixed formatting error, a couple of typos, and realised I made a mistake regarding claims involving hitting an animal, all fixed now.
Last edited by BorepYano on Tue May 11, 2010 5:26 am, edited 1 time in total.
kiz wrote:
silverGPX wrote:This requires a thread? lol
There's potential for a thread about anything on FTO Australia
User avatar
BorepYano
Forum Moderator
Posts: 4609
Joined: Sat Aug 12, 2006 5:00 pm
Location: Brisbane

Post by BorepYano »

well there goes my sunday arvo, hope it helps.
and can i get someone to sticky this please.


if i've missed anything or anyone have any questions, dont be shy, shoot me a PM :)
kiz wrote:
silverGPX wrote:This requires a thread? lol
There's potential for a thread about anything on FTO Australia
User avatar
I8A4RE
QLD Coordinator
Posts: 9594
Joined: Mon Aug 28, 2006 5:00 pm
Location: BOOSTIN in front of you
Contact:

Post by I8A4RE »

BorepYano wrote:well there goes my sunday arvo, hope it helps.
and can i get someone to sticky this please.


if i've missed anything or anyone have any questions, dont be shy, shoot me a PM :)
Well done, ;) i stickied it for you
CHRISTIANITY: The belief that a cosmic Jewish Zombie who was his own father can make you live forever if you symbolically eat his flesh and telepathically tell him you accept him as your master, so he can remove an evil force from your soul that is present in humanity because a rib-woman was convinced by a talking snake to eat from a magical tree...
User avatar
BorepYano
Forum Moderator
Posts: 4609
Joined: Sat Aug 12, 2006 5:00 pm
Location: Brisbane

Post by BorepYano »

I8A4RE wrote:
BorepYano wrote:well there goes my sunday arvo, hope it helps.
and can i get someone to sticky this please.


if i've missed anything or anyone have any questions, dont be shy, shoot me a PM :)
Well done, ;) i stickied it for you
thanks mate, you can sticky anything for me whenever you like lol :oops: ;) :lol:
kiz wrote:
silverGPX wrote:This requires a thread? lol
There's potential for a thread about anything on FTO Australia
User avatar
KJ_bob
Mechanic
Posts: 445
Joined: Wed Jun 04, 2008 5:00 pm

Post by KJ_bob »

fantastic thread, well done :thumright:
User avatar
BorepYano
Forum Moderator
Posts: 4609
Joined: Sat Aug 12, 2006 5:00 pm
Location: Brisbane

Re: all about insurance

Post by BorepYano »

adding this, since I realised I never outlined what happened if you are not comprehensively insured and involved in an accident.

If you are involved in "not at fault incident" - i.e. someone hit you in the rear, someone reversed into you while you were going fwd or not moving. etc
1. if you have the other driver's phone number, give them a call, explain to them that they need to lodge a claim on their insurance for the dmg done to your car.
if they have full comp then this one claim will cover your dmgs and theirs - they have to pay their excess.
if they have 3rd party property then this claim will only cover your dmgs - they still have to pay their excess.

when they are lodging the claim with their insurance company, they will be asked to provide your details. and normally the insurance company will contact you or ask the other party to contact you with instructions and most importantly - their claim number.

Once you have the claim number, call their insurance company up and say "i'm the not at fault third party in an accident involving one of your insureds, I have a claim number",
they'll say "what is the claim number",
you read it to them,
then they'll let you know what you have to do, depending on the insurance company, they'll either ask you to get a quote and fwd it to them and/or ask you to attend an assessment. if you car is not drivable (this includes not legal to or you don't feel safe to), tell their insurance company at this time, and they'll most likely organise for your car to be towed to a repairers or their closest assessment center.

if you can nicely convince them to lodge a claim through their insurance company, this would be the easiest way of doing it.

2. if you can not contact the other driver by phone or in person, but you know who they are insured with, call that company and ask them to perform a "3rd party search" for your details (name, rego etc. whatever details you would've given to the other driver).
if they give you the privacy act spill then tell them that since you are not asking them for any of their customers' information, you are asking them to look you up, they can do it. if on the off chance you get a peon that still doesn't do it then nicely ask to speak to their supervisor (or ask them to check with their supervisor).

If your details show up then it means they can give you the claim number and inform if there is a dispute in liability, and what you have to do next.
If your details don't show up then it means the other driver hasn't lodged a claim (or there's an off chance that they are dyslexic and gave their insurance company the wrong details) - goto step 3.


3. If you can not contact the other driver by phone or in person, and you don't know who they are insured with, then you'll need to get a couple of quotes (the other driver can ask for upto 3) and write a letter of demand, and send it to the other driver.
If you don't have their address, you can go to the transport department and request a rego search, it'll cost you a few $s and they'll ask you for a stat dec saying you'll only use the information for insurance purposes and not harass the driver. (best to call them first to find out exactly what you'll need to do, saves you running back and forth to them) Whatever all this costs can be recouped as part of the settlement.
I'm sure there are templates on the internet for a letter of demand, if you can't be bothered to google it yourself, here's one that I didn't prepare earlier: http://www.aami.com.au/resources/pdf/sa ... demand.pdf

Try to encourage them to lodge a claim with their insurance company, as contrary to popular believe it's normally easier to deal with an insurance company, then a person that doesn't know much about cars.
If you get no response in a couple of weeks, you probably should send a 2nd one (just in case Aust Post ate it), if there's still no response a while after the 2nd one, you can proceed with small claims, but let's hope that it doesn't come to that.


4. If you find out the other driver does not have insurance.
Depending on the insurance company you are with, but most of the companies (as far as i'm aware) will have a "uninsured 3rd party extension" (or something similar sounding) "additional benefit" on their 3rd party property policies (this is the policy that you have).
This basically means, that your insurance company will cover you upto an (normally a pretty low) amount. provided that all these criterias are fulfilled: you know who the 3rd party is (and they can contact them), 3rd party is 100% at fault, and the 3rd party was not insured at the time of the accident.
I'm pretty hazy about this now, but you might still have to pay your excess in this case.

Or if your insurance doesn't have that then... tough titties to the other driver, they own you the money, if they won't pay.. small claims.


*in any of the above mentioned steps, you are allowed to pay up front to have your car fixed if the time taken to process has been unreasonable (especially if it's going to cause more dmg or if your car is undrivable), and be reimbursed. but make sure you are not being ripped off though (i.e. if it's a $500 fix, but your panel beater quoted $2000, and you just said to go ahead with it because you don't care since you'll get the money back anyway... once that's found out, then you'll only be reimbursed the $500 not the $2k)
*be aware that in any case, there's a small chance you might not get paid for this. i.e. you win small claims, they are given a court order, but no one can physically force them to hand you the money.
*remember that no one is happy when they receive a letter asking for money (should've seen the tantrum I chucked with I saw my rates lol), so keep that in mind when you write up the letter of demand. (read it back and if it can be taken offensively, then change it)
*the easiest way to solve these problems normally is transparency and understanding. So always be nice when you contact anyone, especially the other driver.

If you are involved in an "at fault accident" - i.e you hit someone from behind, you reversed into someone, you opened your door into someone's car (even if they drive into it, it counts)

If you dont have 3rd party property dmg insurance - too bad, cough up, and tough titties about your car. or leave the country.
If you do have 3rd part property dmg insurance - if it's going to cost more than your excess to fix the other person's car, lodge a claim and cough up the excess, tough titties about your car. or leave the country.

oh and general disclaimer crap: As far as i'm aware the information I provided is correct and current, but I take no responsibilities for ... well quite frankly, anything.
kiz wrote:
silverGPX wrote:This requires a thread? lol
There's potential for a thread about anything on FTO Australia
User avatar
Fto_Jason
Grease Monkey
Posts: 209
Joined: Tue Oct 06, 2009 5:00 pm
Location: Brissie

Re: all about insurance

Post by Fto_Jason »

Copy Paste. I wrote that on facebook ages ago, theif
User avatar
BorepYano
Forum Moderator
Posts: 4609
Joined: Sat Aug 12, 2006 5:00 pm
Location: Brisbane

Re: all about insurance

Post by BorepYano »

Fto_Jason wrote:Copy Paste. I wrote that on facebook ages ago, theif
??
kiz wrote:
silverGPX wrote:This requires a thread? lol
There's potential for a thread about anything on FTO Australia
User avatar
Fto_Jason
Grease Monkey
Posts: 209
Joined: Tue Oct 06, 2009 5:00 pm
Location: Brissie

Re: all about insurance

Post by Fto_Jason »

Yeh thats right.. You know you stole all that info off me.. -.-
User avatar
BorepYano
Forum Moderator
Posts: 4609
Joined: Sat Aug 12, 2006 5:00 pm
Location: Brisbane

Re: all about insurance

Post by BorepYano »

prove it :P
kiz wrote:
silverGPX wrote:This requires a thread? lol
There's potential for a thread about anything on FTO Australia
User avatar
FTOATH
Grease Monkey
Posts: 183
Joined: Tue Jul 19, 2011 4:30 pm
Location: Nowra, NSW

Re: all about insurance

Post by FTOATH »

Hey Im From Nowra, NSW. Say if i had a fiberglass bonnet and body kit and Road my car off and injured someone. Would that mean i am in deep sh*t off my insurance agency and cops even if i have full comprehensive insurance? If i have any defects and i crash my car would that possibly put me at fault even if i wasn't at fault?
User avatar
Bennoz
National President
Posts: 23668
Joined: Fri Jan 21, 2005 6:00 pm
Location: Sydney
Contact:

Re: all about insurance

Post by Bennoz »

Wont put you at fault, but it will void your cover...

Any modification from stock will void your cover unless proved otherwise (ie engineer approved to ADR specs.) They especially hate bonnets, they have a tendancy to be rather weak around the mounting points, snap off during a head on & frisbee across the road & behead a pedestrian.

The most common one is after market wheels that are over 1 inch in total diametre larger than the factory tyre/rim combo. I've seen claims rejected on that one all to often.
User avatar
FTOATH
Grease Monkey
Posts: 183
Joined: Tue Jul 19, 2011 4:30 pm
Location: Nowra, NSW

Re: all about insurance

Post by FTOATH »

I think I may keep her stock for awhile. That was helpful. Thankyou.
User avatar
sublime19
Sooty!
Posts: 5036
Joined: Sun Feb 12, 2006 6:00 pm
Location: Sydney

Re: all about insurance

Post by sublime19 »

Bennoz wrote:Wont put you at fault, but it will void your cover...

Any modification from stock will void your cover unless proved otherwise (ie engineer approved to ADR specs.) They especially hate bonnets, they have a tendancy to be rather weak around the mounting points, snap off during a head on & frisbee across the road & behead a pedestrian.

The most common one is after market wheels that are over 1 inch in total diametre larger than the factory tyre/rim combo. I've seen claims rejected on that one all to often.
LOL

Modified and signatured :lol:
I have to work - People on the dole depend on me.
Bennoz wrote:Meet Subby. The class leader & originator of post whoring... Although most of Subbys posts have 'content' :lol:
Bennoz wrote:They especially hate bonnets, they frisbee across the road & behead a pedestrian.
User avatar
Bennoz
National President
Posts: 23668
Joined: Fri Jan 21, 2005 6:00 pm
Location: Sydney
Contact:

Re: all about insurance

Post by Bennoz »

Troll much? :lol:

At least get creative with pedestrians.. ie change it to 'cripples & poofs' :lol:
User avatar
sublime19
Sooty!
Posts: 5036
Joined: Sun Feb 12, 2006 6:00 pm
Location: Sydney

Re: all about insurance

Post by sublime19 »

Bennoz wrote:Troll much? :lol:

At least get creative with pedestrians.. ie change it to 'cripples & poofs' :lol:
lol, if I changed the actual words then it'd no longer be a quote; might as well start making up complete random quotes:
Schumiefan wrote: Today, I dropped the soap. I now have 2 holes to sh*t from.
Actually... :hmm:
I have to work - People on the dole depend on me.
Bennoz wrote:Meet Subby. The class leader & originator of post whoring... Although most of Subbys posts have 'content' :lol:
Bennoz wrote:They especially hate bonnets, they frisbee across the road & behead a pedestrian.
User avatar
Bennoz
National President
Posts: 23668
Joined: Fri Jan 21, 2005 6:00 pm
Location: Sydney
Contact:

Re: all about insurance

Post by Bennoz »

sublime19 wrote:
Schumiefan wrote: Today, I dropped the soap. I now have 2 holes to sh*t from.
Actually... :hmm:
:cheeky:
Post Reply