Insurance premium?

[Noy]

Hey guys today I got a phone call from RACV saying I have to pay my remanding premium, which is $1800. That was my first crash in 3yrs and this has been my first claim in those years

What I do not get why so much? what a sting.

I pay monthy the guy on the phone said thats why, and that I didnt pay it in full otherwise it would of been cheaper. What is this rubbish? and because the car is a write off. Though to me it still doesnt all come together right.

Just wanting to know where I stand, will fight for it if I have to. And $900 excess on top of that which is no problem because they told me that as soon as I made my claim.

Thanks for any help

[johnvtls1]

thats bull**** why would they offer u a monthly option and then ask u to pay the rest out. somthings not right man. When my old celica was stolen it was deemed a write off and i was paying by the month. That was with aami. Although my claim was only like $3500 but still i dont think u should have to pay.

[Not_An_Abba_Fan]

I take it that the $1800 is the difference between what you have paid and the remainder of the premium? You can't expect to get a full pay out unless your premium is fully paid up. When paying by installments it is usually more expensive. Most institutions that offer installments also offer a discount for lump sum payments.

[STEALTHY™]

My claim figure is about that.

$400 excess.
$400 inexperienced driver
$400 under 25yo
$400 something i can't remember, and don't have the policy handy.

[vy_storm]

Yup, I had the same a few years back after a write off. After being mightily ****ed off at first, I then read the policy booklet and found the fine print.

Some insurance companies offer no extra to pay by the month (shannons for example).

[Philthy]

Neither my driver rating or my premium was affected after my car was written off, with me at fault. I have no idea why, but I am not complaining.
Insurance is with NRMA

[matt'sVS]

I think what happens is that when your car is a write off, you policy becomes canceled (after you claim back the vale of your car) in which case you have to pay the excess and the amount for a new policy. At leas this is what I've heard...

[VrWagz1]

It sort makes sense, but it is still a real sting and a trap i wasnt aware of. Cause i spose you could take the money and run and they will never get their premium for that period paid up. But still i would contact fair trading just to be sure they are allowed to do that.

[Shounak]

They're allowed. Have a read of your insurance policy before calling anyone.

10 minutes of reading will set you straight.

[rch-13z]

I think it's like the RACV guy said, when you pay by the month and this happens you have to pay the premium in full before they will pay out.

sux i know, but standard procredure from what I have seen...

[Reaper]

Ok - insurance is generally sold in yearly packages. What that means is you buy 1 years worth of insurance that costs say $1200 and the company agree to let you pay it off at $100 per month. In effect you are getting 12 months interest free and the value of your car can be considered as collateral in the event of an accident.

When you write it off, most policies are cancelled and paid out. In order to pay out the policy I'd be very suprised if the insurance company don't insist it is fully paid for first. Usually this will be in the form of

"payout amount" - "outstanding premium" = "money to you".

Reaper

[ashbox]

I would have thought they'd just take out what you still owed off the payout
eg: car = 6000
Prem= 1200
if you've only paid 600 they'd take the 600 you still owe and add it to your excess in a way.
so if your excess is 800 they'd just take 1400 off 6000 and give you 4600 back.

thats pretty much what happened with my bros car when he wrote that off.

[wildss]

i asked racv this just the other day when i got a policy and they said its up to the assesor how he wants to handle the claim/payout when theres still money owed on the premium