Huge insurance cost rise?

[stooge]

mine all went up in price this year but not 50%
everyone is cashing in on the corporate greed crisis and it really makes you wonder where will they decide to stop

 

[Dayvo]

Mine went down as I am retired and went with limited to 10,000 km a year .

 

[chrisp]

I attended a wind energy conference many many years ago (about 20 years ago?). One of the ‘side’ presenters was from the insurance industry and spoke about the longterm changes in insurance claims along the east coast of Australia. He didn’t go in to science at all, but just quoted insurance data. He said that the industry was seeing the prevalence of severe storm and weather events slowly move down the east coast of Australia. So, for example, cyclone damages were being claimed in areas further south than previously claimed.

The concern that the insurance industry had back then (remember this was 20 years ago) was that housing was built to withstand cyclones in the traditional cyclone areas, however the cyclone activity was moving towards areas that were not traditionally seen as cyclone prone, thus the housing wasn’t being built to cyclone standards. The speculation was that many houses built in areas just outside the traditional cyclone areas might end up being uninsurable in the future.

This presentation did plant the seed in my mind of the idea that it won’t be governments that will drive the world to adapt to climate change, but rather it might be the insurance industry. Once risks increase, they’ll effectively increase the premiums to cover that risk. Effectively some areas will become ‘uninsurable’ or the premiums will be prohibitively expensive and people will move to cheaper areas. The ‘free market’ at work you could say.

I can speculate that the automotive insurance industry has also been experiencing changes in their risk profiles too. Hail, bush fire, storm and floods claims have probably increased over time. The weather-damage claims are relatively few, but when they do happen they hit a large number of people and produce a large number of high value claims in the one area. The increase in car prices (particularly secondhand ones) would also have a significant impact on the cost of insurance.

It does make me wonder if the insurance industry is going through the risk profiles of their customers and being more specific with their policy costings? So, for example, if the frequency of hail damage, or floods/storms, or bushfires claims have increased in your area, then the premiums have been adjusted accordingly? Some insurers might hike the premiums across the board to compensate, and some others will target the premium increases to particular areas to discourage the renewal of policies (and reduce their risk of mass claims).

But to the OP, definitely shop around. There will probably be better offers out there. Also, ask your insurance company why your premium has gone up so much (i.e. is it the car or the area that you live in?).

 

[stooge]

I attended a wind energy conference many many years ago (about 20 years ago?). One of the ‘side’ presenters was from the insurance industry and spoke about the longterm changes in insurance claims along the east coast of Australia. He didn’t go in to science at all, but just quoted insurance data. He said that the industry was seeing the prevalence of severe storm and weather events slowly move down the east coast of Australia. So, for example, cyclone damages were being claimed in areas further south than previously claimed.

The concern that the insurance industry had back then (remember this was 20 years ago) was that housing was built to withstand cyclones in the traditional cyclone areas, however the cyclone activity was moving towards areas that were not traditionally seen as cyclone prone, thus the housing wasn’t being built to cyclone standards. The speculation was that many houses built in areas just outside the traditional cyclone areas might end up being uninsurable in the future.

This presentation did plant the seed in my mind of the idea that it won’t be governments that will drive the world to adapt to climate change, but rather it might be the insurance industry. Once risks increase, they’ll effectively increase the premiums to cover that risk. Effectively some areas will become ‘uninsurable’ or the premiums will be prohibitively expensive and people will move to cheaper areas. The ‘free market’ at work you could say.

I can speculate that the automotive insurance industry has also been experiencing changes in their risk profiles too. Hail, bush fire, storm and floods claims have probably increased over time. The weather-damage claims are relatively few, but when they do happen they hit a large number of people and produce a large number of high value claims in the one area. The increase in car prices (particularly secondhand ones) would also have a significant impact on the cost of insurance.

It does make me wonder if the insurance industry is going through the risk profiles of their customers and being more specific with their policy costings? So, for example, if the frequency of hail damage, or floods/storms, or bushfires claims have increased in your area, then the premiums have been adjusted accordingly? Some insurers might hike the premiums across the board to compensate, and some others will target the premium increases to particular areas to discourage the renewal of policies (and reduce their risk of mass claims).

But to the OP, definitely shop around. There will probably be better offers out there. Also, ask your insurance company why your premium has gone up so much (i.e. is it the car or the area that you live in?).

good points.
i know around my area they have been transitioning to building new houses with the same wind ratings they have up north in the tropical areas and i am 200km below perth.
you dont see too many tiled rooves going up, its all metal roofing with significant strapping of the roof to the walls, i had my tile roof removed and a metal roof installed and it all had to be strapped and built to a wind rating used in cyclone prone areas so they definitely know from the historical data that its moving lower and many older houses here are going to crumble because they are not built for it so in the near future its going to cost heaps in insurance claims.

 

[OldBomb]

Yes & no. On the Berlina, I was paying about $360/yr on $3,000. And that's with a safe driver rating. The Mazda is ensured for $12,000 (valued around $15,000) and the annual premium is $460/yr. Have to wait 12 months for any discount, I think.
A lot depends on the area it's parked, whether you drive during peak hour traffic to & from work, driving experience, age, number of previous claims & whether the car is kept in a garage.
P.s I'm with AAMI. From the little research I did, they're all the same. RAC want double what I was paying. Best to go with a new company that doesn't know your claim history. This is confidential information & cannot be disclosed to a 3rd party, unless of course you were convicted of fraud or other illegal activity.

 

[OldBomb]

It'll only get worse as morons move to places like Florida. Insurance companies spread the costs.
One of my pastimes is watching YouTube restoration videos of people buying flood damaged supercars (mostly out of Florida) for 1/10 the original price. Not too sure about the laws there, but here a salt water damaged car would be classified an unrepairable write-off.

 

[OldBomb]

Just be a bit careful when changing. A lot of companies, insurers, will offer a sweetheart deal to entice new customers, then hit you with increased premiums

 

[J_D 2.0]

mine all went up in price this year but not 50%
everyone is cashing in on the corporate greed crisis and it really makes you wonder where will they decide to stop

Well when the RBA spends all its time running cover for corporate price gouging while tut tutting about a nonexistent wage price spiral you can’t expect corporations to be too concerned about their price gouging.

 

[NJD-1992]

One of my pastimes is watching YouTube restoration videos of people buying flood damaged supercars for 1/10 the original price. Not too sure about the laws there, but here a salt water damaged car would be classified an unrepairable write-off.

I’m going to go on a limb and say you’re referring to Tavarish and his Mclaren P1?

Found one of the videos interesting about how there is a UK company focusing on the P1 Batteries, as many have started to fail

I quite enjoy watching those projects, and he is probably one of my favourite car YouTubers. Heck, if I could make a living making videos about restoring damaged Supercars, I’d be fine with that

 

[J_D 2.0]

you dont see too many tiled rooves going up

Tiled roofs are an abomination that should be banned. The hail storm that went through Springfield QLD a few years back destroyed many homes. All because the covenant of the estate forced tiled roofs on all houses!

If they would have all had tin roofs or at least people had the option to choose then the damages would have been far less.