coles insurance - surprisingly cheap

[sydks]

Just had my 2nd car insurance renewal with Coles insurance. When I joined the premium was guaranteed for 2 years (at a great rate) so was expecting a jump this time but was pleasantly surprised it was pretty much the same again (and cheaper than a new customer quote).

 

[blackcat20]

Any feedback from those who switched over to Coles insurance early in the piece would be appreciated.

Have you received your first renewal? How does that compare with original quote?

My first renewal was the same as my original quote, my second renewal was just a smidge higher I think.

 

[knasty]

Do people choose maximum excess on their policies, generally about 2 grand? I find with my car and home insurance the reduction in premium is about 1/3 of the increase in excess, so if I average fewer than 1 claim every 3 years it's beneficial to have a higher excess. Given no claims in 17 years on house or car I'm ahead in a big way, touch wood.

 

[serfty]

Any feedback from those who switched over to Coles insurance early in the piece would be appreciated.

Have you received your first renewal? How does that compare with original quote?

Last year $346, this year $309 ...

*That is for a fully comprehensive policy with $750 excess and further excess loadings for drivers under 25's etc ...

I never switched to Coles. The quote Coles gave me was more than double of an existing quote

Did you try the price beat gaurantee?

Coles Comprehensive Car Insurance price beat guarantee

 

[Buzzard]

Thanks serfty, to be honest I did not know there was a price beat.

To be honest the way I did my calculation might be questionable. A discount of 10% is deducted off our home & contents policy if we also have a car insured with the same company. So by insuring one car we save over $200 on our H & C policy.
I thought I better clarify.

 

[Jeffrey O'Neill]

In march I was doing some price compairsons betwen my coles renewal cost and other companies.

Just for interest sake I did a quote from coles and it was like 250-300 more expensive than my renewal notice. Not sure why the difference.

They were still the cheapest option I could find, even compared to wollworths.

If you're shopping for a family and have all your insurance with coles so getting an extra 3 points per $ spend then you could quite easily be earning 4000 points a month or $20 credit. Throw in tell coles survey each week for $5 credit and for not much effort you could be getting $40 a month of credit. Not a bad tax free deal.

 

[Deleted member]

Car and house insurance notwithstanding , their move to life insurance worries me! I suspect that if you really think about it, buying your life insurance from a super market is like getting legal advice from the Post Office. why would you risk getting it wrong? You get one chance , if it's wrong and you're dead, not much anyone can do about it.
Frankly there are things I wouldn't leave to chance, and quality ( legal, financial etc) advice Are those I put a high value on.
If you have a price point on everything, you will end up disappointed. ( well that's my experience over the last 30 years as an adviser) .
If it sounds too good to be true, it most likely is !
And no this is not a tout for business.

 

[JohnK]

I never switched to Coles. The quote Coles gave me was more than double of an existing quote :shock:

Coles was too expensive for me but I know they have made an impact in the market.

The expectation was that once Coles sent out renewals people would rush back to their previous insurer. Judging by some of these posts that is clearly not the case.

 

[serfty]

Car and house insurance notwithstanding , their move to life insurance worries me! I suspect that if you really think about it, buying your life insurance from a super market is like getting legal advice from the Post Office. why would you risk getting it wrong? You get one chance , if it's wrong and you're dead, not much anyone can do about it. ...

Coles is the 'front end' - wesfarmers is the underwriter ... is it much different from purchasing hotel accommodation through Qantas? ...

 

[JohnK]

Do people choose maximum excess on their policies, generally about 2 grand? I find with my car and home insurance the reduction in premium is about 1/3 of the increase in excess, so if I average fewer than 1 claim every 3 years it's beneficial to have a higher excess. Given no claims in 17 years on house or car I'm ahead in a big way, touch wood.

There is a point where the increase in excess does not have that much impact in the premium. That is the excess I choose.

 

[Moopere]

Car and house insurance notwithstanding , their move to life insurance worries me! I suspect that if you really think about it, buying your life insurance from a super market is like getting legal advice from the Post Office. why would you risk getting it wrong? You get one chance , if it's wrong and you're dead, not much anyone can do about it.

I understand the point you are making - but I doubt that Coles started their insurance product line by moving some mid level managers out of fresh produce into their new department. Almost certainly this is a professional team either assembled for the job or a once separate entity purchased and incorporated into the Coles behemoth.

Frankly there are things I wouldn't leave to chance, and quality ( legal, financial etc) advice Are those I put a high value on.
If you have a price point on everything, you will end up disappointed. ( well that's my experience over the last 30 years as an adviser) .
If it sounds too good to be true, it most likely is !

Unfortunately there are just as many anecdotal stories of customers paying high prices for a perception of quality and security only to find that the high pricing was simply profit padding ... the same guys/quality sit at the desk and do the _actual_ work. Not a dig a insurance specifically you understand, this appears to be true across the board.

These days I lean towards "if it cant be measured it likely doesn't exist" - so a company wanting to charge me extra better have some good reasoning prepared and 'feel good' statements without backing are not going to stack up either - "we're older and more stable, we are more professional, we'll be here when you need us" - all fine words, and maybe true, but I'd need to see the proof behind the feel good, and if there is none, well, its just hot air.

 

[woodborer]

Coles is the 'front end' - wesfarmers is the underwriter ... is it much different from purchasing hotel accommodation through Qantas? ...

Keeping in mind that the Wesfarmers insurance underwriting business has been bought by IAG, I would be making the most of the discounts while they are around. Expect that down the track the products will inherit the cost bases that comes with being an IAG company.....

 

[JohnK]

Car and house insurance notwithstanding , their move to life insurance worries me! I suspect that if you really think about it, buying your life insurance from a super market is like getting legal advice from the Post Office. why would you risk getting it wrong? You get one chance , if it's wrong and you're dead, not much anyone can do about it.

It would appear the race is on for insurance companies to offer every type of insurance possible. The thought process behind it is to become a one stop shop for all insurance. Health, car, life, house, travel etc. They won't be selling their own products but re branding someone else's product.

Personally I don't like it. If I want insurance I want to choose the best insurance possible for me. I don't care if I have to deal with multiple insurance companies.

 

[rainbowgirl]

In march I was doing some price compairsons betwen my coles renewal cost and other companies.

Just for interest sake I did a quote from coles and it was like 250-300 more expensive than my renewal notice. Not sure why the difference.

They were still the cheapest option I could find, even compared to wollworths.

If you're shopping for a family and have all your insurance with coles so getting an extra 3 points per $ spend then you could quite easily be earning 4000 points a month or $20 credit. Throw in tell coles survey each week for $5 credit and for not much effort you could be getting $40 a month of credit. Not a bad tax free deal.

Isn't there a cap with "extra points" of how many you can earn per month. Even if you qualify for 4000 points extra per month you might not get them if it exceeds the cap. I already do the tell coles survey. I don't have the insurance products. They might be cheap but I don't know if they have all the same quality of service that I want if I ever have to make a claim.

 

[Jeffrey O'Neill]

Isn't there a cap with "extra points" of how many you can earn per month. Even if you qualify for 4000 points extra per month you might not get them if it exceeds the cap. I already do the tell coles survey. I don't have the insurance products. They might be cheap but I don't know if they have all the same quality of service that I want if I ever have to make a claim.

the cap is 1000 points for each type of insurance, so if you spend 1000 at Coles for the month and have car home / contents and life insurance then you'd get the extra 3000 points each month.

From the flybuys website

#EXTRA POINTS are capped at 1,000 per month for each product, and other conditions and exclusions may apply. See the specific partner page for details.

 

[Deleted member]

It would appear the race is on for insurance companies to offer every type of insurance possible. The thought process behind it is to become a one stop shop for all insurance. Health, car, life, house, travel etc. They won't be selling their own products but re branding someone else's product.

Personally I don't like it. If I want insurance I want to choose the best insurance possible for me. I don't care if I have to deal with multiple insurance companies.

Not only that Johnk but like a lot of personalised vs off the shelf options, the taste of disappointment lingers long after the rush of excitement of a cheap price.
Act in haste , repent at leisure !

 

[rocket256]

Bought a 3rd party property policy from coles for $300. Its alright considering my ****box is worth only 2k. Its cheaper to write it off then buy a comprehensive policy at my age.

 

[Reveen]

Does anyone know the contact details to send a cancellation request for the life insurance policy?

 

[whatmeworry]

My renewal is due. They want $50 more this year. However I haven't renewed just yet. This week they informed me they would cut my premium to what I paid last year. Mmmm

 

[Moopere]

My renewal is due. They want $50 more this year. However I haven't renewed just yet. This week they informed me they would cut my premium to what I paid last year. Mmmm

You have to laugh at this game and the 'machine' that runs it.

I recently renewed my 'woolies' insurance. I think I might have posted the experience elsewhere on this forum. Saved about 100$ from memory by renewing via the web, entering the same details as presented to me on my renewal invitation letter - even called them about this and they agreed - yep, go in via the web is going to save you money on the same policy as your renewal.

Churn baby churn, they are even happy to churn _within_ their own business