Renewal Quotation: Lack of Transparency – I insured my Mazda 626. 2000 model with AAMI in 2009 for $650 then in 2010 for $750 without re-shopping on their renewal quote. Now in 2011 the renewal quotes $850.... Surely they must be barmy!!! The asset has depreciated from $11,000 to $8000 and the quotes increasing?. There has been no claims on the policy so shouldn’t I be a safe driver??? I did what any logical person would - I shopped for a better quote online and here's what I found:
Coles, Budget Direct and Bingle were the cheapest with the same set of options at $550 ish followed by AAMI at $650!!!! HA! What a laugh. And to add insult to injury, I believe one of the 3 cheaper options is underwritten by AAMI.
I am hesitant to trust the quality of service of the other providers so I’m gonna call AAMI and listen to their excuses... but even at $650 how does that justify insuring the depreciated car with market value far less that what it was in 2009 @$650?
I believe there should be transparency on the figures and tighter regulation. necessary evil, the lesser of the evils unjustified renewal quotes - not an opinion but factually proven
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Ok, I just called AAMI and explained what I did, which is.... went online & put up exactly the same information as the $850 quote but only change the address from 1 to 1A and got a quote for $730 ish but when I put in 1 it goes back to $850. note here that I haven't claimed in the 2 years i've been with aami and enjoy a platinum rating 1, names are never given so they don’t know who the driver is, 1a has a terrible driving history & has a recent high claim, I am 30+ with no claims ever, 1 & 1a share the same driveway parking ... Same low quote with the next house and the next..... and the next street :-)
The polite lady who answered immediately reiterated the script that is mentioned in another review elsewhere here, saying the system devises the quote based on the risk factor and you are in a high risk address! I explained what any ordinary person would conclude based on my research and the stats mentioned above but she stuck with the script, when i mentioned my research on product review and my unwillingness to continue with aami because of the fraudulent quote she was willing to renegotiate. Asked a couple of general questions regarding the vehicle usage and requoted at $715!!!
Now the conclusion.... I feel safer with aami with their round the clock service and close to home service centres. Even at $850 I could afford the quote so naturally I went with the re-negotiated quote of $715.... I didn’t want to risk it with budget direct/bingle/coles..... What I didn’t appreciate was being taken for an idiot with the cock n bull high risk excuse and marked-up original quote.
Does their malpractice qualify for a class action? Does this reinforce the long forgotten warning “buyers beware?” can the competition use this information to discredit aami? What does aami have to say in its defense? Its surprising what a little research can reveal – but most of us wouldn’t think twice and blindly enable a devious insurance company (s) to rob them blind! The smart buyer will renegotiate but with a majority they will still make a killing! Where else are we being treated like suckers? Electricity, mobile phone, cigarette taxes, supermarkets...?? Its a hot day in Melbourne and i’m getting carried away so I’d better stop now.... until my next review au revoir!