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- Never
Car damaged in April and still wasnt properly repaired by October. Was repaired over 120 kilometres from home. Car had to be sent away twice. Both times towing was involved. The car is drivable but some covers underneath are still damaged. I have 3 insurance policies with Apia. I have changed to Aami. More expensive. However the car will be repaired on my home town. Show details
Not only a total waste of money but they actually block access to your vehicle so you cant get real help to fix it and its only been two months with zero contact and more money demands. They dont allow any independant oversight. Better off spending your money on repairs yourself and not having car insurance. Show details
Follow-up · Well the tradies they make you use told the police and me that Apia are running a car wrecking scam where the photo of your vehice goes to Rays on Line as soon as you pay the excess and they makw you wait months and months in my case 5 months with the rego due, then they offer you 20% of the cars insured value and thats exactly what they did to me.
Had to unfortunately deal with this company for my sister deceased account. No care or consideration for a grieving family. Just wanted their $17. Made it incredibly complicated to cancel insurance, even though it was just a month to month plan. You are just a number to them. Personally I’d Avoid. Show details
Reviews with attachments
I hit a gutter and my front bumper came loose and was hitting the tyre APIA advised I had to wait 8 weeks to see their preferred repairer . As a short term measure I taped the bumper up so I could drive it to an assessor I rang APIA . I spoke to a pleasant man in another continent ! I had to spell GOLD COAST as he had never heard of it . He… Read more
advised that he could again check the closest insurer but that was done 2 days ago If he checked the booking I had would be cancelled . So I had a car that would take 8 weeks to get assessed and then weeks to get a new bumper . Do not use APIA ! Finally they wanted me to pay the $1000 excess now !!! This seems to be a rort asking upfront so they can earn interest while I have no car to drive for month
I had an accident with APIA customer (not my fault), so APIA was responsible to pay for the damage. I went to a panel beater to get the estimate of the repair cost and sent it immediately to APIA. It took them around 2 months to have their evaluator to review it. In the meantime, I drove my car, which was in drivable condition but I couldn't open… Read more
the boot (smashed rear side). I also did the regular service and paid for it around $400 because I believed that my car would be repaired. In the end, the evaluator decided to write my car off and asked me what I think that my car is worth. I had absolutely no idea and mentioned what I just believed it would cost me to buy a similar car. He then accepted it and send me the email with confirmation (amazingly, very quickly). However, when I started to look at advetisements for the cars, I realised that the car of a similar age, condition and mileage would cost me around 60-80% more. I called him again to complain about that decision and I also sent him the evaluation from the Carsales website. He then increased his estimate to the lower threshold of the value. This actually looked like the attempted theft, or con. I finally bought a similar car, which costed me around $1,000 more than what I got from APIA. I also had to pay for the basic mechanical checkup and the ownership transfer (around $400 all together). I sent those invoices to APIA asking for the reimbursement because those cost wouldn't occur if they repaired my car. They just ignored it for whole week. I sent the same documents again and another 10 days they kept ignoring me. Then finally, I called their service and after lots of waiting (as you would expect, wouldn't you?) they told me that it was not their policy to reimburse me for anything but the estimated price. I am not sure that they would treat me any different if I am APIA customer, but I certainly will never ever become one.
BE AWARE & BE WARNED – Tried phoning. Pressed all correct buttons. Got through and APIA cut me off. This happened a few times so left written complaint on APIA (also APIA is Suncorp and Ammi) complaint line. So not waiting half an hour to an hour again going through all the steps. Here's the problem. The smash repair place, been very problematic. One thing after… Read more
another. Getting bumper bar on finally, and it's not fitting at all. 'puckered' and big 'pinch' in TWO places, can see hole. And if you press, on the bumper bar with one hand, it folds inwards. It bends inwards Is this going to fall off? I ask myself. Going big trip 10 days, need this situation addressed asap. I prefer another smash repairer, because of other incidents (even before I got the bumper bar on). Here is one photograph. Remember there is another picture, exactly just like it, on the other side. So there are two pinched bumper bar crisis. This smash repairer is upset, that he has to re purchase another bumper bar. They say it's the car manufacturers fault! That the bumper bar doesn't fit!. I have spoken to two independent seperate smash repairers who said they have never had a problem fitting a MG bumper bar ever. The car is new, only eighteen months old. I've taken car to two independent qualified smash repairers for validation. They say 'very unprofessional job', 'even obviously scratched the new paint, where bumper bar fitted, 'not a professional job...' What about me? I live over 120klm round trip. Already brought car in twice. Once to get colour paint from car. Smash repairer wanted car for three days to fit bumper bar. Says it's the car manufacturers fault, that this bumper bar doesn't fit. Here's one photo. Remember there is another just the same on the other side of the bumper bar. If two independent smash repairers say the job is not satisfactory, why can't I get my car bumper bar, replaced, in a like new condition, by a professional qualified smash repairers?, without my complications whatsoever. And have the full satisfaction of having my car back in prestige like new condition. Without being forced to beg for help. Remember look at the photo. There is ANOTHER exact 'puckered' and 'pinched' effect on bumper bars other side. Please help me APIA, with re assigning me to another smash repairer asap. I have lost all faith, in this poor workmanship, of a very bad deal dished out to me. In no fault of mine at all. Photos say it all.
Try making a claim – NEVER DEAL WITH APIA, they will take your money, for 15 years had a policy and finally made 1st claim, to book car in for assessment which has to go to their supplier, if their supplier is busy as in my case, 8 weeks before the assessment, they finally assess as a write of paying 6300 market value for a car I paid 30k for, as 15 years had passed.… Read more
told it would be 3 to 5 days, 10 days has passed, re contact them, nearly 1 hpur on phone and some overseas call centre answers but its a bad line, so he just hangs up, I start again, I go into chat online, they say that department is closed, re opens mon-fri 8amtill 8pm, I tell her its 3pm friday and so why is it closed, she said they dont have a clue why, and suggest i call back in a few days, i call them again and wait 40 minutes only to be told , you are in the wrong department call 1300 556 125 the total loss team, i am now in the queue to wait to speak to them with an estimated 30 minute hold, wow that is service, a 2 second question, when will the policy be paid, what should have taken 5 minutes maximum still isn't resolved after 3 hours, what a terrible service, wouldn't recommend them to my worst enemy.
Worst service ever – Called them up to sort out a car crash with one of their customers and get my car fixed. They put me on hold for 3hrs after they I told them their customer lied about a car crash and that he is in the fault, and I want my car fixed. Show details
Latest follow-ups
Huge negative cultural shift – I have been with APIA for years and always found them great to deal with - UNTIL NOW! There has been a complete change recently. It's all online processing (none-of-which functions properly!) and so you are forced on to their customer service line… Read more
for resolution. This USED to be super-efficient with all-Australian Customer service people! Now it's all off-shore and with call wait times and resultant frustration just through the roof!! APIA have gone "from Hero to Zero" in an instant!!
Follow-up · They must have subsequently realised the new approach was a fail because they very quickly reverted back to their old selves and - er um, I’m still with them!
I have windscreen and one glass panel, full replacement included in my policy. I need to claim on my cracked windscreen. Apia make sure it is impossible to claim! My car is unroadworthy as a result and Windscreen O'Brien offered me an appointment 15… Read more
kms away in 2xweeks!! It's a disgrace. No option was given. I am now taking this matter to the Ombudsman. Needless to say I am taking my business elsewhere immediately.
Follow-up · I have had an excellent result since writing my review. After a vigorous chase, I have now been paid in full. So persistence when you are right definitely pays!!
Positive reviews
Affordable and reliable insurance with great inclusions for seniors. Very worthwhile to get a quote from APIA before you renew your existing insurance. Show details
I have recently finished working and discussed my monthly payment with APIA who advised they were able to reduce the payment as I was not working. This was great. I then shopped around for other quotes and came back to APIA with a competitor's quote and asked them if they were able to match it. They reduced the premium further as "I do not drive… Read more
in peak hour traffic at least three days per week". I had never been asked this question by them or any other insurer, so make sure to ask for this discount to your premium when shopping around if you're eligible. It's not a huge amount, but every cent counts in the current climate.
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Was so stressed about this as I gave my son my car for 2 days and he was hit up the back after picking up car. The lady I spoke to did everything on phone and car was booked in to be fix in 2 days. I am so glad I'm with Apia. When I had been with NRMA it was a nightmare to deal with. Thank you Apia for being so customer friendly Show details
Negative reviews
So sad i have only had my car insurance with Apia since September last year and they are increasing my premium by an extra $21.00 a month from August...So cruel and yet they make promises for pensioners that obviously is ?just sales talk. ..So sad. Goodbye APIA. AND yes!!!! My house insurance has gone up $38.00 a month too..I had such faith in you .. Show details
Extremely slow and unresponive claims process. Its been 6 weeks since our accident (and claim lodgement) and 5 weeks since their assessment and they still havent got back to us with a date for repairs to be done. Show details
Their price for insurance was really good for 14K car is was $850 less than AAMI offering. Experience/Interaction was very poor. Also I did have to call back three times to have my email removed from my aged mother accounts from 6 years ago. (I wander if the archive data ever!) Their telephone "AI" system is terrible and soo dumb. Its make me… Read more
mad every time I have to use it. It also insults me saying I have been identifed for special needs. Whoever coded this automation really did a bad job and their QA testing was quick. I confused it when I added Australia to my address. Seriously it couldn't even process that. I raised a formal complaint and the unprofessional complaints officer reminded me no one complained before even though it been in for two years. She didn't bother reviewing the phone recording and her excuse was she didn't have access to it. (Seriously the complaints officer has no access to voice recordings for quality or training?!) Some of the customer service people are really nice though not always able to assist. (PS: Also their virtual assistant apparently ALWAYS signs the emails though I am sure the virtual assistant didn't write the emails. Very Odd) AAMI uses the same system but for some reason I have never had an issue with probably because I just ignore it as probably 99% of others do. ... my guess) I am surprised they have a "AI" system designed to train their user base 50+ to only ever deliver the correct information to the automated system in the correct strict format without actually coding the "AI" system to correctly / parse or interpret the data being being presented to it... (AKA the system is incapable of any "AI" or smart coding actions} PS: 2nd level IT support person from APIA called it an "AI" system not me
Recent reviews
Was with APIA for about ten years as they had pretty good premiums, customer support and claim services. Last few years they have had premium increases that can easily be bettered when you do some research. Used to get a person directly on the line now you have to do through five minutes of questions before talking with an actual person. Their… Read more
marketing focused on looking after 50 year old people but now are just the same as ever other normal insurer except on most occasions more expensive.
Absolutely terrible service. The repair work on the car was done poorly, leaving it undriveable and the overseas call-centre staff were inexperienced and unhelpful. There is no dedicated claims manager. I made five calls trying to speak with someone to help (two to a complaints department) and never received a call back. You essentially are the… Read more
claims manager dealing with the repairer directly then doing all the chasing up to get the claim resolved. I’m still waiting for a response from their complaints department.
Eventually after saying l was going to the ombudsman l got a call from an assessor. He was pressuring us to drive the car back to the repairer when it would be deemed as unsafe to drive. As a result, we are currently without a car for over a week due to the repairer’s faulty work. It still hasn’t been sent back to the repairer. The assessor did say it’s common cars have to be taken back to their repairers because of the volume of cars they need to get through. They use SMART capital repairs absolutely terrible job.
Apia also make no effort to accommodate seniors, which was extremely disappointing. Overall, the entire experience was stressful, frustrating and far below the standard expected for the huge insurance premiums we pay and after more than 15 years as a customer.
I live in regional NSW and recently made a claim against my APIA comprehensive car insurance. They have ignored my needs, been obstructive and written my car off without consultation, leaving me stranded without any transportation whatsoever. The damage to my car is completely superficial and functions absolutely normally. For them, the claim is… Read more
low payout and high yield, as they will take possession and sell it for parts. They are meant to be protecting my interests but are bullying me into a course of action that protects their own interests, regardless of the difficulties this creates for me. Looking at the rest of these reviews, I see I am not alone. Shame on APIA for taking advantage of vulnerable older Australians. Disgusting behaviour.
Absolutely appalling! Over a decade with this company, three different insurance products. The first time we need to claim on our car... atrocious from start to distressing finish. Firstly, no contact for weeks. Only after we hear second hand from the repair shop that APIA is "taking the car", we reach out to find out what's going on. They have… Read more
elected to write it off (after MINOR damage, as assessed by independent repairers). They took the excess, and then slugged us for an extra $600 fee. We are elderly. This leaves us with no car, and no means to buy a new one. We could have had our car repaired on our own and would still be driving it. After hours on the phone they were nothing but rude and unhelpful. Abysmal service. Zero compassion. A product that appears to be a total waste of money. We are pulling all our insurances immediately.
*** BEWARE APIA CAR INSURANCE *** TERRIBLE TO DEAL WITH , NO CUSTOMER SERVICE – ** BEWARE ** MISLEADING , NO CUSTOMER SERVICE , RUDE TO CUSTOMERS . *** TERRIBLE COMPANY **** Provide poor information , provide no support , do not respond to requests . *** BEWARE *** Show details
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Just the worst experience ever from the moment that woman backed into me in Nov 24 been waiting 7 mths to get my car repaired treated like absolute garbage by the panel beaters and the hire car experience an absolute nightmare as well still waiting to get my bond back from hertz 4days and still no sighn of it I cannot go through this again will be shopping around for another insurance company Show details
Two weeks and fourth attempt to cancel policy by phone. Previous calls were on endless hold and transfers to the 'right dept'. 1hr 2 mins into this current attempt and I am still on hold while "the right dept' pushes ''the right' button. Show details
Called to cancel old policy as we had already purchased a new policy with Apia, getting a better deal online than the renewal. Unfortunately the operator cancelled both our policies and I then had to call back to explain the error. Show details
1 star because 0 isn't an option. If I could sum up my experience with Apia in one word, it would be: Kafkaesque. If I could use two: Kafkaesque circus. Trying to update an insurance policy after the death of my father—something that should have taken five minutes—became a bureaucratic farce so convoluted it could be taught in political science… Read more
classes as a case study in systemic dysfunction.
Despite providing: ✔ My father’s death certificate ✔ A medical certificate stating my mother has advanced Alzheimer’s and no decision-making capacity ✔ A legal Enduring Power of Attorney naming me as her representative ✔ Clear written instructions
…I was told, and I quote, that my dead father would need to request the policy change himself. That’s right. Apparently, at Apia, the afterlife comes with email access and a policy number.
The replies I received from their "Assisted Digital Specialists" were a masterclass in missing the point—tone-deaf, robotic, and so utterly detached from human logic that I began to suspect I was corresponding with a particularly smug toaster.
Eventually, someone with a pulse and a working brain did remove my father from the policy. Congratulations, Apia—you’ve successfully achieved the minimum. I now await the moment you acknowledge my legal authority (again), stop blocking me from managing my mother’s policies, and add my aunt as a backup contact, as requested.
Bottom line: if you are grieving, exhausted, and managing the affairs of elderly parents, avoid Apia like a pothole on the Pacific Motorway. They will not help. They will confuse, delay, contradict themselves, and make you question whether you’ve accidentally enrolled in some kind of insurance-themed psychological experiment.
I’m still dealing with the fallout. But hey—if you’re looking for a case study in administrative incompetence, look no further. Apia delivers.
Service? What service? You cannot contact this company – Son in law had an accident driving my car. Car was towed to their repairer. On January 10, I got a text saying repairs are approved. Feb. 16 today, and heard nothing since. Repairer said it's written off. Then why haven't I been paid out? I have phoned but as I work I cannot hold on 45 minutes, the wait time they quoted, so I emailed, days… Read more
later, no reply, I tried the contact box, no reply. Tried the chat box, got cut off after 20 minutes waiting. How do you contact this company? There's a postal address, perhaps I have to write a letter? It will probably be ignored as well. It is now 2 months since the accident, no car. Getting nowhere. Avoid this company like the plague.
I see this was headed "in moderation." There was no moderation. The only way I got closure to… Read more
It took 28 days from my car accident to having the car fixed and returned to me. I made the claim within 60 minutes of the accident occuring. It was acknolweged that the accident was not my fault. Far too long for a damaged front door panel and right front wheel arch panel to be replaced and painted. Inacurrate and infrequent communications from… Read more
APIA. The car was returned to me with a strong smell of paint and thinners in the cabin as well as an incorrectly repaired/replaced rubber door seal. The right front door could not be fully opened because the door seal had been incorrectly positioned. I fixed it myself. I am currently checking my options to ditch APIA and take all my insurance business elsewhere. Not happy Jan.
Took some time waiting on the phone but once I got through the claim was dealt with efficiently. After that there was a long wait to get a booking with the appointed repairer the subsequent service was excellent. Show details
No contact/untrained staff/ AI assess claims – Apia decided I was at fault. I submitted photos and diagram. 2 weeks later they reversed their decision- after hours on phone- speaking to call centres that continually transferred my calls to other people- and time hanging on. I was frequently cut off, emails unanswered. Eventually- 3 weeks later a human accepted my explanation. When I returned… Read more
my hire car to Hertz they inspected it and gave me back my deposit. They then lodged a claim with Apia saying it was damaged. They said they had dated and time stamped photos. This evidence was at 1am on the day I returned the car at 9.50am. Apia billed me for excess. Would not speak to me/reply to email. Would not cancel my policy because I owed them money. I’m on direct debit so cancelled my card to escape them. Changed to racv- saved$300. Also changed house and contents- saved $450 Car accident was November 8 2024- just finalised details 18 Feb 2025. Absolutely horrific experience over a small car ding. Imagine if you lost your house!!!!
One-way traffic as an APIA customer! – I've been a loyal customer for 15 years plus but have finally had enough. My car insurance premium was jacked up by ONLY 20 per cent this year after years of 30 per cent plus increases. Renewal premium was quoted at $2260 whilst car value decreased by more than $50k over 3 years.Going online as a "new" customer I was quoted $1440 for same car,… Read more
same cover. So much for loyalty. New company is charging $1800 for better cover.
Combine that with appalling telephone waiting times ( I reckon 30-40 minutes on average ), 5 months of unbelievable hassle for a $500 no-fault claims experience last year and I am truly over it. My wife's car, house , contents and landlord policies will all follow suit.
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inexperienced claim specialists making error after error , claims assessors making errors of facts… Read more (+1 reply)