Essentials by AAI Insurance

Beware of aai essentials pensioner insurance recently hit a kangaroo in my subaru outback. Only the bonnet and grill were damaged police said it’s not too bad. Aai tell me it’s written off as my car is only worth $5000 . I ask why please talk me through the damages. The rude as hell old women said “ your cars only worth $5000 and oh you just make… Read more

one little bump and thats $5000 !’” I replied “ my car was fixed by aai last year when I was backed into in a carpark and the whole bumper was cracked in half and damage to the boot “ she cut me off then says “Im not going to go into what you had done before your car has been assessed and its a economical write off ! I asked to buy it back and get it fixed privately out of my own pocket “You cant buy it back , its not in your policy and if you want to buy it back you have to buy it back at an online auction and they are not obligated to sell it to you and they can sell within 30 minutes !! When I asked questions she interrupted me saying if you keep asking questions this is going to take all day we need to go thru this and you can ask questions at the end !! Never have I been treated like this by a aai customer insurance representative!! But she’s in the business of telling people bad news and she was bad !! She was cold and rushed I had just found out my car was a write off it had been at some depot for 2 weeks . I asked for the assessment report she sent them an email . I’ve never received the report !! I had no recourse action none !! I had the pensioners insurance for Max $5000 . She said you will be given $4780 in 3 days and we will now have full ownership of your car !’ that’s it !! What!!! Their is no way the damage to my car was $5000 my panel beater friend said it would be $3000 full cost . The only reason aai towed it from my house was because I couldn’t open my bonnet . I was driving it for 4 days fine no problems . She was so rude and cold hearted !!! Which is a real shame cause others at aai have been nice. So for the past week I’ve been trying to find my car at an online auction and can’t find it but I’m hesitating as their is a cost of $800 by ezyreg cause it’s been an economical write off !! I have no idea of the actual damage carried out by the assessor . Beware ask in your policy if you can buy it back and get a quote by a private crash repair before you make a aai insurance claim on your car or you may lose your car for good and stuck having to buy another one and the devil you know is better than one you don’t !!!! Sadly I won’t be using aai pensioners centrelink insurance again . I will not accept rude people so my money will be going elsewhere. Last year when they fixed my car I was so happy the crash repair did an amazing job and I had a free excess .

Worst insurance company ever – Carried out work for t a vehicle as a repairer, the diagnosis repairs were approved. Have now been chasing payment for over 5 months. Have waisted more time chasing the payment than the job took originally. Do not carry out any repairs for the vehicle unless they pay in advance. Now after 5months they are saying it is still under review, yet the last email stated it would be paid asap. Worst insurance company ever. Avoid like the plague Show details

Good in name only...........doesn't come through when required. Extremely disappointing!!! – Rang AAI essentials this morning, to make a claim for irreversible damage, caused to my $1400.00 laptop, when I accidentally, spilled a cup of tea over it. Found out that accidental damage is not covered, and what is covered is so obscure, that it is unlikely to ever be claimed against (e.g. if a tree falls (directly) on my laptop (seriously!!!)… Read more

my house roof collapses and floods my home or someone breaks into my home and commits an act of vandalism against my laptop and can be identified are examples, of what I can claim against) add this to the fact, that although AAI, claim that there service is 24/7, if you ring after hours (whilst waiting for almost an hour for your call to be answered) the customer service officer, tells you to ring back in the morning and finally there is NO online claim service whatsoever. (if there is, staff don't know about it, because even the customer service officer I spoke with this morning, couldn't find where the online claim link was and couldn't tell me why, there was no online claims service either? Cheap insurance, yes, but for a reason and that reason is, because corners have been drastically cut as far as customer service and actual usability is concerned......like I said, so restricted in what you can claim, that the policy is simply not worth having. Have cancelled and gone to another provider.

Highly Recommended! – My car was declared a write off due to hail damage. Every staff member was friendly, efficient and helpful and the claim was processed and paid quickly, with no excess. Show details

Warning! Don’t believe this company’s media campaign – Apia is part of AAI, happy to take your money for years but when it’s comes to acting throughly & promptly in a household emergency it’s too slow, with too many supposedly independent independent companies involved & extremely poorly organised. Apia ignoring emails & calls going unanswered about emergency accommodation. Despite stating they pay… Read more

20% of insured policy over 52 weeks for accommodation trying to get them respond & actually fund these services is a drawn out process. No independent accessor to approve the work carried out they seem like they have a free reign. People have to go through the Australian Financial Complaints service & that can take 45 days.

Way better than what many of the reviews have said on here – Honestly I have never found anyone that I have spoken to, in AAI to be rude at all, I have found them to be very friendly and helpful. Last Week I had backed into my partners Camper Van, putting a dent in the hatch of my 2006 Astra, so now I have made a claim. They seem to honor their polices and next Monday I will be hearing from them, to… Read more

discuss what I want to do. I already know that they will pay me out the $3,000 policy, with $3,000. Wonderful staff and company would highly recommend

RUDE CUSTOMER SERVICE!! – I had a call with AAI this evening to try and change my payment week because i get paid from work on the oppisite week, i was literally told from the worker the following: " We dont do that, I work for suncorp and this is for people who are struggling, we are doing this as a favour, we do not have an moving room to change payments" . among other… Read more

things, he was so rude! OK so basically because im "struggling" im less of a person and you cant change my payment weeks because you are LAZY!? i still pay!!? im still a customer? this made me so ANGRY! i am not looking for another insurance provider because not only are they RUDE they are actually not that cheap! i found another place that does insurance for the same amount i currently pay $70 per month through AAI

good for a year, until the price goes back up to equal the rest – i signed up with AAI as they APPEARED to do what other companies don't - offer insurance at a much more affordable price for those on low incomes. this was true for the first year but then i got quite a shock when i saw the next bill to be as high as my previous insurer (AAMI - who incidentally own AAI). there's no negotiation when speaking to… Read more

staff - they care about your circumstances for a year & then you're expected to 'come up with the money' on even par with the rest. even AAMI used to have the practice of making their yearly bills increase, but through negotiation, you could usually bring it close to the previous years cost. thing is, we should never really have to go to this level to keep these companies 'honest' (investing time researching costs & semi-aggressively needing to 'negotiate'). not impressed considering their main selling point (those on pensions/low-income etc) - they do themselves a disservice in time when their 'customers' can't afford what they charge. i've now seen that practically ALL insurers provide cheap rates for a year & once you're pulled in, it goes up significantly. so i've now had to start hopping from one supplier to the next to keep things 'affordable'. would not recommend.

Best price by a mile and no excess – I live on a pension - way under the total $48,000 household income limit to be eligible for cover under this micro finance deal designed especially for low income earners. I rent in Melbourne, have credit card debt, and my car isn't worth much so price was my biggest concern and to begin with, I was just googling third party policies to compare … Read more

different companies. I had no idea something like AAI Essentials existed. For just over $300 per year ($6.60 a year), I get not just third party property cover but repairs to my car if the other driver is at fault (very handy if the other driver is uninsured) so it's half way between third party and comprehensive insurance. And best of all, no excess unless you have 3 claims in one year. I've only been with them a year and haven't had to make a claim but they organise for fortnightly direct debits from my bank account to be done on pension day so I don't have to worry about forgetting that a monthly payment is due or stump up the whole lot at once. They have two cover levels: one for $3000 maximum and one for $5000 maximum for your car (and whatever the cost is for the other c.ar). Very simple. I've never had a car worth more than $5000 anyway but even if it was worth 6 or 7 grand, I'd still go for this policy as what I'm saving in yearly costs would cover that extra in a few years. I can't remember for sure but I think if the car gets written off and it's your fault, you're not covered but check that in the conditions on line. Ask for a product statement if you're unsure. Either way, there's nothing comes close to this for third party only coverage and everyone else has a significant excess as far as I could tell. I'm just relieved to be covered if I damage someone else's car or, as has happened to me in the past, someone damages my car then, on finding out I had no insurance, decides not to lodge a claim to save themselves the excess. Good luck trying to get an insurance company to pay up if the driver doesn't lodge a claim.

omg- this has been a disaster! no skill set or product knowledge, no integrity, zero customer service, zero efficiency – I chose this insurer as I was impressed that an affordable product was almost being sold as a social service for low income earners and I wrongly assumed their service providers would use empathy and product knowledge to help vulnerable clients access the support they needed. Front line staff and management have been close to useless and I do not… Read more

use those words lightly. Interactions have left me further out of pocket, vulnerable and wasted hours on the phone going nowhere fast.

Long and extended delay in repairing my car damaged in storm - not my fault – You get what you pay for. Will be without car for 6 weeks. Cost of alternative transport will be $100's. Should have gone to reputable insurer. No concern for customer, no phone calls to advise progress, rude & arrogant car repairer who couldn't care less - same as Essentials. Zero customer service.  Show details

Couldn’t ask for any better – I have been with the insurance company for 2 years and they handled my claim without stressing me about it. They took care of everything and were very polite.  Show details

They made my life hell – Am reviewing the insurer AAI, not their new product 'Essentials' However, I am a pensioner and little concern for my situation was demonstrated in handling my claim as described below. Same company, different product. No longer with this insurance company and advise total avoidance of AAI (Vero/Suncorp) I was promised the repair of my home… Read more

in writing in February of 2017. A builder had been appointed and an assessor had been.

Instead, weeks of deliberation and confusion followed with a second assessor arriving and minimising the damage and deciding to payout on a quote which appeared not to be genuine.

On objection, the assessor stated the money had already been forwarded to my bank account. No choice was given to have my home repaired. 'If' the quote was genuine, it's wondered why the insurer did not conduct the repairs. After more than one year of slow and seemingly deliberate delays on the part of the insurer and the ombudsman (FOS) a higher amount was offered. This appears to indicate an attempt to cheat me in the first instance. There are still outstanding claims and what was given for the items paid for, fell short by a minimum 20,000 of my lowest quote. How is the insured supposed to arrange for repairs without sufficient funds?

The insurer has not fulfilled it's obligation to insure according to it's policy. The insurer did not conduct business as required and does not deserve to be in business. The insurer broke it's original promise to repair my home and did not act in utmost faith and broke the code of practice accordingly.

The insurer has respectable appearing representatives and it makes their actions all the more insidious.

Wouldn't live without it. Great professional team to help customers purchase agreement that is tailo – It was of an affordable price. Good customer service. Really appreciate the hard work dedication and commitment to helping other's when we need them the most.  Show details

What an amazing insurer for low income earners – I recently took up a car insurance as well as a contents insurance policy with Essentials by AAI. Upon discussing their policies, specifically designed for low income earners with Centrelink benefits, Pensioners etc, including people with jobs not earning over a certain amount.. Sorry i can't quite remember how much..!! However, their policies are… Read more

straight forward in what's covered and what isn't, you get 2 different selections to choose from on both car and contents. It's not an insurance for you if you want $50,000 cover, as this isn't an option. The bonus with this insurance is the first 2 claims are excess FREE! I myself have a sorted past, and not the best history however over the last couple of years have straightened myself out (been a good boy lol). Most people who have black marks on their name, whether drink driving etc will know how tough it is to obtain insurance based on a criminal history or bad driving history.. and I myself know all about this. Some insurers we're going to charge me a huge amount to cover my car, and contents, with a huge excess to match. I feel awesome knowing I have my stuff covered and there we're no objections, or any issues with the history I have. And as a low income earner I pay $21 a fortnight to cover my car and contents.

UPDATE - 30/11 I am currently awaiting a claim i had to put forth for my car insurance. Unfortunately I had an idiot unlicenced driver hit my parked car at speed and totaled it. As nervous as i am awaiting the results of what they may offer, i'll be sure to update my listing once the result of the claim is finalised. I will also edit the star rating based on this result, so far though, the process of lodging a claim was extremely easy, my only issue so far is their lack of communication, where I was told on Tue, that they we're waiting to hear back from the smash repairs, and as i rang the smash repairs on the wednesday, i was advised that they had already sent paperwork and photos on monday. Just a good thing i am on to them, as it would have slipped through the cracks.. besides this, so far so good... UPDATE COMING SOON!!

3/12/2018 - Claim assessor called... was a better outcome than anticipated.. The assessor was friendly, easy to deal with and best of all, offered really what my market value was worth..

Thanks again Essentials by AAI.. really couldn't have asked for a more happy and stress free outcome :)

I highly recommend this to anyone looking for decent low cost insurance.