RACQ Home Insurance

My mother recently lost nearly everything she owned in the Townsville floods. My sister phoned RACQ, my mother's insurer, as soon as we knew that water had inundated my mother's unit to lodge a notice of claim. It was seven days before anyone could access the unit. My sister and mother met an assessor there and entered the unit for the first time with him, wearing old clothes, gum boots and face masks. They were told to take anything that could be salvaged and leave the rest untouched. There was little to save except for precious family photo's that had been hurriedly stashed on top of cupboards as the water was rushing into my mother's unit. Everything else was water-logged and covered in mould.
RACQ quickly sent a team of people in to clear out all my mother's ruined possessions and clear the thick, smelly mud out of the unit. My mother's written-off car was towed away soon after the water went down. Mum's vehicle claim and contents claim were settled very quickly and for very fair amounts.
My whole family was very impressed with the level of service and the speed and fairness of the settlement of the claim. We had been very worried given the bad wraps insurance companies have been given in past disasters. I can only say that it was a total relief to find that processes seem to have improved dramatically. We couldn't fault them on any point.

Earlier this year my property along with a half dozen others in the local area got robbed. Police have now caught the perps with some of our possessions. I am still battling with the most rude claims officer at racq. They have loopholes to try and not cover just about everything. Then when you get to the items their aren’t loopholes for they tell you that it’s too expensive and they don’t believe you owned it. Absolute joke. Find a better insurer!!!!

15 plus years.
We have pet cover with our home and contents and RACQ are just amazing with claims. Our dog needed emergency surgery and I phoned and they took details over the phone I sent a photo of the bill and the next day I got a text to say the claim was approved and then 2 days later the money was in the bank.
The staff were helpful and polite and I highly recommend RACQ for insurance.

I have had a hit run on my car and advised that i would like it repaired under a repairer i recommend and not someone who they recommend as that specific repairer has the worst rating\reviews currently and they seem to not like it so my claim which was supposed to have been reviewed and cleared by now is being delayed. When i asked their rude Customer Service Agents for a eta they advised that the reviewer has a lot of other claims so they cannot really give me a time frame. How is this my problem . Horrible service will wait till this gets approved to move back to my previous insurer as these guys are just horrible.

Attention to home owners in cyclone zone areas, I was recently shocked to find out my insurance doesn’t actually insure me for what I thought. I paid $4500 annually and have since found out I’m not covered for Power surge in a storm, my pool is not covered, my retainer wall is not covered, if it’s a king tide and I flood I’m not covered, if I’m on holidays and no one is home I am not covered, a fire they will not repair smoke damaged items here are just a few examples. It nearly cancels out everything that is directly related to a storm or cyclone. I was wondering why I had paid them all that money! Very disappointing RACQ you rip off ordinary Australians off everyday! Check your insurance policy people, my advice do not go with RACQ, you are not insured properly and they say it’s so expensive because you live in a cyclone area yet in an event of a cyclone you are not covered for most of the things that directly related to a cyclone.

Have been insured with RACQ and another major insurer for over 20 years and will no longer support them.

I recently filled out an online quote for house and contents insurance and was quoted nearly $2,000 for my new house and contents policy. Problem was, the online form I filled out "valued" my house's replacement cost at $650,000. The questionaire did not even try to establish anything but the most basic facts about my property. $650,000 might seem reasonable, however, I am a professional property valuer with 20 years experience valuing houses and my assessment of my houses replacement cost, including allowances for ground improvements, demolition, removal of debris, cost escalation during the insurance period and professional fees is $475,000. My entire property, including land would struggle to be worth $650,000.

This is nothing but the most blatant price gouging I have come across. By inflating my house's insurance value way beyond what is reasonable, the insurance company makes more money out of premiums, but in the eventuality that my property were to be totally destroyed, they are only going to be out of pocket $475,000, not $650,000.

I have decided to go with an insurance company that lets me set the value of my house and contents at a premium of $1,200, not $2,000.

No policy not good value
Easy to setup
But claims worst ever seen or heard of, still chasing cheapest quote after 7 months wait just a run around
Customer support a joke keep passing buck around and not interested

We only have contents insurance with RACQ and we unfortunatly had a total loss with my husbands hearing aids. We put the claim in only a week ago and the turn around was very quick and efficient. The consultants in the call centre were exceptional and I am glad that I have my insurance with them. Thank you!

Policy prices are not particularly competitive compared to the other million or so insurance companies out there. Frontline customer service from RACQ was satisfactory. Dealings with loss adjusters/assessors and tradesmen however was particularly bad and clunky.

We had a shower screen spontaneously explode (yes it is a thing) which caused damage to our bench top and bath tub, meaning the screen, bench top and bath needed to all be replaced. As mentioned, dealings with RACQ employees were satisfactory and they were very helpful.

Any dealings we had with their external contractors (assessors and loss adjusters) was particularly bad. Reports from said contractors were not passed through in a timely manner, and we were often given the excuse that they had a heavy workload due to lots of claims. This held up the approval process, and we didn't receive official confirmation they would honour the claim until 6 weeks after the initial claim. Fortunately we have 2 bathrooms. I constantly had to chase up these contractors for status updates, and finally resorted to putting through an official complaint through RACQ directly. 13 weeks later and the replacement items have been installed, however the builders have done a sub par job on applying sealant, therefore needing them to return for further work.

For loyal customers like us who have been with RACQ for 10+ years and have 6 policies with them, we felt like our inquiry didn't get the attention it deserved despite our constant badgering for updates until we threatened further action. The claim process is horrible, inconsistent and needs to be desperately reviewed (I would start by terminating the contract with the existing loss adjusters/assessors and going to tender, or better yet bring it in house). I am in the process of cancelling our policies, and had we not been waiting for so long to have the repairs undertaken I would have cancelled our roadside assist, 2 vehicles 2 CTP and 2 property policies weeks ago.

I had to make a claim in early April after I came home from overseas to discover that a toilet cistern had fallen off the wall upstairs and flooded my property including my lower level ceiling caving in. I have home and contents insurance with them and had to continually chase them, somebody was sent to remove my carpet to allow a company to dry out the flooring and the contracter asked me if they were also assessing the entire contents after RACQ had advised me they weren't (turns out they were), two electricians showed up to test my appliances and tell me all of them were fine despite obvious damage, I was told on 5 different occasions to book carpet replacement quotes, depending on who I got on the phone they said I would just pay excess and then I would pay the whole amount and get reimbursed, after I paid myself so I could move back home after 6 weeks staying at a friends house, I was told to issue a claim and it would be looked at straight away if I called right back (which I did), when I called back I was told within 10 days and three weeks later still no response. I'm extremely unhappy with the lack of customer service.

We've been insured with RACQ for many years now and over the past 6 months have had to make two claims on our household policy. One was for replacement of an air conditioner, $3,000. One was for a lost/stolen ring, $2,800. Both claims were settled quickly, with great service, and full payments. RACQ have been wonderful! Not a single problem. Premium increase was minimal. They even showed us ways to save on our premiums. I don't know if they have picked up their game since all those bad reviews, but we are never going to another insurer. Like wise our car insurance. Three claims totalling $11,000. No increase in premiums, great service! RACQ? Wouldn't be without it!

Not satisfied with the providers customer support and I would no longer recommend them to anyone because they don't honor their home and contents policy and lifetime Repair Guarantee after our roof leaked in the same location for the third time

I received my RACQ Home and Contents Insurance renewal. The premium had increased by $155 (12.6%).
I had never made a claim against them. I have been a member for over 40 years and have 3 cars insured with them.
I have a back to base alarm system, dead locks on the doors, locks on the windows and crimsafe screens and doors.
RACQ give $30 discount for a back to base alarm system that costs me $489 a year to monitor.

I went on line to get a new quote based on the same criteria and it was $92.56 cheaper than my renewal premium.

So a new customer can get the same insurance cover 6.7% cheaper than a low risk existing customer. I find this hard to understand. When I rang the call centre, the lady said that while she agrees with me, there is nothing she can do and that I should take it up with management.
When I tried to take out the new insurance quote on line to get the cheaper price it blocked me.

What sort of business model is this? Why on earth wouldn’t you look after your low risk loyal customers rather than risk losing them just to chase new business that you probably will lose next year anyway.
Insurance is a necessary evil and we, the general public, are held captive by the large insurance companies. I hate to think how RACQ will treat me if I ever have a claim against them.

We have house insurance with RACQ have never made a claim, our 2017 policy cost us $540 we have been told it is going to cost, $810 to renew, I'm no maths expert but that is an increase of 60% from one year to the next, The house an ex Jehova kingdom hall, built of besa block on a concrete slab, built in the early 70s the house is solid, no signs of settlement, after fitting out a kitchen and new bathroom in what was the mens toilets, the place is maintenance free, I have checked the towns flood map and flood history there are no records of the street or block ever being flooded, and the street we are in is NOT on the flood map. We have asked RACQ for a detailed invoice before we hand over any money so we can work out if the 60% increase is justified, with the view of shopping around for another insurance provider.

Recently received our home and contents insurance premium - it had increased by 33% in one year. We have never made a claim, nothing on our property or suburb has varied, no natural disasters etc etc etc. When I phoned to find out why the huge increase I was told 'Qld has gone up this year'. When I complained further I received a generic letter saying much the same thing. When I complained further I was told reasons for the huge increase were 'commercial in confidence' and was offered an extremely minimal deduction in premium. Needless to say I went elsewhere and will be taking my car insurance elsewhere when the time comes. NOTE - elsewhere's prices were around 60% cheaper and there appeared to be very little difference in their PDS's (not that I'm an insurance expert).

Made a claim against for covered damaged, sent several subcontractors out only to not return my calls and emails and then called me to say they wouldn’t pay. Also are not supplying a report for repairs. I’m having to hire a lawyer today to sort this mess, terrible service considering we have been a customer for over 20 years.

Thanks for absolutely nothing, also your legal team isn’t that great, I will enjoy this firm having fun on my dime.

Do not go with racq, they can’t be trusted.

Coming onto 4 months without a bathroom been finished!! After a leak behind the wall. You think you'll deal with the people that you're insured with, but no!! It goes through 5 other hands, my house was trashed by the lack of care, my freezer was turned off to let my food go off, appliances dented, floor scratched wall scratched. The workmanship is poor & I'm still no closer to having my bathroom finished!!! RACQ you're a joke!! You have turned our life's upside down, made my family shower in A portable shower with no mirror, Basin, lights! I had to use the mirror of my car to shave even then you took the shower box away without notice. Yes after arguing with you, I finally got put up in accommodation, but that ran out before I could use my bathroom. I wish I could put up pictures of the way my house was treated, my yard with wheel tracks all over it, let alone the poor workmanship. I walked in the other night to find a towel rack fell off the wall, I've got to step up to walk into my bathroom, things are out of square I could keep going on with this list, but it's just beyond a joke!!! It's absolutely appalling from you RACQ.
House was cleaned on 09/11/17
Please finish my bathroom so we can get on with our life's.

Still waiting for RACQ to get back to us after third builder has looked at external storm damage, six months after the storm! Very poor support. No follow up. Difficulties every step of the way.

Was good customer service until I had to make a claim. They were rude, deceitful and full of lies after lies. Management wouldn't talk to me, just kept saying they were in meetings. Then some lady called [name removed] got on the phone and abused me for wanting to make a complaint. Worst experience and not what you need when you have just experienced a big loss.

Contacted 131905 about renewal received as thought may have made a mistake?? as the increase from previous year 2015 to 2016 was just over $130 AUD and similar 2016 to 2017, however to my surprise from the renewal stated 2017 thru to 2018 was a 45% increase from last year ??? that was a $564.57 increase. And to top it off, the explanation was ridiculous, he should have said "due to the floods in Florida or due to North Korea potentially evading our air space with Rockets of MASS DESTRUCTION is the reasoning why we RACQ have had to increase you by 45.18% :( , well if he just explained it like that, then i would have renewed it on the spot and paid 5 years in advance. Gee wiz, how easy would it have been to pull the wool over my eyes lol hahaha