Insurance Poll

[shadowninja 0]

I was surprised to read in the NZ Herald that up to 40% of drivers have no insurance cover. The article looks to suggest that NZ should consider compulsory insurance.

Link to article: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?ObjectID=10329156

"The Insurance Council estimates about 45 per cent of drivers have comprehensive insurance, 10-15 per cent have some form of third-party insurance, and 40-45 per cent have none at all."

Curious as to how we follow the national average.

Edited June 7, 2005 by shadowninja

[aliluya 0]

I have full cover on mine .... it's worth it for my car ..

[martyyn 2]

I have full cover too. Not worth messing about with anything else in my situation.

Interestingly you need a minimum of third party in the UK. You have to take your insurance certificate with you when you tax your car. No certificate no registration sticker.

Personally I think its criminal people can drive in NZ without insurance.

[m325i 705]

Man we need BC style.

Canada that is!

Compulsory insurance to get "your" number plate. Pay reg. at the same time. No WoF!

But seriously no insurance? Are you crazy?

If you care about your car at all it will have appeal which makes it stand out, thus being far more susceptable to break ins, vandals, and theft.

I have read 4 or so stories on nzmmc.co.nz about dudes with evo V and VII's!! being nicked without insurance, OR AN ALARM? WTF?

Deserve to lose it out of naivity. [-X

[petone 0]

I agree about compulsory insurance although it will cause a few problems for people with modified cars, previous claim, poor driving history etc.

I myself have 3rd party, and fire and theft. F & T doesn't cost much extra and makes sense especially with my stereo.

Thing that pisses me off is that the excess is still f**king high becuase of my age. How does me being under 21 increase the chance of my car being stolen or catching fire?

[aliluya 0]

I have just found out today that my excess has just been halved .. so now my excess is $2500 and premium is $1000, dad said this time next year if my records are still clean then my preimuim would decrease greatly ...

[EdwardC 0]

I have just found out today that my excess has just been halved .. so now my excess is $2500 and premium is $1000, dad said this time next year if my records are still clean then my preimuim would decrease greatly ...

Oh, my excess is $250.00, you are ten times of mine!! what company are you using? I'm using AMI. and insurance fee just $1340.00 it's full cover

[my_e36 43]

Oh, my excess is $250.00, you are ten times of mine!! what company are you using? I'm using AMI. and insurance fee just $1340.00 it's full cover

I got full cover, 60% NCD with AA insurance.

e36 323i $800 premium, $300 excess.

but it has $0 cover if driven by under 25s

Seriously, the only time that I'm glad to be old is when it comes to insurance!

[Grant 4]

I have full cover, it costs bugger all, but I'm over 25 with a clean licence.

I'm a fan of compulsory insurance for everyone as part of your rego process.

I think my excess is $250 as well.

Cheers

Grant

Edited June 7, 2005 by Grant

[aliluya 0]

Oh, my excess is $250.00, you are ten times of mine!! what company are you using? I'm using AMI. and insurance fee just $1340.00 it's full cover

I'm using Vero. my preimum is around the $1000 mark. How much is your car insured for? Mine is insured for $61000. I'm also under 25 and didn't used to have a good record on my licence at all.

[cainchapman 0]

Third party should be compulsary. Anyone who can afford a car, can afford to pay third party.

Superannuation should also be compulsary.

[Hartage 0]

Full cover for all cars that i own.

e46 through BNZ as they do all other insurance for me. Costs about $600.00. and is covered for about 55k.

Cant understand ant one running with out cover. Bet they would be the first to complain in an accident too.

[ScD 0]

Full cover for my baby

People driving around without insurace is completely mad. All it takes is one lapse in concentration and your looking at a massive repair bill.

[Carl 3]

Full cover. The peace of mind is worth more than the cost.

$450 pa through state with $500 excess because of mods, was $250 before I disclosed the changes.

I haven't enquired whether a f/ex gives a discount, will ring em and see...watch this space -> State don't give discounts for having a f/ex but they did note it on my policy as having one.

As for compulsory insurance I believe this to be a very good thing. They should also accentuate the scale of cost per power making turbo'd cars more difficult for learners to have.

It means that first time NZ drivers will find it financially difficult to own a powerful car. Cases in point are learner/restricted teenagers with mitsi evos or scoobydoo turbos.

The other case is foreign drivers here on holiday or for study are also forced to have insurance which will solve a few problems up in Auckland I hear. Too many ppl skip the country before resolving disputes.

Edited June 7, 2005 by ///Carl

[Guest Andrew]

Third party should be compulsary. Anyone who can afford a car, can afford to pay third party.

Superannuation should also be compulsary.

It ain't that cheap - $839 a year for my car.

[shadowninja 0]

Interesting to see almost everyone so far has full cover.

Also very interesting to see the costs people are paying ... $800 for TP only cover Andrew????

Compulsory TP cover though... I'm in two minds on it. If you have full cover you are already protected against uninsured drivers. Interesting fact for those who are interested if you hvae Third Party only cover & hit by an uninsured driver, most insurance companies will actually still cover you for damage to your car up to $3,000.

If insurance becomes compulsory, it means insurance companies will be obliged to provide cover for those that shouldn't really get cover by any rights. That means insurance premiums go up for everyone who is a good driver.

And ultimately the tosspots with multiple driving convictions, banned from driving will still drive anyway, regardless of any law saying otherwise.

[my_e36 43]

If there's complusory insurance, the insurance rate should drop because there's more people buying it.

The tosspots will still have premium so high, if they can't afford it they can drive something unregistered or walk.

Any economist here??

[bravo 34]

Full cover, agreed value 5.5k, under 25 with sh*t record - $700pa plus MASSIVE excess that almost makes full cover a waste of time and I am thinking of downgrading to TP & theft.

Ali - sounds like you insure through your parents - that is dodgy as f**k and I hope you have it sussed so it is legit - if not, your insurance company may not pay out if they find out.

Compulsory insurance??? Definitely.!

Oh, and what the hell is hevolve.com - heaps of sh*t from there being downloaded as this page loaded? Someone want to check there isn't a script of some sort hidden in a post???

Edited June 8, 2005 by bravomikewhiskey

[bimmer boy 21]

I dont have insurance only because I was going to get it once everyting was sorted and the car was on the road as it wasnt much point in paying for insurance when im not even using the car, but I deffinatly agree with having compulsory insurance , gives you a bit more piece of mind about people around you when your driving.

[aliluya 0]

Full cover, agreed value 5.5k, under 25 with sh*t record - $700pa plus MASSIVE excess that almost makes full cover a waste of time and I am thinking of downgrading to TP & theft.

Ali - sounds like you insure through your parents - that is dodgy as f**k and I hope you have it sussed so it is legit - if not, your insurance company may not pay out if they find out.

Compulsory insurance??? Definitely.!

Oh, and what the hell is hevolve.com - heaps of sh*t from there being downloaded as this page loaded? Someone want to check there isn't a script of some sort hidden in a post???

Sorry but my insurance is 100% legit, it's all done through our insurance broker.

And it was he who contacted my dad several days ago to notify him that my excess has just been halfed. While my dad's excess is still just several hundred only.

[Nic325i 0]

For the record, full cover. About $1300, under 25, first year insured, so no no claims bonus etc. Can't remember excess - I think it is $1000 for a crash, $3000 for theft (go figure?)

I think the theory of compulsory insurance is that it reduces rates for the average driver - basically it should let insurance companies assess their risk more accurately. At the moment, full insurance cover has to include a significant risk of some uninsured idiot driving into you. If everyone has third party insurance, this component is (theoretically) removed - hence the cost of someone having a really bad driving history is born by them, not by others.

My records is sweet, so I am all in favour.

Nic

[bravo 34]

The added risk to insurance companies is bull. Currently if an un-insured driver has an accident and damages another vehicle chances are that driver has full insurance and so the insurance companies are paying out anyway. Odds are that there will be an even spread of all these at risk drivers throughout the various insurance companies, and so on average, nothinng will change except the insurance companies will be collecting an additional premium from all these new customers.

There may be the odd anomaly, etc, but on average, everything should even out, and the insurance companies will prob be better off.

Unfortunately, they will use the move as an excuse to raise premiums, and because as NZ'ers we love being screwed we will pay it.

Also, some companies will really hike the premiums for TP to avoid taking on these at-risk customers which will mean it will prob be more beneficial to get Full cover.

But, if they were honest, they could prob keep prices as they are, or even drop them, but that doesn't help line their pockets now does it?

[Nic325i 0]

  Currently if an un-insured driver has an accident and damages another vehicle chances are that driver has full insurance and so the insurance companies are paying out anyway.

Exactly. And the cost of these claims is what increases the cost of full insurance. I have to pay more to cover the chance of someone else without insurance driving into me.

Odds are that there will be an even spread of all these at risk drivers throughout the various insurance companies, and so on average, nothinng will change except the insurance companies will be collecting an additional premium from all these new customers.

On average, nothing will change. Insurance companies don't base premiums on the average though. They assess how likely they are to have to pay out on a given policy, and the amount of that payout, and then charge accordingly. If they can charge (the currently uninsured) hopeless drivers for the risk they represent, then they can afford to charge me less since the odds of them having to payout for someone elses mistake is reduced.

Whether they actually do reduce the premiums is another question. That is where government watchdogs (the insurance council?) comes in.

[m325i 705]

I'm using Vero. my preimum is around the $1000 mark. How much is your car insured for? Mine is insured for $61000. I'm also under 25 and didn't used to have a good record on my licence at all.

$60,999, $60,998, $60,997 $60,996, $60,995.....

Hope thats agreed value

[aliluya 0]

$60,999, $60,998, $60,997 $60,996, $60,995.....

Hope thats agreed value

Ehh ???

Yes it's agreed value.

So if i wrote my car off i'd get another car of the value of $61000