Club 4x4 Insurance - performance

[erad]

I have just received a really competitive quote for insurance of my Pajero from Club 4x4. I am looking seriously into changing over. Before I do, I want to know how Club 4x4 stood by its policy holders when they had a claim. I don't want to know the gory details as to the damages etc, but rather how Club 4x4 performed. The last claim I had was about 22 years ago when my daughter's car was T-boned and NRMA performed really well then.

Anyone have experience to share with me. Any yes - I have looked through the index but although there are probably answers there, I couldn't find them.... Thanks in advance.

[Bacsisauto]

We've been with Club 4x4 for about a year now. We purchased a cub camper which was originally insured with CIC however when we got our renewal notice for the Paj from Coles insurance the agreed value had dropped from 36K to 28K in one year and the premium was around $1100. Club 4x4 were very competitive with insurance for both the camper and the Paj and was about $200 cheaper between the 2 policies. Agreed value back to 35K and 30K on the camper.

Made a claim last year (at fault, minor reversing mishap into parked car). Claim was a little tedious, for starters they don't have a call centre to take calls on the week end or after hours. Both my wife and I had to get Vic Roads driving histories obtained before they would approve our claim. Extra days waiting for the claim approval and started getting abusive messages from 3rd party regarding repairs needing to be done. Claim went through and reimbursed for driving history fees but took a little too long. Insurance claims are a pain in the arse at the best of times and it just really didn't seem stream lined. Bottom line is they paid out and the policy is cheaper than manny others.

[stevemc181]

I claimed a windscreen last year, as above its a bit of a pain with no after hours call centre to contact on a weekend. I was in the middle of a trip and ended up paying for it myself, but club4x4 reimbursed me a few days later after I emailed a copy of the receipt and a pic of the cracked windscreen.
They also mentioned they were looking at setting up a 24/7 call centre, but it will depend on demand. I guess the more they grow the more demand they will get.
I have two vehicles ( NW Pajero and GU Patrol) insured through them. Certainly not the cheapest, but their cover suits my needs better for offroading, particularly the offroad remote recovery for breakdown etc.

[MSF]

Made a claim last year (at fault, minor reversing mishap into parked car). Claim was a little tedious, for starters they don't have a call centre to take calls on the week end or after hours. Both my wife and I had to get Vic Roads driving histories obtained before they would approve our claim. Extra days waiting for the claim approval and started getting abusive messages from 3rd party regarding repairs needing to be done. Claim went through and reimbursed for driving history fees but took a little too long. Insurance claims are a pain in the arse at the best of times and it just really didn't seem stream lined. Bottom line is they paid out and the policy is cheaper than manny others.

This is typical of a lot of the smaller companies - accept you without too much underwriting followup at new business time and then if you lodge a claim (especially in the first 12 mths), make you jump through a few extra hoops that they should have done at New Business. This is done in the event that perhaps they may not have accepted you at the time of New Business if they had had properly checked the proposal information and / or asked for clarification if they had concerns.., Then they can decline the claim for non-disclosure if you fall outside their guidelines.

Whilst this is not illegal - it can certainly be a Pain in the Donkey. Gives you a false sense of security that you are covered, then Opps, sorry NO COVER....

The lesson to be learned in this case - make sure you get EVERYTHING 100% correct at new business so that they can't hold it against you once you have a claim and really need them to work for you quickly as shown above....

[erad]

Thanks for your replies. Sadly, I still do not know which way to go. NRMA $829, GIO $700, Club4x4 $550. This is why I asked for people's experiences re claiming. For the sake of $150, I think I will go GIO, but Club4x4 also offered similar savings on my wife's Outlander and our caravan. I guess it all depends if you are going to make a claim or not.

All I know is that I will be saying goodbye to NRMA because they are way over the top. I queried the premiums with them and was told that because my wife and I were getting older (nearer 80 she said - I am just over 70, my wife about half way), our premiums are getting higher tocompensate for the extra claims oldies have. Apart from 1 windscreen, we have not claimed since 1996, so that is a lot of Bovine Powedered Earth indeed.

Probably the others are giving me a low premium to get me hooked and go with them. Then next year they will hike the premiums to compensate??? I guess we'll see what happens...

[littleriver]

Thanks for your replies. Sadly, I still do not know which way to go. NRMA $829, GIO $700, Club4x4 $550. This is why I asked for people's experiences re claiming. For the sake of $150, I think I will go GIO, but Club4x4 also offered similar savings on my wife's Outlander and our caravan. I guess it all depends if you are going to make a claim or not.

All I know is that I will be saying goodbye to NRMA because they are way over the top. I queried the premiums with them and was told that because my wife and I were getting older (nearer 80 she said - I am just over 70, my wife about half way), our premiums are getting higher tocompensate for the extra claims oldies have. Apart from 1 windscreen, we have not claimed since 1996, so that is a lot of Bovine Powedered Earth indeed.

Probably the others are giving me a low premium to get me hooked and go with them. Then next year they will hike the premiums to compensate??? I guess we'll see what happens...

NRMA lost us too and been with them for 20yrs ... Club4x4 ticked all the right boxes ...

[erad]

Well, I have decided - GIO. I looked at the Club4x4 quote, and the price was $569, but they also added a $33 admin fee on the policy, thus making it nearer $600. GIO is $700, and hopefully they won't stuff me around should I have a claim. Pity, bacause I think they offer some real competition to the industry.

I was speaking with a friend at the weekend, and he quoted his GIO performance to me. He switched to them, and a year later they hiked the premium from $680 to $940 un a period of 1 year. He phoned them up and got the usual spiel - claim costs are going up, yorta yorta, yorta and he said Bullsh1t - I have not made a claim. They said they would contact their superiors and call him back. They actually did this and then quoted him $630, but he had already made up his mind, and went with Alliance. I am not sure that I would do that, but he seems happy. It goes to show that you don't simply take the bills laying down - they are all out to screw you.

[Dicko1]

Well, I have decided - GIO. I looked at the Club4x4 quote, and the price was $569, but they also added a $33 admin fee on the policy, thus making it nearer $600. GIO is $700, and hopefully they won't stuff me around should I have a claim. Pity, bacause I think they offer some real competition to the industry.

I was speaking with a friend at the weekend, and he quoted his GIO performance to me. He switched to them, and a year later they hiked the premium from $680 to $940 un a period of 1 year. He phoned them up and got the usual spiel - claim costs are going up, yorta yorta, yorta and he said Bullsh1t - I have not made a claim. They said they would contact their superiors and call him back. They actually did this and then quoted him $630, but he had already made up his mind, and went with Alliance. I am not sure that I would do that, but he seems happy. It goes to show that you don't simply take the bills laying down - they are all out to screw you.

ALLIANZ...216 REVIEWS...1.7 STAR RATING....THE STAR RATING ALONE SAYS TO AVOID THE MOB AT ALL COSTS. I HAVE READ SOME REAL HORROR STORIES ABOUT THIS BUNCH OF %$#$%s. Google them...no one speaks highly of the cowboys.

[my.paj]

Well, I have decided - GIO. I looked at the Club4x4 quote, and the price was $569, but they also added a $33 admin fee on the policy, thus making it nearer $600. GIO is $700, and hopefully they won't stuff me around should I have a claim. Pity, bacause I think they offer some real competition to the industry.

I was speaking with a friend at the weekend, and he quoted his GIO performance to me. He switched to them, and a year later they hiked the premium from $680 to $940 un a period of 1 year. He phoned them up and got the usual spiel - claim costs are going up, yorta yorta, yorta and he said Bullsh1t - I have not made a claim. They said they would contact their superiors and call him back. They actually did this and then quoted him $630, but he had already made up his mind, and went with Alliance. I am not sure that I would do that, but he seems happy. It goes to show that you don't simply take the bills laying down - they are all out to screw you.

Been with GIO since 2000 for business and some cars, many claims without a problem but they were never cheap enough for home contents.

[littleriver]

ALLIANZ...216 REVIEWS...1.7 STAR RATING....THE STAR RATING ALONE SAYS TO AVOID THE MOB AT ALL COSTS. I HAVE READ SOME REAL HORROR STORIES ABOUT THIS BUNCH OF %$#$%s. Google them...no one speaks highly of the cowboys.

216 reviews are of a low number considering the thousands of member's. .. rarely people give compliments .. and dig further into the complaints and maybe 10% of them have any justice in their compliant .. ; )

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[Apollo]

Years back, I made the mistake of insuring a car with Budget direct. An not at fault claim (car hit in a carpark when we werent in it), led to us going through similar hoops and delays as mentioned earlier with Club 4x4. Ended up with the repairer (well respected) calling us and saying they no longer wanted to do the job because they were expected by the insurer to use lower grade parts for the repair and still give full warranty. Much 'discussion' happened and eventually it got fixed, but never again. Dont need that sort of stress/delays at that time.

[stevemc181]

Not sure why anybody would lump these guys in the same class as a budget insurer. They are a specialty insurer not a budget insurer. My premiums are dearer with them, but they offer unique cover which suits my needs better.


I'd be happy with a response like this for what will be an expensive event for insurers.

http://www.club4x4.com.au/club-4x4s-sydney-hail-storm-response/

[Dicko1]

216 reviews are of a low number considering the thousands of member's. .. rarely people give compliments .. and dig further into the complaints and maybe 10% of them have any justice in their compliant .. ; )

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Sign up with them mate...It might be a pleasant experience for you.....hahaha Seriously....if you dont take any notice of negative replies it is pointless asking anyone for advice or opinions on any subject.. I always use product reviews as a guide.

[Peterng]

I am going through the Comprehensive Insurance Shuffle at present..I have been reading many PDS's (Product Disclosure Statements) and have been on the phone giving the operators a few curly questions.
2011 NT GLX Pajero..147,000..about 6k mods and want agreed vehicle value 30000.
Started off with Club 4x4, but when I want to add in extras...rentacars, front windshield and recovery...the premium started to get up...
RAA, NRMA, Allianz...RACV...pretty much all in the same ball park..$100 to $250 difference in yearly premium on a $400 to $600 access.
Interestingly with these lot, is that primarily sell vehicle insurance, but shoehorn in to these vehicle insurance, the 4wd vehicle catergory.
Thus asking the operators 4wd questions can get them a bit confused...

Then there are the Insurance Brokers...

This is has been a very interesting exercise...for there are Insurance Brokers who principally target the 4wd and Off Roading market.
There premiums and access are quite competitive with the big names, also the insurance broker use some of the big named insurance companies.
The brokers seem to have a bit more "market pull"..with the named insurance companies and get coverage at a discounted price, which they pass on to the insured customer...Insurance Brokers obviously charge a fee for this service.
In respect..
I have narrowed it down to one broker...
I get a discount for being in a registered and State affiliated 4wd club and completing the clubs' in-house 4wd and recovery course...plus another discount for travelling less the 15,000k during the 12months of the premium.
A good thing I have found, is that I can nominate my yearly milliage and adjust my premium and access to accommodate.
It's sort of like the Youi...marketing message..
Some insurance brokers will find insurance for a "One Off"..off road trip and also for group off road trips / excursions.

I had a chat to a broker about Salvage rights on my vehicle..if the vehicle was deemed a "right-off"...their comment.."have a good chat with the Panel Beater and the Assessor...we could be able to a good arrangement to all our satisfaction..We just note it in your policy with us..."

Very Interesting.
My investigations continue...
I still have 2 months to make a decision.

[littleriver]

bringing up an older thread - just seen this pdf form from club 4x4 - very interesting

http://www.club4x4.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/The-Ultimate-Market-Guide-to-Insuring-Your-4X4-New.pdf?utm_source=ActiveCampaign&utm_medium=email&utm_content=Download+Your+Free+4x4+Insurance+Guide+Today&utm_campaign=The+Ultimate+Guide+EDM

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