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I know insurance bores some people so please forgive me and stop reading now. But in a rapidly changing market I think it might be helpful to others as well as myself to revisit the topic from time to time.

I'm looking for a new insurer for my wife's Titanium (2002 NB P2) because I was disappointed with AAMI, who charge more for renewals than for new business (when I complained they told me it was no secret they discount by $50 or so for new business - not that they'd told me - I found out by accident when testing alternatives online.) So anyone wanting to stay with AAMI, I recommend you get a quote online, you could save $50. Me, I think insurance is about trust which AAMI have breached for me so I've crossed them off my list.

We're in our 50s, and want agreed value because the car is in great condition and has low km. Also choice of repairer (which also cuts out AAMI). Have to use call centres to get quotes cos the agreed value is higher than computers like.

Budget gave a great price, will give choice of repairer, but won't do agreed value.
RACV had an astonishingly low market value (under $10K!) and would only go to an agreed value of 30% over that, so no go there.
Shannons were quite expensive and, alone of all the companies, wouldn't give me a quote because I was not my wife (who finds insurance even more boring than you do, and delegates the job to me)
Suncorp was hugely expensive.
So i tried Coles. Pretty ordinary call centre, even by the low standards of that industry, but they give choice of repairer, good premium, and once I emailed them a copy of my AAMI renewal to prove they'd agreed the value, gave me the extra $3K value for no extra premium.

In the unlikely event that anyone's read this far - is Coles insurance any good from a claim and customer service point of view?

Thanks in advance and I hope the research above is helpful to others.

Like most things, you get what you pay for. Read the PDS very closely before signing up, and only insure with a company that is aligned with the Insurance Ombudsman - that's a big clue as to how they might handle a claim

Some cheap insurers will insure for agreed value or $X (where X is a figure they set) whichever is less. Happy days when you had your $30k vehicle written off and you got $10k ($X) and a wave goodbye!

Can't comment on Coles Insurance specifically, but if their model is like Budget Direct, then as NMX516 says like most things, you get what you pay for.

To keep premiums low, Budget Direct are extremely risk averse. So you may find if you make a claim that come renewal time they may not offer you renewal, if the circumstances haven't changed, & you could therefore make another claim. Bit of recent discussion & examples here:
viewtopic.php?f=53&t=59237

Shannons is probably the most commonly used insurer by forumites here. Would be worth persisting with them, especially if your MX5 is not used everyday as they offer various levels of limited use insurance.

Thanks 93_Clubman, although I had used the search function I somehow missed that very helpful thread. Silly me and thank you for your patience in pointing it out so politely!

I must get the same grumpy-wumpy at Shannons as Lokiel did because I've tried them a few times based on advice on this forum and each time they treat me like a crook, and frankly if that's the way they behave when I'm trying to pay them money I really don't relish the idea of making a claim. And thanks NMX516, I downloaded the PDS for Coles and it seems OK; agreed value is just that, and I do get choice of repairer, because if I ever needed one I'd want to go to MX-5 Factory in Ringwood.

Perhaps a risk-averse insurance company suits a mature couple in their 50s. Lets hope I don't have to find out by making a claim.

Keep in mind, or ask the insurer that you are considering, whether choice of insurer means:

- You have a choice of repairer that they recommend
- You choose your own repairer, they cover up to the amount their assessors/recommended repairer values the damage at, with the extra coming out of your own pocket if you choose someone to fix it not within their 'repair network'.

I have heard of certain companies using the term 'choice of repairer' very loosely without explaining which of the above they fall into.

Only thing with agreed value & some insurance companies these days is that they revise it downward come renewal time. I know someone who started with an agreed value of $12k in 2007 (what the car cost then), which has now been unilaterally revised by the insurance company to $8k (realistically roughly what the car is currently worth). So, if it's a show-stopper, it might be worth asking Coles Insurance what happens to the agreed value come renewal time.

I've never had a problem with Shannons, but from what I've heard on here they can be quite variable in terms of even being considered for a quote, so don't blame you given your experience of them.

Shannons is used widely by all old car enthusiasts.
I once had my Corvette insured with L.S.V.
However they also were giving me the "Run-around" with agreed value.
A few Members on "the Other" Car Forum had a few issuies with L.S.V. at claim's time.
Yet Shannons is always praised for there great sevice.
I got a qoute from Shannons and found it to be less than L.S.V.
So I agree, Perhaps you should have your Wife look into them.

Thanks all for the further advice.

yes I've experienced the agreed value dropping too, which annoys me. Sure they print the value on the renewal but I don't think I should have to go poking around for last year's documents to find out how much they've reduced it by - insurance is about trust, I have to tell them everything about the car which is fair enough but they don't return the courtesy by telling me how much less they value it, thus lessening my trust.

Coles were quite clear what they meant by choice of repairer. One of their network puts a price on the job and that's what they'll pay, so if Dick Richey at MX-5 Factory/Oven Baked Enamel Services can't match that I choose whether to pay the extra or not. Coles provide a lifetime guarantee on repairs only if I go with their repairer. All of which is fair enough I guess. I'll treat it as an extra excess payment if it happens. Another incentive not to bend the baby!

In any case, my experience with AAMI's lifetime guarantee isn't good, when I found a bent, non-structural bar in another car of mine the repairer simply denied it was a problem, and I couldn't be bothered arguing since it wasn't all that important to me at the time. But there went another bit of trust.

and thanks doc for the further push towards Shannons, I might talk to someone when I'm next in their showroom drooling over the gorgeous machines they have for sale there, but I won't bother with the phone service again. Too hard. I've got to renew by Tuesday so I think I'll go with Coles, which was not what I was expecting when i started this saga.

ColinJ I can give you a contact in Shannon's if you need it. I have always found them very good, plus making a claim is hassle free. I have 5 cars insured with them, 1 full time, 3 (2 are on agreed value) on very limited and 1 on restoration.

Magpie wrote:ColinJ I can give you a contact in Shannon's if you need it. I have always found them very good, plus making a claim is hassle free. I have 5 cars insured with them, 1 full time, 3 (2 are on agreed value) on very limited and 1 on restoration.

Thank you, that would be lovely - could you PM me details, please? Much appreciated!

Thank you for the PM, Magpie. What a lovely bunch of helpful people are on this forum!

Coles is undereritten by wesfarmers. A very large company with lots of security and capital.
I'd have no issues using them for my daily drivers if I wasn't with Shannons

As someone mentioned, you pay for what you get.
Shannons you get the service, experience and benefits. It comes at a cost.


Ps the way around shopping for quotes for your wife is to say you have finacial interest in the vehicle and you require a quote for that purpose.

It would be helpful to see some numbers in relation to Insurance Quotes as it allows Forum Members to make a real comparison between what they are paying and quotes from companies that they may not have considered.
I have been with Shannons since 2004 and due to the low mileage and immaculate condition of my '01 have re-negotiated the Agreed Value a couple of times (because it drops every renewal)
On the last occasion last month the renewal quote was "Agreed Value $15K, Premium $460."
This was about the same premium I first insured for in 2004 when the Agreed Value was $30K.
I gave them a ring and had a chat and we eventually decided on Agreed Value of $13K and Premium of $365. This is based on "limited use" & "locked garage" as it is a 'Sunday car' only. Excess : $500. Shannons don't haggle on Excesses.
The other best quote I obtained was AAMI: Book Value $12K, Premium $308. Excess $850.
I'd be interested to see some numbers for other quotes from other insurers.

I checked out the market before insuring my 93 NA8 and Shannons came out the best by far.

Rocky wrote:It would be helpful to see some numbers in relation to Insurance Quotes as it allows Forum Members to make a real comparison between what they are paying and quotes from companies that they may not have considered.

This is very cirumstance dependent, that is location, how is it stored, useage, under finance, agreed market value and sometimes the number of policies that you have with them.