Looking for feedback on this Companies Home and Contents insurance , first hand experience would be fantastic
Or I have read Choices comparison and done the quote thing but what is your opinion , one Choice gives 75% on price is way over the other 6 quotes I have got so far
Thanks in anticipation
If you have not, check these anecdotal reviews for trends and ignore any that have not made claims. Buying on price, ease of purchase, or a friendly sales voice can easily lead one astray since those traits have little relationship to how it goes when a claim is made or some form of post sale customer service is required. Those who had bad experiences pre-sales, or during their cover without a claim being involved, priceless.
Further to @PhilT, the insurance structure is also a bit convoluted:
Seems a lot of fingers in the pie, each wanting their commissions from premiums, and potentially involvement in reducing their own risks when applications for insurance are made and in (unfortunate) event where a claim is made.
The Aldi website states:
Insurance issued by RACQ Insurance Limited ABN 50 009 704 152, AFSL 233082 (āRACQIā) and distributed and administered by Honey Insurance Pty Ltd ABN 52 643 672 628, AFSL 528244 (āHoneyā). Honey administers the policy on behalf of the insurer, including sales, policy administration and assisting RACQI with claims management. ALDI Insurance Pty Ltd ABN 73 673 464 901, AR 1308867 (āAIPLā), promotes and distributes the insurance as an authorised representative of Honey but is not involved in claims management. Terms, conditions, limits and exclusions apply. Any advice is general advice only and does not take into account your personal objectives, financial situation or needs and may not be right for you. If you purchase an ALDI Insurance product, ALDI Stores (A Limited Partnership) ABN 90 196 565 019 (āALDI Storesā) is paid a Branding and Access Fee in relation to the services provided by AIPL which is a percentage of your premium. ALDI Stores is not responsible for issuing, distributing or administering such insurances. Always read the PDS (Product Disclosure Statement), any applicable SPDS (Supplementary PDS), FSG (Financial Services Guide) and TMD (Target Market Determination) available at aldiinsurance.com.au/documents before making any decision.
ALDI also offer 8% discount if their smart sensors are installed and are fully functional:
The Smart Home Program discount will be applied to your premium if you install and keep the smart home sensor kit operational. Each month we will assess your ongoing eligibility for the Honey Smart Home Program discount, based on your sensors being active. Where your sensors are not active, we may choose to remove your discount for the remaining period of insurance. Please refer to the PDS for full terms and conditions.
The above seems to suggest ALDI and Honey Insurance independently monitor these smart sensors to ensure they are being used.
I am unsure if I would feel comfortable with this, but, could see that some may accept risks if the premiums were very cheap compared to other insurers.
I tend to prefer insurers underwritten by IAG, but the other fingers in the pie put me right off. And getting a discount for installing a sensor is not particularly encouraging, IMO. In other words, I wouldnāt touch this one.
Got 8 quotes with a price variation of $14,000.00 , yes you read that right
GIO and its offshoots quoted ridiculous amounts
Aldi was in the cheaper portion followed by some big name companies , I have a few days up my sleeve so I will do some heavy duty pondering and PDS reading
Interesting RACQ provide the insurance ETC for Aldi but if you live outside Qld you are ineligible to insure direct with them
Now here is something to ponder , I did 8 online quotes for said insurance and out of the blue I get a phone call from overseas , āarea code 64ā and they had quite a few of my details
Now I am wondering if one of the illustrious 8 have a leak
There is no way I could prove anything but it is a magnificent coincidence
Annoying, yes, but not necessarily a breach of some kind. Country code 64 is New Zealand. A lot of the major Australian insurance companies cover both Australia and New Zealand. IAG is one example.
Alternatively, an AU company could have shared your details with a NZ affiliate ā and itās pretty standard for fine print on online forms to say the information you provide may be shared with associated entities.
Some companies have staff split across the pond who āworkā across both countries. We just ignore +64 numbers unless they leave a message who they are and why they rang. As @isopeda added, the various subsidiaries are āaffiliated companiesā and usually covered in the privacy policies.
Possibly you contacted one of these Australian insurers, which may use call centres in NZ to support their customer service operations in Australia:
No leak, just potentially following up your enquiry if you gave your contact details to them.
Thanks for the info , but no this guy with a sub continent accent was trying to scam me about my modem wanting all the info , serial number etc
3 of the above brands were accessed for a quote
I was unaware of the Aldi sensors, and found this:
āThey install three devices around your house that can help sense and prevent water leaks, smoke and open doors,ā he said.
āItās insurance that aims to ensure you donāt claim.ā
The sensors are a key part of Aldiās strategy to undercut competitors ā including Coles and Woolworths ā with cheaper premiums, but thereās also another element to the strategy.
What happens if thereās a claim and Aldi say that the sensors were not being used? How can a policy holder prove this? My plumbing and wiring were installed to code. I have interlinked mains powered smoke alarms. Iām not persuaded that sensors will do much.
They do not install them you do , so if you do not do it right , there is the escape clause
We recently updated our content on the home insurance offerred by Aldi, Woolies and Coles. TLDR yes Aldi is cheap and the cover isā¦. ok. Iām interested to hear your thoughts.
We were not comfortable with it being a 3rd party offering i.e. RACQ are the underwriters , Honey insurance rebadge it and use Aldi name , Aldi look like they are part of the deal but when you read the fine print they do not want to know , that rings alarm bells with me
We payed more for our new H&C insurance and hope we never need it but sleep a tad better knowing we are dealing with one company not a bunch who when claiming may start the runaround
Further Honey supplied a separate quote and it was $1000.00 dearer than the Aldi one which they supply ???
