New car? Shannons Insurance doesn't want your business

Money
1

Hi All,

I find myself somewhat bemused by Shannons Insurance. We recently bought a new car and thought we would insure it with Shannons, as we already have 2 vehicles along with house and contents policies with them. We have been continuous customers for about 12 years. When I received the quote I was surprised as it was significantly more expensive than quotes I had obtained from other insurers while having the same conditions/excesses etc. Quotes from other insurers for the vehicle ranged from $276 - $418 per annum with Shannons quoting $557pa.

As usual (and as I have done in the past with some success) I called Shannons, told them about cheaper quotes elsewhere, and asked if there was anything they could do to make the quote more competitive. Their response was that Shannons is an insurer of ‘exotic, rare, and collectable’ types of vehicle and that their policies have features to reflect this, so if I was shopping for insurance on price as the main criteria then, “Perhaps Shannons is not the right fit for your insurance and you should find another insurance company for this car”.

I was gobsmacked, but thinking that maybe it was simply a disgruntled consultant, I waited a few days and called back to be told essentially the same thing. “If you are shopping on price then Shannons is probably not for you.”

My brother in law reminded me that I had recommended Shannons to him and he took out insurance with Shannons on 2 vehicles and that his daughter-in-law wanted to insure her recently purchased $12K Toyota. When she rang Shannons and gave them details of the vehicle, Shannons tried very hard to suggest that she would be better off elsewhere and that Shannons was not interested in insuring the vehicle, so much so that the young lady came away in tears, feeling that both she and her choice of car was being criticized. As my Brother in Law was already insured through Shannons he called back, relayed the story and eventually the vehicle was insured without further incident.

In my last call to Shannons when I again asked for a more competitive quote the consultant said “Let me see if I can find a way to put this gently, . . . Shannons builds extra benefits into their policies for the discerning buyer of older vehicles, show cars and the like which means that if you’re shopping for insurance on price alone then Shannons is probably not the best choice and you might be better off looking for another insurer for this car.”.

I then asked about our current "pay by the month’ policies and whether there was any penalty for early termination to which I was told no, no penalties apply, but he asked in a puzzled tone as to why I would terminate my insurance, I explained that if I was going to look for another company to insure for the new car, I could get much larger discounts if I brought house, contents, and two other vehicles along as well. I asked the consultant if he could see my dilemma and he said yes, that he could and seemed at a loss for words. When he had nothing more to offer I ended the call.

So sorry Shannons, my mistake! Obviously our new car is not cool enough, or retro enough for you to insure. If that’s the case then I’m equally sure that my 2 existing cars, house & contents aren’t cool enough either. I’m now looking for a “good insurer”. (Oxymoron Alert!!)

Any recommendations?

1 Like
2

Hi.

I once tried to insure a Hyundai with them, denied!

We’ve had the same experience with Shannon’s when doing our Car Insurance reviews, their policies usually score well but Shannon’s always ask us to point out that they’re a specialist car insurer, meaning you either have to have a collectible or be a member of a car enthusiasts club.

You can check the CHOICE car insurance reviews for any other insurers that may suit.

Thanks

Jodi

3

Shannons Insurance is part of the Suncorp group, one of Australia’s biggest insurance companies.

I wonder if this is the reason why they don’t want common (old or new) cars, as their sister companies specialise in these but won’t insure exotic or rare vehicles. It is ensuring that the companies don’t ‘compete’ with each other for customers outside their principal and targeted customer catchments?

4

Like it or not Shannons are a specialist insurer and they are always going to seek their target market out of specilist vehicles. Interestingly though when they were over 200 dollars more to insure my new mx5 they matched my existing quote as I akready have a 1968 classic with them.

But I simply would not even go to them for a standard late model car as I already know I could get a better deal eleswhere


Ross

5

I know someone who works at Shannons and their staff have little discretion. They adopt an elitist position, from which they rarely budge. Don’t bother with them. There are plenty of other insurers out there, who want your business more than Shannons.

6

I noticed that there is a bit of biffo on Shannons Insurance here and I feel I have to add my 2.2 cents worth.
I have been longtime buyer of their insurance, it started on my collectable cars and the were more than competitive when I added my modern vehicles to a combined policy so I am very happy.
I have been very fortunate to only make one accident claim which was a single vehicle accident involving skippy and claimed a couple of windscreens over the years but they were no-nonsense and easy to deal with and my premiums have always been what I consider extremely reasonable.
Plus they keep making policy adjustments for the rising value of my collectables without being asked too.

7

I’ve used Shannons once for a classic car. Big Mistake. They are very expensive. Check out RACV “Veterans and Vintage” section, you must ask to be transferred to this section, and you will be pleasantly surprised at how much cheaper they are. If your vehicle is on club plates they are even cheaper. My 1st experience with Shannons was when I purchased a new car that had many special extras added to it. Shannons didn’t want to know about it and told me to insure it elseware. Shannons never again.

8

With the demise of InsureMyRide, I moved to Shannons (owned by the same crowd). My experience has been great, saved money on the bikes and other policies I have consolidated. Very happy.

Which brings up an interesting question - why? Some people in this thread have had bad experiences, others including me have been good. Maybe Shannons is changing with the demise of IMR - eg they insured my shopping trolley for a price cheaper than a few other quotes I had. It illustrates a point that if a company goes through a bad stretch, the bad vibe that generates lives a long time and can be hard to turn around - assuming thats the case - I can’t say. I can say I’ve dealt with 3 people there in the last 2 weeks, and they’ve price matched and done better pricing and given multi-policy discount. Off-topic - they also insure learner riders now.