We’re lucky enough to have a great office space and facilities, and happy to share! We have a great board room space that we like to offer FREE use of for our clients. Whether you’re a bit bored with your desk or office, or have an important meeting, come and change your view on the world for a morning or an afternoon!
What if I’m not a client, you say?
If you’re not currently an Allsure Insurance client (yet, haha), then all we require is a small donation to the Tour de Cure foundation.
About the space
Our board room seats 16, and during the day we have an in house barista who makes delicious coffee on our funky coffee machine. Catering can be arranged if required, too.
Give us a call and book in today on (03) 5278 6808 or contact us here.
Director Melissa Donaldson talks about why expertise and tailoring matters when it comes to buying insurance, comparing it to something at least 50% of the population can identify with: bra shopping.
“I hated looking for clothes, and found one labeled one-size-fits-all,” recalls Donaldson. “Trust me, it doesn’t! Ever bought a bra that pinches, bites or rides up? Wished you had gone and had one correctly fitted?? I have.”
Having the right insurance is no accident
“Much like finding clothes or a bra that fits correctly, you can tailor your insurance covers. Don’t be fooled by clever marketing that all insurances are the same – there’s a reason insurance brokers have to continuously maintain and grow their professional development and expertise – insurance can be complicated and the environment changes constantly (think about emerging risks like cyber and terrorist attacks).”
Buying insurance should be the same approach as other professional services
“Insurance policies are complex legal contracts. Think of an important document you’ve done, such as a will… Did you Google legal advice and complete your will online? Or did you speak to a lawyer for confirmation that everything is in order? (Gosh, I hope you did, even for my own peace of mind!) Insurance may be considered a ‘grudge purchase’ but give yourself the satisfaction of knowing you’ve not left it to chance. And should something happen and you need to make a claim, you’re not alone – you’ll be in good hands with your insurance broker by your side.”
As much of a grudge purchase as car insurance can be, not having your car insured properly could effectively bankrupt you.
Allsure Insurance Director Melissa Donaldson exclaimed “I don’t understand why you would be working so hard at building a business, yet leave a huge hole in your risk profile! I cannot comprehend it. A new Merc is super expensive, imagine if you wrote one off, and you didn’t have insurance. We are here to help!”
But what are the types of car insurance and how much does car insurance typically cost? See below for a high level explanation about some common car insurance lingo.
Third party
Third party insurance means in the case of an accident, the other party [person, property] is covered for the damage your vehicle caused. Many take this option if their car isn’t worth much… but keep in mind that you may save money on your on premium, however, you might be out of pocket on car repairs or a total loss. Sometimes it’s less than $200 per year for this cover.
Third party fire and theft
Third party fire and theft covers the above AS WELL as if your car if it catches fire, or if it is stolen. It doesn’t cover your car if it’s damaged in an accident. It could be less then $300 per year for this cover.
Comprehensive
Comprehensive car insurance covers all the above, as well as repairs to your vehicle if you are in an accident. You can also add features like a hire car and windscreen. It can be as little as $550 per year for this cover.
Compulsory third party (CTP)
Compulsory third party insurance is MANDATORY, and is designed to cover the cost of personal injury to another party, this is TAC. If they are injured in the car accident, it pays for their medical and rehabilitation.
PS. We haven’t taken your person circumstance into account, just general advice. Yes we’re an insurance broker, with a small, local business, trying to save the world, one insurance policy at a time.
PSS. Prices will change depending on vehicles, state and drivers.
PSSS. Have questions? Talk to someone like us! Call (03) 5278 6808 to get answers or a free quote.
Allsure Insurance Director Melissa Donaldson writes frequent posts with some of her top ‘insurance 101’ tips for a social media group that she’s involved with. Well, we thought some of them were pretty swell, and likely to be the same questions that others may have!
See below for some of the most recent Q&As – and if you have any questions you’d like to add to the list for our next tips round up, just let us know!
I run a business from home. Do I need to do anything different with my insurance?
For example. If you run a business from home, make sure your household insurance covers your business items, stock etc. If not, you may need separate cover. Your household liability won’t cover your business liability if you need it.
What’s the best way to make sure I have my business portables covered, such as iPhones, laptops, etc…?
If you have only a few to cover, a good household policy may cover it, usually an accidental damage type of cover. You will need to read wording to make sure it does cover ‘business items.’ We know, super damn boring, but that’s why you come to someone like us – a bit geeky and reads that stuff for fun! [Yes we need to get out more.]
Remember, however, to consider the excess you will have to pay in the case of a claim.
Secondly, you could take out ‘general property’ insurance, that will cover a wider range of business portables and usually have a lower excess than your home policy. This section is typically added to a business liability policy.
What’s the best way to go about getting life insurance and trauma cover?
We’d recommend a good financial planner! They may be able to make sure the cover sits within a super policy, as this could be a cost effective way to have cover. We also have a program where a life insurance broker can arrange cover for you. We generally do recommend that these covers form part of your financial plan.
Please note that wherever you go for advice, they’re likely to ask in depth, personal questions. This can help make your rates fair (i.e. if you don’t smoke it’s likely to save you money).
Do I need professional indemnity insurance?
Do you offer your clients advice? Do you give them directions to follow, recommendations? Are you a consultant or perhaps an advertising agency? You probably need professional indemnity insurance (or at least to speak to your insurance broker about it). It can be somewhat of a ‘forgotten cover’, but could leave your business very exposed if you don’t have it.
Do I need product insurance?
If you make products, the liability for them may be covered under your public liability. Also if you import into Australia, you are considered the ‘manufacturer’ and need to have product liability coverage.
What information do I need to know to get appropriate public liability cover?
Know your numbers! The insurance companies use your turnover figures to help determine their exposure in your public liability cover. So get clear on your numbers, it may save you money or at least make sure that you’ve got the right level cover.
A bit of trivia – do you know where insurance contracts started?
Modern insurance contracts started in the mid 1700s, at Lloyds of London. Essentially the contracts were taken out in the local coffee houses on the boats and the cargo they were delivering. Lloyd’s is still an insurance company today. We take our coffee seriously, too, and have an in house barista at our office, if you are ever in the area pop in for a coffee! 🙂
What is accidental damage cover?
We have ALL done this at some stage. Did your insurance cover the cost of having your carpets cleaned? Or even replaced if it didn’t clean out? Accidental damage cover might have saved you the pain and some $$.
What are the benefits of a corporate travel insurance policy?
Did you know that if have an ABN, you maybe able to have a corporate travel policy? This is a yearly policy, that covers you for business and leisure, overseas, interstate and intrastate. It can also include your family when travelling with you!
Remember we don’t know your circumstances, so this is just some general information. Talk to a insurance broker!
What happens to your premium if you double your public liability insurance coverage?
Did you know your premium isn’t likely to double between $10 million coverage to $20 million? It’s usually just a small increase. Let’s face it, if you had a serious claim against your liability, you would want the right level of cover (and believe us, it does happen). You finding the difference between the 10 to 20 million from your back pocket is huge!
I run a business from home – does that change my liability insurance requirements?
Your insurer does like to know if you run a business from home, as it can add to the liability risk for them. Don’t assume your home liability will cover your business/product liability. Having home contents cover may not cover your businesses stock either.
Remember to always read your insurance policy wording, or talk to someone who understands the wordings and can answer your questions!
General advice warning
The information above may be regarded as general advice. That is, your personal objectives, needs or financial situations were not taken into account when preparing this information.
Accordingly, you should consider the appropriateness of any general advice we have given you, having regard to your own objectives, financial situation and needs before acting on it. Where the information relates to a particular financial product, you should obtain and consider the relevant product disclosure statement before making any decision to purchase that financial product.
So, you’ve just bought a car and you are now faced with the seemingly daunting task of buying car insurance. At first glance wading through the myriad of options can make you want to dash home and comfort yourself in the warm embrace of dark chocolate and fine merlot.
But, with a bit of perspective, we can make the options seem all the more decidable.
The beastly basis of settlement
Of all the animals of the car insurance jungle, none is more baffling than the elusive ‘basis of settlement’.
While you may not be familiar with the term at first glance, you will have at some point run into at least one of its two common forms: ‘market value’ and ‘agreed value’.
I can already hear you sighing “oh, I know that trap,” with a sense of melancholy that can only be truly embodied through the image of eyes rolling…out of your head, through the door and all the way to the airport …before catching a flight to Costa Rica.
Now, now dear reader, there is a much easier way to handle this. Let’s start by taking a look what each method entails before examining the benefits of each.
Market value versus agreed value – know your car insurance jargon
Under a market value policy, in the event of a total loss and assessor will find the settlement figure by looking at the cost to replace the vehicle with one of a similar year, make, model and condition, under private sales in your local area.
You can find an approximate value in car sales by entering the above details into the advanced search function, exempting the highest and lowest examples to account for overpriced vehicles and lemons and averaging your resulting values. Do bear in mind though this will always be an approximation.
Agreed value is a different beast altogether. At the start of each policy period, you and your insurer will ‘agree’ on a settlement value which will hold true in the event of a total loss, until the end of the policy period. Always remember that these values will face deductions if you have outstanding excesses and premiums or are seeking to keep the salvage of your written off vehicle.
Now, onto the benefits of these two services.
Benefits of market value
While you may be intuitively inclined to pick agreed value every time, you must take into account the hidden extras of a market value policy. When settling vehicles for total loss some insurers may provide a bit extra to cover those sneaky stamp duty and transfer costs; do remember that it is important to ask your insurer BEFORE you claim, so that you know what you are getting into.
Another common extra on the market value basis of settlement can be found under ‘replacing your vehicle after a total loss.’ If your vehicle is less than 2-3 years old this additional benefit may come in handy as you could end up with a brand new vehicle! You won’t find that under agreed value.
This is why when buying your vehicle new, it can be more beneficial for you to take that market value settlement, but be careful; not all policies are born equal. Always check your PDS (or ask your advisor) and double check the benefits limits for odometer readings and age as well as the point your insurer takes the vehicle age from. For example, some insurers will say your vehicle is 1 year old from the first date of registration, others will says it is 1 year old from the compliance date!
Benefits of agreed value
You may now be saying to yourself “Well those benefits sounds great, why would anyone bother with agreed value then?” Agreed value can come in handy when you have a vehicle with a high rate of depreciation and being able to lock in an agreed value at the start of each renewal helps to protect you from those dropping prices throughout the policy term.
Another added advantage is with vehicles that have a relatively low market value. When the cost to replace these vehicles is dwindling to an ever lower value, one can quickly lose the point in insuring it comprehensively when; if a claim arises you will have already paid the settlement value through the excess and premiums. In this particular situation, having an agreed value will also provide a ‘buffer zone’ in which your poor vehicle may have a chance to be repaired before it is sent off to the wreckers.
Car insurance ‘introduction to settlementology’ badge earned!
Phew, I think we’re really starting to see the differences! Whilst these aren’t the only applicable situations where benefits may arise, you should have hopefully attained your ‘introduction to settlementology’ badge and will now be able to make a more informed decision when buying your next car insurance policy.
If you are not confident that you can figure out the correct policy to buy you can always consider going through a broker or authorised representative; these people have a wealth of experience and could save your skin one day.
Remember, having the right insurance is no accident!
This information may be regarded as general advice. That is, your personal objectives, needs or financial situations were not taken into account when preparing this information.
Accordingly, you should consider the appropriateness of any general advice we have given you, having regard to your own objectives, financial situation and needs before acting on it. Where the information relates to a particular financial product, you should obtain and consider the relevant product disclosure statement before making any decision to purchase that financial product.
