Thread: Insurance

I'm with Suncorp Metway and they cover me everything in any building as long as its on the property.
They also cover my camera's off the property for an extra $50 pa.
I have never made a claim so I cannot say what the service is like.

Hi Ivor,

Most insurance companies will only cover up to $1000 for an individual item. perhaps you could try getting each peice of machinery listed as "specified contents", essentially this tells the insurance company that it is worth more than $1000.

You may need to give a valuation or pay a slightly higher premium but if it helps you sleep better at night then it is surley worth it.

best of luck

Dean

I'm no insurance broker, so this is just my personal thoughts.

I just moved house and as part of that move we re-evaluated our contents insurance. My understanding from going through this process was that the $1k limit applied only to individual items with a value in excess of that amount. In our case the only item that breached this was our CD collection, so we declared that. In the case of the CDs, it was not that the value of each item was so low, but the value of the collection was high. I suppose you would need to apply some level of rigour to decide if your tools represent a collection (in which case I definitely go over the $1k) or if they are considered individual items, in which case I definitely don't have any over $1k. In my case I decided that the tools were individual items, that I have catalogued, and therefore don't need to be seperately identified to the insurance company as part of your cover. The reason for this is that they each carry out an individual task, and that their only common traits were that they worked on a third party product (wood or steel) and ran on 240v or petrol.

Incidentally, it cost me no more to list the CD collection with the insurance company (AAMI).


Food for thought, I suppose.

I talked to AAMI on Christmas eve and they said as long as I had proof of purchase they would cover individual items over $1000. I did not have to specify these items. Jewelry and art works needed to be valued and specified.

I have all our insurances with Suncorp Metway, and have found them very good to deal with.

So far, I've only had minor claims (car bonnet walked across, bedroom window cracked, bathroom ceiling replaced after tree branch cracked roof tile), but in each case it was painless.

They also offer a discount if you have multiple policies with them, and have been happy to cover over their stated limit just on the provision of a list of items with prices and serial numbers.

FWIW, a guy at work is currently having major hassles with his car after using AAMI's "Valet Service" car repair.

Cheers,
Andrew

I'm with GIO I had 3 chainsaws taken nearly $4000 worth they paid $1000 less excess. $1000 is the maxium for tools of trade unless you pay enough to buy new saws every 3 years. They paid up no troubles for the stuff from the house.

If they are for a hobby, then they are not considered tools of trade.

I just checked the policy with AAMI to ensure I wasn't lying in the previous post.

In the section 'Contents with Limited Cover' the policy said "Tools of trade and professional equipment
Tools of trade and professional equipment used to earn an income
(whether or not used in your current or former occupation or profession).
Limit for any one claim: Up to $2,000 in total."

I checked my Westpac insurance before Christmas. There is a $1000 or $2000 limit on "tools of trade". There are no limits on individual items. No need to specify individual items. As a hobbyist I would be completely covered which is peace of mind.

George

Jez, there seems to be a bit of variety out there with thte insurance companies. It makes me start to wonder in the NRMA is so good after all.

I reckon if I write them a letter then the answer might be a bit more clear than the answer I got from the sales bloke over the phone. He seemed confused about what I was talking about having tools that were not for trade.

Thanks for all your responses

As a general rule the insurance company perceptrion of tools of trade is a blokes tool box that he hapens to bring home from work.

I have the contents of my shed seperately insured as part of a business polocy thru a broker.


Its a case of gettiing the insurance company to understand what you want to insure. and to view it from the insurance companies side if you want to understand yourself.

Insurance companies think,
that the average home owner has a mower, a few cheap handy man tools, a rake & a shovel.
and thats what they base their thinking on.

If you have other items of "value" you have to make them understand before you will get a sensible response.

But your are not then the average home owner, It will then depend on each companies underwriting policies and how they percieve you as to how they then view you and your risk.

some just don't understand.

some are good.

A good broker is well worth their fee.

Just had 2 claims through westpac and first one they covered me for a $10k Oscilloscope, and $5k worth of tools.
2nd claim still in the process but around $20K mark
i dont tell them that they are tools of the trade, as they have me listed as an engineer.
Now have to do my 3rd claim for 2 ladders i had stolen from the top of car in broad daylight on a busy road. They cut the padlocks off.
Not sure if i will do this through westpac as i can claim a max of $1000 on anything taken from the car but i have no excess.
I can claim off my trade insurance for upto $10k but with $500 excess with CGU.
One ladder cost $450 the other $1500.

All claims so far have been for water damage, luckily no thefts from garage yet. Have asked the boys in blue to come round and do an inspection on better security for the doors.

imo save your money.. if you get ripped off twice in your life you'll still save on what you would pay in insurance in a life time.

besides I just cant bring myself to send a cheque every year to an organisation that I know will fight black and blue to not give me the service I pay them for.

public liability and good ol' third party is all I find worthwhile.

Originally Posted by Slow6

public liability and good ol' third party is all I find worthwhile.

Every motor vehicle claim I have had has involved some unemployed cretin from a welfare warren running into me in an uninsured, unroadworthy piece of crap and anouncing to me that they don't give a damn.
Thank god for full comp.