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If you’re looking for cheap car insurance that's also reliable, ieatwords.com.au can help. We’ve sifted through 1000s of car insurance reviews on Budget Direct, AAMI, youi, Woolworths and Australian Seniors. Simply read on for a summary of what drivers liked the most and least about these top five most viewed car insurance providers.
Quick comparison of the top two most popular car insurance companies
Budget Direct Car Insurance | youi Car Insurance | |
---|---|---|
Policies offered | Comprehensive, Third Party Property, Third Party Property, Fire and Theft, Gold Comprehensive | Comprehensive, Third Party Property, Third Party, Fire and Theft |
All-Time Rating | 3.8 | 4.1 |
2019 Rating | 3.8 | 4.2 |
Value for money | 4.0 | 3.9 |
Customer Service | 3.9 | 4.2 |
Timeliness | 3.9 | 4.1 |
Transparency | 3.8 | 4.0 |
ieatwords.com.au Awards | None | Award Winner 2022 |
A more in-depth look at car insurance reviews
Budget Direct Car Insurance 3.8
Budget Direct, underwritten by Auto & General Insurance Company Ltd, sells four car insurance policies. Their highest rated policy, which was Third Party Property, Fire and Theft, came in at 4.3 stars out of 49 reviews. Budget Direct's least popular policy, Gold Comprehensive, received an average rating of 2.9 stars out of 29 reviews.
Points of praise for Budget Direct
Positive reviews commented on cost savings and helpful customer service. However, while there is a high average rating for Customer Service, it’s worth noting that the majority of these positive reviews came from customers after they’d signed up, still fairly early on into their Budget Direct journey.
Pain Points with Budget Direct
Reviews often mentioned the difficulty in dealing with customer service when staff responded to insurance claims. Either customer service was impolite, Budget Direct took an unreasonable period of time to process claims, and, in more than one case, rejected a claim, then immediately cancelled a policy without notice to the customer.
Customers who’d purchased the Gold Comprehensive policy showed markedly lower rates of satisfaction, with reviews focusing on sub-par customer service. In this case the poor service received on this gold level of cover wasn’t worth the higher premiums.
Youi Car Insurance
Award Winner 2022
Youi, which underwrites its own policies, received the highest rating for its single Comprehensive Insurance policy, awarded 4.2 stars out of 893 reviews. Its lowest ratings were for its Third Party Fire and Theft Insurance, with 3.4 stars out of 14 reviews.
Points of praise for youi
Youi’s customer service was most praised, with 4.2 stars out of 535 reviews, closely followed by their timeliness in responding to claims (4.1 stars out of 278 reviews).
In particular, many reviewers appreciated their car insurance policies being set up quickly and efficiently. They reported staff being friendly and informative during this process. One 5-Star review mentioned, ‘I felt that your company is more customer focused than the average insurer.’
The free roadside assistance included in youi’s Comprehensive Insurance policy was also an attractive feature for many reviewers, as some other companies charge for this in a separate agreement.
Many reviews also mentioned significant monthly cost savings compared to previous insurers.
Pain Points with youi
Youi’s lower ratings tended to focus on the following: the high excess charged for a policy with a lower premium, inconsistent quote amounts from one day to another, and certain policy quotes being very expensive compared to other companies.
Woolworths Car Insurance
Woolworths, underwritten by the Hollard Insurance Company, sells three car insurance policies: Comprehensive, Third Party Property Damage Only and Third Party Fire and Theft.
Woolworths has an overall rating of 2.6 stars out of 733 reviews. Its scores in specific areas were roughly even, with value for money receiving 2.6 stars, customer service at 2.5 stars, timeliness at 2.6 stars, and transparency coming in at 2.6 stars.
Points of praise for Woolworths Car Insurance
Reviewers noted that Woolworths' policies were easy to set up, with polite customer service. Another point worthy of mention is that reviewers observed their claims were resolved quickly and easily, with minimal delays from Woolworths responding to claims.
As one reviewer put it, ‘I say thank you Woolworths for your prompt service, and speed you operate at.’
Pain points with Woolworths Car Insurance
Unfortunately, the higher number of 1-star reviews agreed that while they experienced polite service at the start of the claims journey or when signing up, they encountered less friendly and helpful service when processing claims in Woolworths' call centre post-claim lodgement. Generally more evasive customer service was cited, including being put on hold for an extended period of time.
Reviewers also mentioned that while Woolworths offered cheap premiums initially, there were steep price increases in consecutive years. Another pain point involved frustration with Woolworths’ exclusive car repair centres. The nature of these frustrations involved smash repairers being too far away from people’s homes to be convenient, or that drivers were left waiting for months for their cars to be ready for pick-up.
Australian Seniors Car Insurance
Award Winner 2020
Underwritten by ACE Insurance, Australian Seniors sells three car insurance policies: Seniors Comprehensive Car Insurance, Seniors Third Party Property Damage Only, and Seniors Third Party Property, Fire and Theft Car Insurance. Australian Seniors' achieved its top scores for: value for money (4.8 stars) and customer service (4.8 stars).
While Australian Seniors is catered to drivers 50 years and over, it offers insurance for all Australian drivers over 17 with a valid driver’s license.
Points of praise for Australian Seniors
Australian Seniors' earned frequent praise for their helpful and friendly customer service, their pay-as-you-drive insurance cover option, which saved money for reviewers who didn't drive very often, competitive premiums - especially when compared to previous policies with other insurers, and also for their easy-to-set-up policies.
Many reviewers expressed appreciation that staff from Australian Seniors proactively phoned them to help them apply for the policy. In the words of one 5-star reviewer, ‘The experience from go to woe was seamless and painless with great explanation of sections which I did not understand. Thank You.’
Pain points with Australian Seniors:
Reviewers who gave a lower rating cited: delays encountered when requesting changes to a policy, and difficulty in being able to contact the company successfully after they'd set their policy up.
AAMI Car Insurance
Underwritten by the Suncorp Network, AAMI offers four policy types: CTP green slip for NSW, ACT and SA, Comprehensive, Third Party Property Damage Only, and Fire, Theft and Third Party Property Damage. AAMI's top score was given for its timeliness in reponding to claims, with 2.2/5 stars.
Points of praise for AAMI
Mainly, AAMI was praised for their friendly and personable customer service. Two customers reported AAMI ‘going above and beyond’ by helping them generously during times of financial hardship.
Multiple reviewers also reported that AAMI offered to organise Ubers from the repairer to and from their homes. Others enjoyed a smooth and hassle-free experience when making claims, with quick response times from AAMI.
One 5-star reviewer wrote of AAMI’s ‘friendly, excellent customer service in regards to accidental car damage and repairs.’
Pain points with AAMI:
Complaints commonly mentioned AAMI’s chosen repairers and roadside-assist contractors being low quality, delays in responding to claims, premiums increasing considerably even with no claims being made (this increase in premiums appeared to also apply to customers who had taken out multiple policies with AAMI, e.g. home and contents insurance along with car insurance).
Now that you know how the top five most popular car insurance fared in reviews, you can also scroll below to browse our Top 5 Rated Car Insurance providers. This list showcases the best-performing car insurance companies according to our trusted reviewers, including some lesser-known providers with happy customers.
Conclusion
Since the best car insurance for you won't always be the cheapest, we hope this review comparison guide has helped point you in the right direction. By matching up the strengths and weaknesses of car insurance providers to your preferences, you can hopefully now make a more informed choice that suits your driving habits and lifestyle.
Ratings and review data in this article are accurate as at June 1st 2020.