4 Cases Where Buying Car Insurance Can Be Not So Simple
When purchasing car insurance in NSW, car owners will receive documents like an insurance certificate, policy disclosure statements (PDSs), and a policy schedule. An insurance certificate is a document (or proof) that substantiates the existence of a policy and summarizes vital details (inclusions, excesses, optional extras, sum insured, etc.) related to the purchased policy.
The policy schedule contains a vehicle owner’s disclosures about the car insured and nominated drivers. In contrast, the PDS provides a car owner with a wealth of information like product benefits, benefit limits, terms and conditions, exclusions, how to raise a claim, and more. A vehicle owner must read the fine print in PDSs carefully to know what their vehicle is covered for.
Also, in the past, insurers would commonly issue cover notes/letters as stopgaps until formal insurance certificates were handed over to the policyholders. Fast forwarding to the current times, not many insurers/brokers send out provisional documents as most vehicle insurance services have migrated online. Policyholders can quickly view/download their insurance certificate after signing in to their car insurance online accounts.
Car owners will receive the above-mentioned vehicle insurance documents after a successful buy. However, at this point, we would like to mention that purchasing a vehicle insurance policy may be straightforward for some vehicle owners, and not for all. To understand why getting vehicle insurance can be complicated and costly for some car owners, read the below-listed cases.
#1
Vehicle insurers are not obligated to provide cover for anybody who comes requesting it. For example, an insurer can deny coverage when a potential policy holder’s driver’s license has been canceled or disqualified, a driver has a history of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or a driver has been a convicted criminal or has poor claims history. Or, they might have other reasons, like the policy applicant lives in an area that is prone to frequent natural disasters.
#2
Suppose a policy holder’s license has been suspended because of non-payment of fines, piling up of demerit points, or committing offenses repeatedly (like violating speed limits), then they must not be driving. When it is illegal for a person to drive, an insurer may not come forward to insure their vehicle/s. Often such drivers still want insurance for their cars to safeguard them against theft or natural disasters, or for someone else driving the car. Some insurers will insure them, some will not. At the same time, these car owners must be prepared to receive higher quotes because of their abysmal driving history.
It is best to contact various insurers, request quotes, and compare them to hopefully purchase a policy at reasonable costs.
#3
The cost of insuring cars with driverless technology can be higher because such vehicles may have been expensive buys. Therefore, repair or replacement costs due to vehicle loss/damage during unexpected road incidents like a collision or impact can shoot up enormously. Also, remember that entirely driverless vehicles are not up for sale in Australia. However, many cars have driverless functionality like adaptive cruise control, steering assist, automatic parking, autopilot, auto emergency braking, etc.
#4
Car owners looking to buy a vehicle on finance must contact the financier to know about particular insurance requirements. Primarily, a finance company may demand a vehicle to have comprehensive car insurance coverage and a certificate of currency (issued by a vehicle insurer).
For the uninitiated, a vehicle owner must produce a certificate of currency before the finance company as proof of having active insurance coverage for the car purchased with the company’s financial assistance. It is an important document that may reassure a financier about being eligible to receive the first payout from the insurer if the financed vehicle is written off due to a car accident anytime later.
Car owners can view/download the certificate of currency by logging in to their car insurance online accounts. Purchasing and managing car insurance policies can be a cake walk provided vehicle owners have a good driving record and positive claims history. Now, you can buy car insurance in NSW with little hassles through online services and get a discount for purchasing a policy online.
