Man paid more because of address
RURAL residents who use real property descriptions for their car insurance could be paying double the amount they should.
Inglewood man, Reginald Inglis can’t bear to think how long he has been paying $900 more each year in car insurance – all because of a computing technicality that “disadvantages” rural residents.
A trip to Suncorp Bank in Warwick recently left Mr Inglis feeling ripped-off.
Like many on rural land, Mr Inglis supplied a real property description when he signed a contract for insurance on two cars.
He later discovered his insurance fees could be cut in half by supplying a rural property address instead.
Mr Inglis said he was concerned others were also being overcharged.
“The general public needs to be aware of this because there will be a lot of people out there in rural areas who would be in the same boat.”
A Suncorp bank spokesman said the cost to insure a car was calculated using a variety of factors, including the individual street address where the car was usually kept overnight.
“Suncorp uses street addresses because they are more accurate than real property descriptions,” he said.
“When a customer requests an online quote using a real property description our system will prompt them to enter a street address, and it also advises that this does affect the accuracy of the price.”
The spokesman said providing a specific street address allowed the company to factor in the risks of the car being kept at the specific property.
But Mr Inglis said rural street addresses could be inaccurate, potentially giving insurers the chance to “weasel their way out” of paying a claim.
A rural street address is calculated on the distance from the property’s entrance to the starting point of the road.
But Mr Inglis said a changing the gate or fence-line of the property could affect the address.
Mr Inglis is in the process of seeking compensation from Suncorp Bank.