At the moment, that is true -- Real Insurance's 200,000-strong customer base seems light when compared with IAG, which owns NRMA Insurance, CGU, SGIO, SGIC and Swann Insurance.
But as Virgin Money Australia managing director Matt Baxby points out, "Virgin never enters a market thinking it is not going to make an impact and companies like Progressive wouldn't be making large investments in the country unless they thought there was a real opportunity".
Mr Grobler says, in the long term, the new players "pose a huge threat for a few reasons".
"One is consumer behaviour is moving quite rapidly on to the internet and I think the new players are a lot stronger in terms of putting competing propositions on to the internet," he says.
Mr Baxby says online car insurance sales represent 5 per cent of the total market in Australia whereas in Britain it accounts for 40 per cent, so there is big potential for growth.
In response, Suncorp has launched Bingle Insurance and IAG has created The Buzz -- their takes on the cheaper, online insurer.
Source:
The Advantages of Cheap Car Insurance for Women Drivers
In recent years many specialist insurance companies have emerged in the market that offer insurance for women drivers only. At the same time, other insurance companies have also begun to offer specialised insurance for women only.
But why, some ask? Well, the UK Home Office and a number of independent researchers have shown clear research that women are safer drivers, in general, and are also less prone to be involved in serious accidents. In 2005, the statistics showed 6529 male casualties on the road as opposed to 2962 female casualties. In 2007, the statistics showed that only seven percent of drink-driving convictions were female; meaning 93 percent of drink-driving convictions were male. These are certainly serious statistics.
There are many reasons for these statistics, however, and most of the reasons have much less to do with whether or not females are better drivers than males, and more to do with the fact that females generally don’t drive on the motorways but drive in town instead; are usually transporting the kids; don’t usually do the driving when going out or going on holiday; or are just, generally, more cautious on the road. Males spend more time on the road, in general, as well.
The kind of accidents women tend to have, with the above in mind, are usually only minor in comparison to men who, when they have an accident, they have a serious one. Also, females tend to buy more conservative cars.
Regardless of why, the fact is that insurance companies are making it much easier for women drivers – and young women, as well – to get cheaper insurance. For the ladies, this is good news, and they should take advantage of this fact as much as they can.
For-women-only insurance often comes with a list of perks that cater for women. Young women, however, should be very savvy with these perks as some of them may not be needed - such as car seat cover insurance (usually useful if you have kids). But there are a number of other perks which may be of interest, such as 24 hour emergency helplines, mobile phone locators, female-friendly repair staff, handbag cover (up to £300) or a courtesy car if yours is in repair.
RushLimbaugh.com (subscription), CA - Jun 03, 2009
RushLimbaugh.com (subscription)National Health Care Will Obliterate the Concept of Individual LibertyIt turns out, ladies and gentlemen, that the Democrats had a Democrat-only meeting yesterday with Obama on nationalized health care. The Democrats want to ram this down everybody's throat just like they did TARP and just like they did the stimulus bill
Getting car loan letters and passports for newbornsI understand that there is a cheaper option where a car is simply driven on to a ship and then off again at the other end, but it could then be easily damaged – for example, if there was bad weather. Upon arrival you will have to pay import duty of 5
Rude health: Calling Dr good valueDoing a bit of shopping around at home for cheaper private health-insurance can also pay dividends. I had supper recently with a friend who, for the first time ever, had gone looking for quotations, as one would with car or home insurance.
Money makes their world go roundIf he does accept the offer of another car funded by the Maltese taxpayer, or has done so already, then he should sell his Alfa Romeo and donate the proceeds to a fund for stricken workers on four-day weeks, or pay some old ladies' electricity bills.
San Antonio CurrentNOTES FROM THE UNDERGROUND ECONOMYSince the economy tanked, her business has improved, and she reflects that she's doing more men's haircuts, since she's cheaper than the barbershop. But Blanca says that the bulk of her business is in perms, mostly on older ladies, for which she