AA vs Autosure MBI

billyfieldman, Jul 16, 3:25pm
From searching Motoring, I understand that AA MBI is underwritten by DPL, which also underwrites Autosure.

But is buying from AA as good as buying from Autosure in terms of their attitude towards paying out? Is AA's MBI cover the same as Autosure's?
kazbanz, Jul 16, 6:25pm
billy--they ARE the same company and the same policies.
The claims guys field calls for both -the joke is they have one blue and one yellow phone on their desk.
The only difference is that because you can just buy an AA policy they usually require the vehicle to have had a full AA PP inspection.
billyfieldman, Jul 16, 7:43pm
Thanks Kaz.
thejazzpianoma, Jul 16, 10:46pm
I would suggest you also compare it to "self insurance" as in put the policy money in a separate bank account and keep it aside for emergencies.

When you consider the cost of the policy, the excess, maximum claim limits, service requirements, exclusions etc I am yet to see one that would be a worth while bet.

When I worked out what I would have paid on warranties for my cars over the years I was way over 20K ahead at last count.

But give them the benefit of the doubt and work it out for yourself. Consider what would actually be covered that would be worth claiming on, what you would likely save and what the likely hood of claiming on those items is. It's not as hard as it sounds to get a fairly good idea.
billyfieldman, Jul 17, 2:05pm
Thanks Jazz. Would take that into consideration.
bryshaw, Jul 19, 11:08am
Self insurance works OK until you hit an expensive sports car, it is your fault, and you are up for a $300,000 bill.
s_nz, Jul 19, 11:47am
"MBI" stands for Mechanical Breakdown Insurance.

So your maximum liability is the value of your car.

Often policies have a cap on payments too. I was about to buy one when I got my new car (I think it was autosure), but maximum claim for a single event was something tiny for the older car, so it made little sense.
thejazzpianoma, Jul 19, 4:07pm
Exactly my point on both counts, cheers.
kazbanz, Jul 19, 6:25pm
For cars up to 125000 km the maximum claim is 5k per claim.
For jappas that covers pretty much any eventuality.
Even up to 200k theres a 3k limit--still pays a solid portion of any major repair.
I point blank refuse to sell any euro vehicle unless it has the Autosure MBI as part of the sale.
Some would suggest waste of money.-The number of DT claims for euros crapping out is just a tiny portion of the number that do break down.
thejazzpianoma, Nov 19, 2:09am
So what you are saying is that you sell some vehicles which you don't believe will last a reasonable period of time without needing costly repairs. So you get your customers to pay for a warranty which actually underwrites your risk and obligations under the CGA.

Therefore it would be a reasonable assumption for any potential purchaser to be very wary of dealers who are insistent that customers buy warranties, or inflate their prices to "include" third party warranties in the deal.