I bet when you get your car insurance you probably don’t really care who underwrites your policy, who owns the underwriter or who owns the insurance company you are buying insurance from. Let me tell you, the South Africans are coming into our insurance market in a big way with new innovative policies and prices that some of the local companies are finding hard to match.

The Budget Group has been around since the 1970s but has only been in Australia since 1999. They have been a great for the Australian consumer by increasing competition and bringing in a greater choice of policy options. Budget Direct own ibuyeco, Budget Direct, Ozicare, Cashback, Best Buy and 1^st for Woman all of which offer different policies to suit a particular demographic. Not only do Budget own these companies but they also own the underwriter Auto & General Insurance which in addition to underwriting the companies own by the Budget Group also underwrite Supercheat Auto Car Insurance, Amway Financial Services car insurance and 1300 car insurance.

Hollard own Real Insurance and Pay As You Drive and FirstRand owns the latest edition to the South African advancement into the Australian car insurance market with Youi, the car insurer that claims to ask and no assume the worst. All these companies have made a big impact and has make the Australian companies work a bit harder for change.

Suncorp-Metway is one company that is offing a range of policy choices for consumers through their brand names; APIA, Shannons, AAMI, Just Car, Bingle, GIO and Suncorp. The company also has joint ventures in the insurance providers RAA, RACQ and RACT. These brand specialise to suit a wide range of customers and competes with Budget direct in offering consumers a great choice of policy options. Just Car and Bingle car insurance are competing for the lower end of the market with their ‘no frills’ car insurance which I think is great. I am a big believer in that many people end up paying for things you don’t need, Bingle and Just Car might be slim on benefits but they make up for it with very competitive pricing.

It will be an interesting few years in the Car insurance industry to see whether more innovative companies can come into Australia from offshore markets or whether the Australian Insurance companies can innovate themselves and stop the foreign invasion.

If you want to compare any company mentioned in this article go to our comparison page where you can compare one insurer against a range of other to easily compare the feature and benefits. You can even leave feedback on an insurance company to help other consumers make the right decision.

By David 'dub' Johnston