Rates and fees verified as correct at 14 June, 2021. Other information correct at the time of writing. Advertiser disclosure.
| Product | Monthly premiums available | Maximum no claim discount | Online discount | Choice of repairer | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Comprehensive Car Insurance | Yes | Not Published | n/a | No | Go to site |
Huddle’s insurance policies are underwritten by The Hollard Insurance Company. Established in South Africa in 1980, Hollard Insurance went global more than 20 years ago and has been operating in Australia since 1999. Today Hollard underwrites a vast number of Australian insurance providers including Woolworths, Kogan Insurance, Australia Post, Bupa, Pet Insurance Australia and RSPCA Pet Insurance.
On a basic level Huddle offers two types of insurance: third party and comprehensive. For comprehensive you can choose from either the ‘Everyday Comprehensive’ policy or ‘Huddle Black Comprehensive’ policy. The latter being the highest level of cover you can get for your wheels with Huddle.
As well as these options there’s also a whole bunch of extras to choose from and you can even select to ‘pay-as-you-drive’ if you aren’t a regular driver.
Huddle’s comprehensive car insurance comes with all the benefits you would expect from a high level of cover. These include:
Up to $20 million of legal liability
Cover for damage you may cause to someone else’s property
Cover for your own wheels, if you are involved in an accident
Cover for your car if it is damaged as a result of theft, a malicious act or fire
New for old car replacement - applies if your car is written off up to 2 years after original registration
$70 a day cover for a hire car following a theft for 14 days
Up to $1,000 worth of trailer and caravan cover
Up to $500 for essential repairs
Up to $500 worth of cover for baby seats and prams
Up to $500 for personal property
Emergency travel and accommodation covered up to $500
Up to $1,000 worth of cover for locks and keys
Reasonable towing costs
If you want to increase your cover roadside assistance, Kanga cover, excess-free windscreen cover and up to $3,000 worth of sports gear cover are available as optional extras.
Above is the information for Huddle’s Everyday Comprehensive Insurance, if you’re keen to get the highest level cover possible with Huddle you can up the ante and go for Huddle Black Comprehensive Car Insurance. This includes everything that the Everyday policy has, plus more. The main differences are:
Up to $30 million of legal liability (instead of $20 million)
Your choice of repairer
New for old car replacement for a vehicle up to 3 years old (must have under 70,000km on the clock)
$80 a day cover for a hire car following a theft, for a maximum of 14 days
Up to $1,000 worth of cover for personal property
Up to $2,000 worth of cover for emergency travel and accommodation
Up to $2,000 worth of cover for locks and keys
Rental car excess or bond cover, up to $2,000
Roadside assistance is also automatically included
As you can see Huddle Black includes more extensive cover than the Everyday Comprehensive policy. It also offers a few extra perks such as choice of repairer, rental car excess or bond cover and roadside assistance. These are either not included in the Everyday policy, or are only available as optional extras.
Of course as with all insurance policies there are some exclusions to be aware of. Some instances in which Huddle will not cover you are:
If you use the wrong fuel in your car
For non-essential repairs that Huddle did not approve
For further damage which occurs as a result of you driving your car in an already damaged condition
Tyres damaged by braking, punctures, cuts or bursts
General wear and tear to your car, e.g. from rust or corrosion
More than the agreed or market value of your vehicle
Deliberate damage caused by someone given permission or consent to use your car
Read the product disclosure statement (available on Huddle’s website) for a full and detailed list of all the exclusions that apply to this policy.
Huddle’s ‘pay-as-you-drive’ car insurance is basically its comprehensive cover but with a discount of up to 30% for driving less than 15,000km per year. That is you can get ‘pay-as-you-drive’ cover with either the Everyday Comprehensive or Huddle Black Comprehensive plans - it is not available with Huddle’s Third Party Property Insurance.
Of course you’ll have to prove that you did indeed drive less than 15,000km in the insurance year. How does Huddle track that you ask? Well it works like this:
When you sign up, you’ll be be able to purchase between 1,000km and 15,000km for the year (you’ll have to judge this on how many kilometres you usually drive in one year)
Huddle will then ask for your current odometer reading - which you must supply within 14 days of your policy starting
Your odometer reading at the end of the insurance period should be your start reading, plus the kilometres you bought
If you think you might go over your allotted kilometres, you can top them up via the ‘manage policies’ part of your account. Although if you do have to do this, just remember that your premium payment will change.
A $1,000 additional excess may apply, if:
the odometer reading is less than the start odometer reading
or more than the start odometer reading, plus kilometres purchased
Available as an optional extra, Huddle’s Kanga cover is quite unique. It provides excess-free cover for your first animal collision each year. So should you be unlucky enough to hit an animal, Huddle will either replace or repair your car.
This additional benefit may be useful if you drive late at night or live in a more rural area. Just keep in mind that opting for it will increase the amount you pay for your premium. Read our article: what to do if you hit a wild animal for tips on general wildlife road awareness.
If your budget is a little tight or you’re after a more basic level of cover, you might be interested in Huddle’s Third Party Property Insurance. This will provide you for cover if:
You cause damage to someone else’s vehicle
Your vehicle is damaged by an uninsured third party (cover is capped at $3,000)
Plus 24/7 emergency assistance
This insurance plan will not provide cover for your own wheels, although there is the option to add cover for fire and theft. With this your car will be covered if it is damaged by fire, theft or attempted theft. In these instances you will be covered for:
A hire car
Essential repairs
Personal property damage
Emergency travel and accommodation
Towing costs
Included with Huddle Black Comprehensive Insurance, or available as an optional extra with other policies, Huddle’s roadside assistance offers:
Automotive assistance, e.g. help with inflating a flat tyre or replacing a flat tyre.
Minor automotive repairs - for this Huddle may arrange for help with minor breakdown related repairs.
Help with a flat battery - if your car battery is flat, Huddle will arrange for it to be jump started or coordinate the delivery of a replacement battery. Huddle will not cover the cost of a replacement battery, it will simply help with the logistics of getting it to you.
Delivery of emergency fuel. Should you run out of fuel, Huddle will arrange for enough fuel to be delivered to you, so that you can reach the nearest petrol station. Delivery will be free and Huddle will provide a maximum $10 worth of petrol.
Help with lost or stolen keys. Huddle will provide up to $50 worth of cover for a spare key to be delivered to you, or for a locksmith to be called out.
Help arranging towing. If your vehicle cannot be repaired at the roadside, Huddle will arrange for it to be towed to the nearest repairer. This is up to 20km in a metro area and up to 100km in a regional area. Huddle will not cover any additional towing or repair costs.
With Huddle you can choose to pay an excess from as little as $500 to as much as $5,000. Just remember that the lower the excess, the more you will have to pay come claim time and vice versa.
You may have noticed from Huddle’s website that it is ‘B Corp’ certified. This is a private certification administered by the organisation B Lab. To achieve the certification a company must score at least 80 points out of 200 in the B Impact Assessment. The assessment looks at the environmental, social and governance impact the company has.
To summarise, B Lab aims to encourage businesses to be about more than just profit and show that no company can be truly sustainable without considering seriously its impact on the world at large. Indeed as part of this Huddle is also part of the 1% for the planet program. Every company that is part of this scheme donates at least 1% of its revenue to a cause that supports the planet.
You can lodge a claim with Huddle at any time of the day or night through the fintech’s app: Zap. In fact, this is where Huddle’s tech expertise really comes into play, as the app uses bott-powered technology to automatically approve simple claims, begin organising repairs and help. Here’s a quick rundown of the process:
First you’ll log into your account on the app
Then you’ll tell Zap what happened
After that you’ll be asked to share evidence, such as pictures
Finally either Zap will approve your claim, or if it’s a little more complicated it will hand it over to an actual person
Some simple claims that Zap might be able to help with include:
Car crashes or collisions
A broken windscreen
Flood damage
Hail damage
Something falling on your car
Bushfire damage
A lightning strike
Some information that Huddle will use to work out your insurance premium will be:
What type of cover you want, e.g. Huddle Black or Third Party Property
What make car you have
Where your car is parked at night
What accessories or modifications your car has
Who drives your car, e.g. how old they are, what their driving history is
The value of your car