The moral of the story is......look after your vehicle when going remote. Use common sense, mechanical sympathy and be prepared. Because if there's 1 thing i've learnt in this world, it's that the only person you can count on is YOURSELF.

Club 4x4 all the way! 👍 When I drove my Suzuki Sierra around the country for many years, I just had standard insurance (but should have read the PDS!). Servicing, tuning, having a trustworthy vehicle and mechanic, and driving sensibly within your capabilities, whilst looking after your vehicle also helps. Great topic!

What a fantastic episode and incredibly informative. Thankfully my car and van are only suitable for the black top. I'm with the RAA for road assistance car and van are insured for any accident on every marked road Australia wide. I spent over an hour with them with all,these scenarios as we are going from S.A to Tas and will be travelling on many types of roads even asking about crossing Bass Strait right down to theft from caravan parks. But this is a huge wake up call to be vigilant and double check everything. Well down sir.

That is an excellent point. I am from Canada and I must say that I do not know. I will contact my insurance company right away. Thank you for making this video!

Thank you for doing this! Love your down to earth, open and honest approach to your content

I know in the past I have signed a policy that noted the roads I would not be covered on, and damages that would not be covered. Also one policy required every modification down to small details to be listed or I wouldn’t be covered. During these crazy times, I would wonder about insured value vs replacement value, as I have seen many models increase in value.

Hi Ronny It would be good to do a video on peoples experiences with this. I would @ least like to have some kind of plan should I find myself & the levels of screwed you have touched on here before I go & put myself into situation that entail those kinds of risks. Of course to do that, the most important thing to acquire is the right knowledge. That is not often an easy thing. Good video!

Good topic Ronnie. I chose Club 4x4, mainly for remote recovery and agreed value (2006 Troopie with upgrades). I just quit them because of the way they skun about 18% of the quote by a panel beater for repairs needed after I had a major roo strike in the SW. $10.5k of damage was assessed by panel beater, but Club 4x4 external DESKTOP assessors said it was only $8.9k. And excess was $650 as well (all insurance corps are re-insured, so payments are not from their bottom line, but their profit margin. Your 'excess' covers their admin costs, and together with the premium, ensures profit, not loss from a claim. The process was messy, and protracted. No-one from Club 4x4 would explain how I was to instruct the panel beater which part of the quote NOT to do. Straighten panels, but no paint? Refit the old bent bullbar? I told Club 4x4 that I'd bag them every opportunity and campfire that I got, as their external assessors cheaping out on the repair authorisation completely destroyed their reputation and marketing spiel. Yet they insisted. SMH Customer Relations...

Ronny, you are a great salesman. Haha. I just changed over to Club 4x4 insurance. Now I’m covered up to $15000 for off-road recoveries. And I’m also now paying less per month, than my previous Youi policy.

im not austrailian but it sounds like if you stuff it up bad enough to need a tow out, light it on fire.

Recently had my paj written off off roading near a town. Was with AAMI and they covered it. Was on a marked track but with no name, and paid for a tractor recovery to come get me out. Not 100% sure about them remotely but for stuff near civilisation they seem alright

I had water in the fuel in my Prado out in the Hay River trail . I was recovered by Peter Barnes with his animal tilt tray who took me back to Birdsville where the tanks were pulled out and cleaned out . I had road side assistance with NRMA and they paid up $4k no worries . Peter told me that RACQ don’t cover the Simpson .

Great and informative video Ronny. It certainly gives me a few things to think about.

Good topic. Basically you can't get insurance for the worst situations you could end up in. Is up to yourself to have a good knowledge and reliable vehicle before going to places like that. Fortunately most places you go there will be other 4wd to help you if possible.

thanks Ronny. that explains why there are a heap of burnt out shells in the CSR, people probably rip all the bolt ons off and burn it to the ground to make a claim

Many years ago our 4 x 4 club had a few insurance reps come along for a talk to explain what was and wasn't covered. All of them said that if you had any damage/dents to your vehicle that had not been repaired, or reported to the insurance company, then you most likely wouldn't be covered. They also said if you damaged your vehicle while recovering another vehicle you would not be covered.

I am from South Africa. We basically have 2 companies that do offer offroad insurance (some others as well, but I believe these two are the best). Now, on the points you have raised I would think it will be critical to check with them what is covered. I know the one does actually recover you from remote location (they have a specific vehicle for this). Very interesting video. This will definitely be country specific as well.

Hi Roony, do you have a sheet of the questions you asked the insurance companies so we can ask the questions as well?

Good point well done a lot of marine insurance policy state you are not covered in areas marked on charts as unsurvayed . Best rule of thumb if in doubt they will fight it out in court. Have you got a legal team on retainers. They have

Good content Ronnie. Would have loved to see you mention the condition of the vehicle in regards to Roadworthy condition however. Could be an interesting follow on vid or some extra content. Keep up the good work

Wasn't offroad, but was impressed with rac road assistance. Blew engine between Fitzroy and broome, drove to broome and they towed it all covered back to Perth at no cost. Never had insurance on my utes before until a mate asked me to get rac in case. Deffinetly worth it. As for remote Breakdown, I did my diff 100ks out of well 33. Hitch a ride to hedland and came back with hire 4x4 and a solid trailer.. bit time consuming but saved me thousands on towing.

Great video that I imagine has made a lot of people (inc myself) think about their insurance.

Something worth mentioning when talking insurance are the mods the vehicle has on it when it breaks down. I think a lot of people underestimate what you can and can’t do, suspension/lift, tyre size, over GVM , when claiming on your insurance.

Will have to double check with mine, but i called shanons after some big floods over east (im in w.a) and ask all kinds of questions if im on a beach, powerlines etc....im covered but the recovery bit on the CSR is one i didnt ask 🤔

Interesting topic! I've been in the industry for more than a decade in the states. Personal policies build in risk for off-road capable vehicles here giving certain stipulations on personal policies and allow for agreed value for bolt on accessories. I'm wondering if there are complimentary policies that cover off-road/remote driving only? Here, or there. You're on point with this vid! Thanks Ronny!

Here in Ontario Canada, from my understanding any public listed road is insured (unless it's a seasonal closure) but beyond that it's "at your own risk". However not all insurance companies will actually cover your vehicle if it's been modified. Some will not cover anything other than manufacturers original design. Others will allow modifications if installed by a professional shop. Others will cover anything as long as it's still "fit for public roads" as long as it's disclosed and some cases with an appraisal. But the general consensus is "do so at your own peril"

I cancelled my AAMI policy and went Club 4x4 10 minutes after watching this. The price was the same lol.

It's definitely worth research before the event, this crossed my mind while I was digging my new RAM 2500 + 100k mods out of a beach in the tidal zone in the middle of nowhere. I'm guessing insurance would have wiggled out of that one if it drowned. That experience really made me sharpen up about exactly what and where I'm covered....

Excellent information on an important topic, thank you.

i think this is where us here in South Africa are 20 years ahead of our Aussie brethren. We have a few companies offering comprehensive cover which, apart from vehicle recovery, includes airborne technical and medical assistance, accommodation and repatriation if needed, anywhere South of the Equator.

I love you Ronnie, but even though my vehicle is insured on AND off road, I'd still almost cry if I totaled it.... Not about money, but all the time invested in getting that vehicle just right!! Trail on brother....

Also all insurance company not cover vehicle accident by mechanical and electrical issues That is very important things to understand

tried to get a quote with club 4x4 their market value for my car was so low, even lower then redbook. Only way they would give me a quote was to take photo's of my car and get it specially accessed. Their cover is expensive and very few people go that remote anyway.

I'm with Budget Direct at the moment and they cover most offroading activities and mods but they are getting expensive. Club 4x4 quote was $400 a year cheaper and includes $1.5K of recovery costs but read the fine print, water crossing claims incur about a $6K excess. Allianz was the cheapest at $700 per year with agreed value only, no cover for extra mods. I'm still researching so good timing on the vid Ronnie

Excellent vid Ronny. Lots of food for thought. I'm with club 4x4 as I found they covered me for a lot of the points you brought up, however I will be checking on my accessory cover. Thanks again 👍

CGU cover me anywhere in Australia except 4wd parks or Competitions. Happy with that.

really nice edit man, love the background and fast cuts from different angles

I hydo locked my engine on the Gunbarrel hwy on a club run I couldn't drive so we flat towed it to Carnegie station. Insurance said it would cost $8000 to recover the vehicle. So I went back with a car trailer to recover myself. The Insurance did cover the cost for a replacement engine.

Nice to see "Overland Lady" making a cameo.

Bloody good vid mate. Been with club4x4 for several years after realising most of what you just mentioned!

Rolled the 79 on Frazer late last year and my insurance coved everything...even the tilt tray off the island. All accessories where listed on the policy and replaced if damaged.

Hi Ronnie, Insurance is a contract in which you transfer the risk to the insurer. The underwriter determines the scope and extent of cover for your general circumstances. The insured MUST provide full disclosure before accepting the policy. If your doing something that is outside the PDS talk to the insurer first. They will speak to the underwriter and get a waver if it’s something “Risk” the insurer is prepared to cover . It’s noted in your policy. Some of the insurers specialise in certain categories or Risk.

Hi Ronny, First of all I am really happy and great full that you have done this video well done and GOD BLESS YOU 😊. I know as you stated that you can’t give insurance advice but is there anyway way you could inform me of the top 3 4X4 insurance companies in your opinion. Much appreciated and keep up the awesome content and I have enjoyed following you for many many years and look forward to seeing more content many years to come. Cheers… 👍👏🤗😊

Hi Roony, I talked to my insurer, all covered thanks for the video

Very informative thanks Ronny.

I'm with one of the cheapest insurers (Bingle) and have just checked and "any accessory or modification is covered as long as it is legal", any mods or accessories also don't need to be listed, full stop. If the assessor sees it on the car, it's covered. Off-road I also have full cover so long as I am not using my vehicle in "a race, stunt, contest, motorsport event or competition course" including cover for use on private land as long as I have permission of the land-owner, however, I am not covered for any reckless act. If I were to drive in water (any depth), I am also not covered except if by driving in water, it did not cause the claimable damage. If my car wasn't drivable, they will pick up anywhere in Australia. The only 2 drawback are; 1. no choice of repairer and repairs can take a LONG time. I found that out after a little rear end love tap to an Hyundai i30 got me a broken grille and cracked headlight. 2. I'm not covered for nuclear radiation! 🤣🤣

If you can’t get towing in remote outback Australia. Just call Matt’s off-road recovery👍🏼

Thanks Ronny great topic I will check my insurance.

Hmm.. So our 4wd is covered by RAC in WA.. now im curious to know what we are really covered for.. I have listed our accessories/mods but i have no idea whether actually going offroad is covered. I guess mentioning to them you actually go offroad = the premium skyrocketing

If you buy extra road side assistance it's the same deal. 100km tow max from any town with Platinum level.

Great topic! I bet a lot of people don`t think about this.

Great discussion, Ronny! Time to ring my insurer…

Even with RAC breakdown cover, you have to get your vehicle to where a 2wd can reach it. When I was a real newbie I rolled a tyre off the rim at low pressure and couldn't get the wheel off - never heard of left hand threads 😆 Had to get it to a road to get RAC assist to show me how much I didn't know.

As a fan of that kinda vehicle i love that all tge way over in ozz a man gl kat1 truck is working recovery

Hey Ronny unfortunately with the remote travel if your vehicle burns to the ground it still is required to be recovered fir salvage unfortunately

Who do you recommend for insurance looking to switch from RAC?

mate of mine rolled his 4wd and got stuck on the side of a mountain in central france, i live about a 6 hour drive away and the 3 hours of tough offroading ( in europe this is considered pretty far for most people )me and a mate got into our 4wds as soon as we heard to go get him out. took us a total of 3 days to get him back home. but nothing was covered by his insurance. not even a tow from a normal road because it happend offroad🥴

Whilst club 4x4s insurance and roadside assist is aimed at off-road recovery, the last 2 times We have need to use their services In accordance with our policy they haven't been able to organise a tow truck within ONE HOUR of Sydney CBD.

It's the same here in south africa , many insurance companies want cover your 4x4 if its the drivers fault going off road 😒 , there in only one that will cover you from bumber to bumbe ( don't know if I can mention the name but im with them since 2002 ),, or the next best thing is to take care of your vehicle and go slow 😉 Greetings from south africa 👌 🇿🇦 😀

I was shocked when shannon’s told me my 80 series with 2” lift and usual mods was “extremely modified” and only covered if it was in my garage they explained if I was packed ready for camping and left it in the driveway it was not covered nor would it be covered if I stayed at a friends house and didn’t park it in their garage!

Landcruiser Mountain Park sadly doesn't exist anymore. The Perrett's sold it to a couple who turned it into a camping retreat, after re-acquiring it from the people who thought crofting was an intelligent thing in Australia.

As a ex insurance assessor, definitely read the pds for all noted points and others people think they are covered for but aren’t. It can also be used to your benefit “show me where it says I’m not covered in the pds as I was using a 4wd for its intended purpose as a off road capable vehicle” and always be honest as it’s easily denied for lying/ not being honest and truthful, if you ran out of talent just admit it

Great practical subject Ronny and definitely a can of worms but in a good way mate - one aspect to this subject is that no one has mentioned is insurance to cover/include camper conversions - eg troopy fit outs, roof-top tents etc. I'm halfway through doing a fit out (with no RTT) and came to realize that I should increase my current policy to cover the increased value. my current agreed value for my 94 Troopy was already well under practical replacement value if there was an incident resulting in a write off so after a number of calls to ins co including my current issuer the result was most didn't want to know about this type of coverage and all that they would cover was the actual vehicle and some common accessories such as winch driving lights etc. A couple said they would provide cover but had some requirements to fit items such as Sat tracking/GPS locator and relevant smoke & gas alarms. So I would be interested to hear if anyone has had similar experiences and also what sort of classification does this fall into - is it a modification to the actual vehicle or is it an accessory, how has it been listed in their policy or disclosed to the insurer and did it alter the premium ????? Cheers

yeh good topic - expensive either way - if your going to do extreme 4wding then it makes sense to get an older vehicle and mod it so if it does get totaled somewhere just grab the mods and numberplate off it and leave it there.

@Ronny Dahl Road legal vs not road legal What did insurers say to that?

A insurance company paid for a 4WD towing rig and a tilt tray once it was near main road. Remote accident. No cost

Hey Ronny , how about comprehensive club 4x4 insurance ~ ????/ for onroad and offroad !

If you have owned a vehicle for a while its easy to end up under insured. I was insured for the price I paid for my truck. However now, 4 years down the track, Ive doubled its replacement cost with accessories. Itemising the accessories and getting my cover increased only took a couple of days to organise.

My insurance company has been great, don't want to think about remote recoveries, I don't do super remote but want to, my claims have been for animals strikes and windscreens, without a bull bar my car would have been written off twice, nearly 10 grand damage combined from 2 big strikes with roos, one smaller one I hit went under the Hilux and didn't need me to claim anything, otherwise just the $500 agreed excess. windscreen replacement is free once a year. ANZ which use QBE. Remote touring is for the deep pocketed.

Been thinking about club 4x4 sounds good but what are peoples actual experience when claiming?

Seeing this after watching the sarah and keelan video where they got the prado stuck in water and water damage, and seeing keelan at start of this video I wonder if he checked before they went to Cape 😄

Yeah I never really thought of insurance coverage in National Parks, state forests, beaches, fire trails etc. It would be good to get 3rd party off-road specific insurance that attaches on top of a normal comprehensive car insurance policy. Realistically, I think it’s best to buy a project 4WD, kit it out and be prepared for the fact that if you take it on a trail you are only probably half covered.

Club 4x4, they have remote recovery option, yes it costs more. From memory so please check but it's to recover you from the desert, pretty sure they have 2 amounts you could option up to for the recovery (15k or 30k), definately worth talking to them if you do remote travel. I have my insurance with them but not needed to test it yet. Think you get a discount if you have had 4wd training too Call them yourself and check out the options

Good job Ronny, a bit of food for thought.

Not off-road story or insurance but related. Did a trip from Sydney to Broken Hill. When I got there, found my lower shock mount broken. Liaised with NRMA and they were good but provided upto $3000 or $3500 cover (this was maybe 15 yrs ago) so I negotiated with the towy and got my car towed the 1200ks back to Sydney for free.

Very interesting, to my knowledge Canada🇨🇦 doesn't have this

id love it if you put all this into a table, and jumble the names of the companies so we have to figure it out, would be extremely helpful

Was insured with club 4x4 $2300 a year just changed to Shannon’s $895 a year $120k agreed value

Thanks Ronny. Awesome content 👍😊

I wonder how many people have just modded their car with a box of matches.

In europe we can buy a lot of coverage. As long as you've broken on asphalt road

Comprehensive video, I like it. "im the captain now" haha love it.. what about GVM, will an insurance company weigh your written off or crashed vehicle? Can they add up the weight of your accessories from product spec sheets and deem your car overweight? We see 100's if not 1000's of overweight vehicles and it doesn't seem to be that high on peoples agenda! #DPF

Is a list of questions to ask available?

Top episode mate. Love your channel.

I wonder what the interaction with illegal mods and accessories is too? If you're on a gazetted road then lifts or tyres or mods that aren't legal will void your insurance so no one's gonna get you regardless...right?

I have personally got into a big pickle offroad. And the laws state that if you are driving on a road or track that requires your vehicle to be registered. You are covered. Some may try and argue this but cannot reject a claim because of it.

I did quiz my insurance company, and got told gazetted roads are fine... But it seems like I'll have to go back to them for specific "yes/no" answers on situations

as long as you read the fine print... maybe

I'm with Shannon's.... I can never get club 4x4 to pick up the phone

I have no idea

Top topic, great value video.

I was surprised to discover the RAC Royal Automobile Club has a distance limit for roadside assist, even on sealed roads and highways. Drivers need to look at whether their trailer is insured when connected to the vehicle, and when parked disconnected, say in a camping park? Does locking the tow connection alter the insurance protection? Is the trailer insured if the trailer connection breaks or disconnects due to driver error when connecting? Are the trailer contents covered? If one puts a canoe or surfboard on the trailer does it become a boat trailer? Does that invalidate the trailer insurance? Do the contents carried in the trailer (or vehicle) invalidate the insurance, things like fuel in a chainsaw, fuel in a dirt bike or bottled gas? Does a canopy on the trailer and a bedroll or mattress inside make the trailer a caravan by law? Insurance policies are designed to define and limit liability, by legal experts. They policies ultimately may be interpreted and defined by a court of law. C'est la vie, Such is life.👍

An insurance company covered me for flooding my car through a Ford on a gazetted road here in Victoria

I’m picking up what you’re putting down Ronny, ya legend. If your car is remotely fucked but not on fire, burn it to the ground as that’s the only way to get a payout. The best way to do this is to clear brush from the immediate area, and also setup a camera so you can slowmo walk towards the camera while she explodes. Solid clout edit for a select few. 🥃

LoL! love the hint Ronny.. *cough* burnittotheground *cough*

That explains the burned-out vehicles on the CSR...

$600 per year for 8-9k with NRMA (reduces my other policies with multi-policy discount too so reduced further. Or 2.5-3k per year with Club 4x4, regardless of if I insure 15k or 25k. I'd say say something might be wrong if there's no change in premium on total loss payout (works well on the high end I guess).

Club 4x4 is the company he's talking about... only insurance company that's worth using for serious 4wd...

Ronny I am planning to do the Cape next year in August. Starting form the Gold Coast. What is your recommendation for coverage for that trip? I am just with suncorp at the moment i.e. normal car cover.

RACQ Insurance allowed me to remove my after market accessories from my written off Pajero while it was in the holding yard.