I see some smoke rising over the Japanese bond market
Japanese investors hold approx. $1.2 trillion in US treasuries/bonds.
Do you still get 90 days to cover your margin calls?
Time to buy Wisetech methinks
Also keen on orthocell
Hope you guys jumped on Atraya when I mentioned? There now $3.50 and they were less than half that.. they actually got over $5 at one point .Read into them , they are still good value.
Do you guys think AI is going to hit the insurers like the recent stock market moves indicate ? My steadfast have been nutted pretty hard lately
I am far from an expert on AI but I don’t see insurers as being negatively impacted. Insurance brokers, on the other hand, might be somewhat disrupted, mainly in simple personal insurance broking where AI could remove the need for a broker. Mostly Steadfast and AUB specialise in complex commercial broking where the ongoing personal relationship between the broker and the client is critical to retaining the business. I can’t envisage how AI could disrupt that. As for the underwriting side of their businesses, I have no idea.
Of course, AI will also have positive impacts on the brokers as AI tools should enable them to work more efficiently. The big brokers such as AUB and Steadfast might also gain market share from smaller players who can’t keep up with the technology.
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Insurance Brokers are worth every cent, and mine is a gem. Policies are never cheap, but coverage is awesome and the service they give in helping process claims in great. One of our dogs chewed a leather lounge and I whinged to the Broker in passing, and was advised that this was covered under our Household Policy with Steadfast. Repair is as new and $200 excess was worth it. Only area they don’t get better deals or policies is motor vehicle, but they still help was with claims.
I don’t trust insurance brokers.
Unless it’s an advised product to ensure you don’t have overlapping insurance.
I checked out an insurance report one did for an apartment block I own in.
The broker lowered the amount insured in an attempt to win a commission to have us switch.
When I rang a couple of insurers I got a much better deal than any of the options he presented. Improved terms with lower premiums.
I just had the insurance company forward the quote too the body corporate strata manager to take care of it.
Saved thousands of dollars and improved the cover.
Not that any of the other owners actually thanked me for taking the time.
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Used my Broker for 25 years, and trust them completely. I do my due diligence each year on their quotes, and if I find a cheaper insurance quote sit down with them and compare policies. House insurance is one where policies vary in coverage so much and the fine print is important.
Insurance on strata titled building is troublesome though. Owners are invariably ripped off by Property Managers and Brokers; I found recently that both took Commissions on the same insurance. Mrs Fox the First became a Property Manager after our divorce, and ended up with a business in Toorak with over 500 properties on her books. She is a multi millionaire and retired and sold her business for a massive amount.
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Doesn’t that mean you don’t trust them completely? If you trust them there is no need to do your own due diligence.
I don’t trust them that’s why like you I do my own due diligence. They are a convenience only.
I do trust them, but I never just accept any quote without comparison. Problem with most insurance is that it is very hard to compare policies. So if for example your home insurance is $6000 per year, and you look at RACV or Allianz online and their quotes are around $3000, then you get the urge to go cheap.
When our Broker does a line by line comparison and knows what we need and I find if we did the RACV online and added in the extra parts missing that their price becomes $6500.
Way too much work.
I just use Choice.
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Except you get what you pay for, and the exclusions that are there in the fine print are disturbing.
IMO, insurance is a huge game of bluff.
Insurance premiums are set at the maximum they can get away IMO. The premiums you pay have no real relationship to the risk being undertaken. e.g. new apartment building insurance and contents insurance… I reckon you are better off self insuring for some of these things or buy a safe and hide it. Further, Banks and even Berkshire went into Insurance because it’s a huge money maker for these businesses and a lot of people just pay too much for what they they think is peace of mind.
OK, that said, I will reluctantly insure some things as the risk is deemed worth it or Mrs Rabbit just makes me do it.
If an insurance produce is a retail rather than advised product you can simply send any insurance company the statement of cover and they will match it and give you a premium.
It doesn’t take long.
It gets more complicated and you’re right depending on what it is your insuring. Thats when an insurance broker is earns their cert4 from TAFE.
For building insurance it’s pretty simple and they are all essentially the same.
And don’t believe a broker when one is easier to go through for claims than another.
The have NFI. It depends on the incident and all insurance companies can be difficult dependent on the circumstances.
Hey everyone
A change in careers means a change in income. I’m now thinking of selling off my place in Brisbane.
Beyond simply selling the place, paying my cgt and funding my life until my income increases, what other options do I have?
Obviously, I’d like to do everything I can to avoid selling it altogether so if any financial gurus have any advice then let me know.
Thanks all!
I’m guessing Brisbane is an investment property, which begs the question: do you own your own home and is it paid off?
Obviously, you are facing a cashflow issue. Can you get a second job to supplement your income until your earnings return?