Collision Guide and Tips

Is your car undrivable or unsafe to drive

If your car is not drivable or you feel it's not safe to drive and you have Collision, Fire & Theft or Storm & Water damage cover we'll pay to move your car to the nearest safe and secure place. This might be your home, a holding yard or your repairer's workshop.

You can arrange this with your chosen repairer or find a licensed tow truck operator to do this for you. Just check your local whitepages.

If you need a tow truck to attend an accident scene in Melbourne or the Mornington Peninsula Area in Victoria, please call 13 11 76.

If you need a tow truck to attend an scene in the metropolitan area in Adelaide, please call 08 8231 555.

A bad situation can be better if you have our Storm & Water Damage cover.

Weather might be a reliable topic for polite conversation. Predicting it can be very unreliable!  With a climate like Australia’s throwing up everything from cyclones to droughts, about the only thing you can count on is more extreme weather!

Here’s what to do if it happens to you.

Storms & Flood
• If you’re driving in a storm or heavy rain. It can be difficult for other drivers to see you. Keep your headlights on and drive slowly. Look out for on-coming traffic.
• Brake gently. Give yourself plenty of time to brake gently to avoid aquaplaning.
• If you see a large puddle or pool of water. Drive around it or go a different way if possible. It could be hiding a deeper hole than you realise and cause damage or an accident.
• If your car is damaged. Claim online at www.thebuzzinsurance.com.au, call our claims area on 1300 729 870, or email us at claims@thebuzzinsurance.com.au

Hail
• If you’re driving and it starts to hail. If you can, move your car safely to an undercover area if shelter is available nearby.
• If you can’t find shelter.  Pull your car to side of the road and wait for the hail to stop.
• If the hail breaks a window. Cover it with plastic or other material to protect it from more damage.
• If your car is damaged. Claim online at www.thebuzzinsurance.com.au.

A bad situation can be better if you have selected our Excess-free Windscreen option.

We'll replace/repair your car's windscreen or window glass if it's accidentally broken - it won't cost you anything and you won't pay an excess. This option covers one Excess-free claim per policy period.

Repair or replace? We'll try to repair your existing windscreen first before replacing it with a new one. It saves you time and it's better for the environment. Sometimes, the type, size and position of the damage will mean that the whole windscreen needs to be replaced – and we’ll do that too. You can learn more about the glass damage and the difference between replace/repair at O'Brien Glass by clicking here.

Getting it fixed. You can lodge your repair windscreen claim with The Buzz through the usual online claims process. If the repair is urgent, you can contact O'Briens Glass on 13 16 16 and quote your claim number. Please note, you must have lodged your claim prior to contacting O'Briens Glass directly.

* Discount glass repair with O’Brien

No matter what your glass needs ask O'Brien Glass. It’s just another way we thank you for being our customer. Go to O'Brien Glass, give them your policy number, and get your discount.

We understand you’ll need to get around when your car is out of action. It’ll be a lot easier if you select our Hire Car option.

A hire car while yours is out of action? 
If you’ve chosen the Hire Car option and make a claim, we’ll organize the hire car for you through Thrifty. You automatically get 7 days car hire (if you need it) and up to 21 days in total. We'll pay up to $45 per day for the vehicle.

If we are unable to source a car for you, you can arrange your own hire car and we will reimburse you up to$45 a day and a maximum of 21 days if you select the hire car option.

You’ll need to pay for all the running and other costs of the hire car, like fuel, insurance and any additional excess if required.

Excess cover
We’ll cover up to $2,000 of the excess in case something happens to it while you have it.

Special rates for hire car for customers

Don’t have our Hire Car option? You can still hire a car through our partner Thrifty at discounted rates, click here to book.

A bad situation can be better if you have cover for Fire & Theft on your car.

Most fires can be an accident – like a bushfire, an electrical/mechanical problem, or may result after a collision. Or they can be deliberate or where the cause is not obvious. In these cases, we’ll work with investigating authorities. We’ll also be on the look out for fraudulent claims so we can ensure premiums remain affordable for our customers.

Here’s what you should do if it happens to you

1. Move to safety fast – get out of the car or away from a burning car fast. People can’t be replaced.
2. Call the fire brigade on 000
3. Get contact details (names, station, phone numbers) for any emergency response team that attends
4. Get the report number and a copy of the fire report
5. Report it to the police and get a report number from them
6. Claim online at www.thebuzzinsurance.com.au

Even if you don’t have theft cover with The Buzz, but have other insurance with us, you should still tell us if your car is stolen. It’ll help protect you in case the thief causes damage to other people’s property with your car.

If your car is stolen

1. Tell the police. They can’t help find your car if they don’t know it’s been taken! (It also helps them identify any pattern of stealing in your area)
2. Tell us it’s missing by lodging a claim. Claim online at www.thebuzzinsurance.com.au. We’ll also need a police report to get your claim underway
3. Tell us if it’s found. Is it damaged?  Has anything been taken from it?
4. If it’s not found within 21 days, we’ll pay your claim.

When should I make a claim?
You can lodge a claim as soon as you’ve reported the theft to the police but as stolen cars can be found, we have a short waiting period to see if your car is one of them. If it hasn’t been found after 21 days, we’ll process your claim.

What if it’s found and really badly damaged?
If your car is found and it’s so badly damaged that it would not be safe or cost effective to repair it, we call it a ‘total loss’.