Then and Now: NRMA Insurance

By June 30, 1925, the NRMA had a membership of 7637 and the organisation turned towards another offering for members.

NRMA Insurance began with just £7 to set it up and was backed by the guarantees of 20 people, many of them councillors at the NRMA. The Board controlled the new company and established its offices adjacent to the NRMA’s headquarters.

Despite these small beginnings, it quickly became popular, selling 150 policies in its first three weeks. After its first year in business, NRMA Insurance had sold 4300 policies, made a profit of £5800 and accumulated assets of almost £20,000.

The success of NRMA Insurance was a massive achievement, considering it was an intensely competitive field, and many much larger companies failed to make a profit. The figures were so good that Open Road called them a “fairy tale come true” in 1927 and ran a highly congratulatory story in its June 1, 1930 issue to mark the fifth birthday of NRMA Insurance under the headline, “NRMA’s Insurance Baby Is NSW Champion”

Originally available exclusively to NRMA members, a big part of NRMA Insurance’s success were rates 20 per cent below its competitors, unlimited third party, compensation for death, injury and accessories theft, and replacement of a vehicle write-off for the agreed value.

NRMA Insurance proudly listed that they would pay for damage to a car from passing over any artificial gutter or ridge, or damage caused by other accidental external means to a stationary car, such as a building or a tree felled in a storm.

As NRMA President 1920 - 1941 J. C. Watson explained: “It is not difficult to give the reasons for the success of NRMA Insurance Ltd. They proclaim themselves from the tree-tops: easier payments and vastly better terms than are offered by the tariff companies.”

One major exclusion was for damage incurred due to an “uneven surface of the road”, which isn’t surprising given the atrocious state of the country’s roads at the time. Motorists also couldn’t make a claim if they’d been drinking or if they were taking part in a “speed contest”.

Insurance for homes came next, which was promoted as giving peace of mind to NRMA members while they were away on road trips.

In 1933, NRMA Insurance expanded its policies to cover individuals who were not NRMA members and this access to a much larger customer base had the effect of growing the business enormously.