The Australian Consumers Association has chosen Australian Alliance’s house and contents policy as its pick of the products for 2001. Australian Pensioners Insurance came in second in both categories. 

The ACA magazine Choice ranked the policies in its September edition. Runners-up in the building policy category were Westpac, Australian Unity and CGU. For contents policies Westpac came in ahead of Australian Unity and CGU close behind.

One odd thing about the Choice choices: in 1998 the magazine chose IBNA’s two major domestic policies as the best value for money. But its updated assessment doesn’t mention the IBNA brand at all. In fact, IBNA CEO Paul Serong said the broker cluster group wasn’t involved by the ACA this time around.

He said the criteria for the 40 building and 39 contents policies was based on very similar guidelines to the 1998 assessment, but perhaps the ACA restricted itself this time to insurance companies. 

Despite the disappointing exclusion, Mr Serong took the opportunity to say IBNA’s domestic policies are now “even better” than they were in 1998. “We have just re-launched, and the wording is better than it was before.”  Five insurers underwrite the domestic policy.