Fuck car insurance

In all fairness to the OP, I think his gripe is about "no-fault" insurance. I shudder whenever I hear the phrase, "no fault". The only way avoid higher premiums is to have the other guy's insurance pay for damages. He was a victim of hit and run yet he suffers the increased costs. Will the police find the other guy? Not Likely. No fault means everybody gets hosed but the irresponsible drivers and insurance cheats. It's the same thing with no fault divorce, no matter who is the offending party is, the alimony is determined by a formula without regard to reality.

It's not luck, it's greed that determines the premiums. The Law of Large Numbers is not a reference to the ratio of accidents per capita, instead it refers to how large the insurance companies' deposits to the bank are. There was a time when the New Jersey Gov. decreased car insurance by 15%. Guess what, less than six months later, the insurance companies raised everybody's premiums 25%. Wtf does bad credit have to do with safe driving? Bad credit usually means low income, so the poor must pay more even if they are safe drivers?

Before anyone jumps down my throat, I do not condone driving without insurance. Insurance is necessary. Do not drive without it. Find a better company. If I was rich enough, I would self insure my autos like the rental companies do.
 
This is what lawsuits are for. If you have insurance and the other person doesn't, you or your insurance company may sue for the difference. I hate the mandate for car insurance. It's practically a legal racket and only tries to screw everyone over as hard as possible. I agree with the OP. If I want to not have insurance, I should have the right not to be forced into purchasing it. I do believe, however, should I get into an accident and it were my fault, I should be sued for the difference as well.
 
Bullshit. Straight up bullshit.

You know why insurance is mandated? Because you can't AFFORD an accident. You can't pay my medical bills. A girlfriend of mine had her hip broken in a car accident. Her hospital bills totaled 44k. Physical therapy was another 12 k. The equipment she had to buy was about a Thousand dollars. Her car was $6,000. She still has to go back and see the doctor every couple of months about about $800 a pop.

So far, that car accident has cost HER $60,000 because the bitch that hit her didn't have insurance. And what's the point of filing a suit? The woman doesn't own anything.

I was hit by a guy who didn't have insurance or anything worth taking him to court over. Court would have just cost me MORE money. I spent 3 years and $45,000 learning how to walk again. (That's just the physical therapy alone, the hospital was way more.) My knee will need to be replaced at a cost of around $65,000 and another $20,000 of physical therapy. I was on a bike and didn't have health insurance through my job so I can't ask my company to pay.

He called insurance a racket so I get stuck paying nearly $300,000 out of my own pocket.

Fact: Very few people can afford to pay for a car accident out of their own pockets.

I call people that won't carry insurance selfish mother fuckers. I call them cheap assholes.
 
Uber, that sucks big time. Even if the other guy had insurance, the insurance company would've tried their best not to pay anything. Here in my state, payments by insurance companies are capped at 100 thousand dollars. Better than nothing, but far from covering the total expense of your medical bills, not to mention pain and suffering. Your situation makes a good case for universal health care. I wish for you a full recovery.
 
That's the problem with insurance, you are buying fear.
Car insurance pays for damages, just like any other insurance, but its ILLEGAL not to pay for it. Its ridiculous, insurance rates could be incredibly high and if you don't pay for it you can eventually have your liscence taken away. I'm all for having a backup if something happens, but its stupid that its illegal not to have it.

EDIT: Just walk.
 
I see the problem: people think driving is some sort of right.

Well it's not. It is not guaranteed, nor does the state actually have to allow you to do it. So, as it is a privilege the state is free to hang whatever restrictions they want on it.

Insurance companies are free to charge whatever the hell they want. But they have to compete with one another so it's in their best interest to not over charge.

When they come up with their pricing they take a lot of things into account:

1. Driving record - a good indicator of how likely you are to get into trouble
2. Number of prior claims - your history of filing claims is a reasonable indicator of the likelihood that you'll file claims in the future.
3. Credit record - shitty credit can be an indicator of bad decision making, bad decision making is an indicator of likely trouble while driving.
4. The age the driver - age is a good way to judge maturity, more mature drivers are less likely to be involved in serious accidents (to an extent, at some point you get old and suck at driving)
5. The age of the vehicle - new cars cost more to fix/replace than older cars
6. The type of vehicle - 4x4 and fast cars are more likely to have claims filed
7. The average number of miles driven - more miles = more changes for an accident
8. The area you live in - areas with higher rates of accidents or thefts are likely to have more claims filed

Remember, the insurance companies are corporations. They exist to make a profit. If a company sees you as non-profitable customer, they don't want to do business with you. Or they'll do business with you but it costs you more.

Seat belts are mandated in cars. Is that a racket?

Smoke detectors are mandated in new houses. Is that a racket?

Both cost money, both are mandated, both are run by for profit organizations.

If you don't like your insurance company find a new one. You can leave in the middle of your policy, they'll send you a check for the remainder of your account and you're free to find a new company to work with. It does pay to shop around. Progressive and Geico are ok places to start, but check with an insurance broker.

Most companies give substantial discounts for having more than one policy. If you own a home, check with your home insurance company. If you rent, check into renter's insurance. Mine cost $100 a year and by paying that I saved nearly $300 a year on my car insurance just because it counted as a second policy.

I once took out an insurance policy on a fish tank. It cost me $25 a year but it counted as a 4th policy and saved me $100 a year on home owners, $40 a year on the motorcycle and $130 a year on my truck.
 
sucky part is, they did catch the guy and he did have insurance. But his insurance couldnt contact him and they said they had 90 days to contact him. I was out of state on vacation so I needed my car. I had my insurance fix it and then his insurance pay my insurance back. and the rates go up?!?

not my fault, my insurance gets paid back

I honestly think the way car insurance works is BS. its there to help you but when some accidents happen its "lets not get insurance involved" hey! wheres all that fucken money ive given you over the years?@!?!@ use that! dont raise my rates to get paid back
 
It's a hard spot for the insurance company and for the customers. For the insurance company it's a bit like playing the lottery. Will this customer cost us money or will he make us money? They hedge their bets as best they can.

They can't KNOW whether you'll get into an accident so they look at other seemingly unrelated things to help decide. To them you're a bunch of numbers... a statistical probability of costing them money. To help determine how expensive you'll be they look at the other numbers that make you up.

If you have a crappy credit score it may mean that you don't pay your bills on time. They may see it as an indicator not that you'll get into an accident but that you won't pay them in the first place.

I'm not saying it's fair, I'm just explaining WHY they do it.



It's important to shop around. As you've found, one place might quote you a huge price, other places might give you a better rate. Also be aware of the service they provide. Cheap insurance may be cheap but it also may have terrible service.

Lastly, always see if you can get a discount for multiple policies. My friend got an insurance quote of $500 for 6 months on her truck. By buying a renter's insurance policy for $120 a year her car insurance went from $500 every 6 months to $280 every 6 months. So, she spent an extra $120 a year and saved $440 a year. Savings of $320 just because she bought a second policy and now has her other property covered in case of theft, fire or vandalism.

Both my home owner's insurance and the insurance for my truck dropped about $200 a year ($400 total) just because I insured a motorcycle for $250 a year with the same company.
 
Wow... just wow. Ya' know, I'd suggest finding a more local type car insurance company. Me and my wife only pay $86 a month for our insurance on two cars... and I've had one DUI. On top of that, an uninsured driver did a hit and run on us a couple years back. At first I was thinking "Oh shit, here go my rates!". The person that hit my car turned out to be an illegal immigrant who decided to take his grandma's car for a joyride. I thought I was fucked beyond all recognition!

But surprisingly, this little local company that we went with (because we didn't want to have to pay those big corporation prices), actually called it some kind of accident to where the other person just couldn't be found. So thankfully, we were able to not only receive a check to repair our car from the financial dept. of our insurance company, but our rates remained the same.

Uber, about what you were saying on how insurance should be required to drive the car period... I COMPLETELY agree. At least here in California, we're beginning to get the right idea about that. Out here if a person gets a DUI or is caught driving without insurance, they then are required by the state to get this little attatchment on their insurance called SR-22. The SR-22 doesn't hike up your rates at all, the crime in which you committed to where you have to get SR-22 attached however does.

I like the idea of SR-22, because while you're on it if you are delinquent on paying your car insurance by just 24 hours... by law the insurance company will give notice to the DMV and your license is automatically suspended. This means that you need to pay your bill on time, or else the next time you get pulled over you run the chance of not only getting a ticket for driving without insurance... but you will also be arrested for driving on a suspended license. And that can make it a real bitch getting your license back because then your rates ARE going to go WAY up!

I haven't had it happen to me, but I know other people that carry the SR-22 that have to pay over $175 a month just so they can have a license because they simply didn't pay their insurance on time beforehand. Not to mention most of them don't like the thought of going back to jail again. I know this doesn't stop all the asshats out there from driving without insurance, but at least it starts to make it too expensive for them to drive illegally.

EDIT: I got a DUI in 2003. Generally some people only have to carry SR-22 for three years. But since the judge wanted to "make an example out of me", me and others out there have to carry SR-22 on our insurance for as long as the DUI stays on our driving record. Not the best thing in the world having to worry about making sure our insurance payment is in by the fifth of every month... but it sure as hell does make you a more responsible person about paying your rates on time.
 
You can complain all you want. It's fucked up, but so is my having to use a business by legal mandate. I don't think I should have to buy something unless I want to. If you have insurance and don't take me to court, then it's your fault. I feel bad for your predicament, but neither you nor your insurance company did anything about him, did y'all? No? Well, then, stop complaining about it. It sucks, and I feel bad for you, but you did nothing but complain, ergo, you don't deserve to complain about that now.

Finally, haven't you noticed it's usually the poor who don't have insurance? If anything should be universal, maybe it should be vehicular insurance?

Also, fuck universal health care. It's been proven to be a massive failure in the long run in countries without insanely fucked up legal systems. Imagine how OUR government would destroy it?
 
You're not legally mandated to have insurance. You're legally mandated to have insurance if you drive.

Driving is a privilege and the state can attach any requirements they want to that privilege.
 
holy crap, that would suck dude, I hate insurance co's we almost lost ours when a power surge went through our house and blew out some appliances, they said it was our fault for not having the house's electrical lines checked. faggots
 
We use sr-22's in Alaska under some conditions, and that's one hell of an increase on your unsurance! Then again, it's the driver's fault for drinking in the first place...

Point is, insurance may suck, but it's necessary. People just don't have the half million it can take to fix the problems that come up when accidents occur. Hence, you have to throw money at insurance companies.

If you have a problem with that, don't drive. People that can't see the reasoning behind this shouldn't be behind the wheel in the first place.
 
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