Cars & Transportation Car insurance - what a scam

[daddy_4_eyes]

So a couple months ago some unsavoury citizen rear-ended me and when I pulled to the side of the road he floored it out of there. Being heavy traffic, I only got a partial on his plates and so the cops couldn't do anything. Wasn't any major damage, but its a relatively new car so repair job on bumper came to some $2,000. Excess is $800, so pay the excess as it's the cheaper option.

Fast forward 4 weeks and we get a renewal notice for our policy with our premium having tripled! The insurance company will recoup the cost of repair within 6 months and then it's all profit from thereon.

I appreciate insurance companies quote on the basis of a risk assessment, but not-at-fault accidents surely can't be attributed to my risk to the insurer?

Naturally I go to shop around for something cheaper and so far nobody wants a bar of us because the accident was so recent. I don't understand this at all? A decade of no claims and the one we make is not even our fault and we're uninsurable?

Putting my tinfoil hat on, this smells like an industry tactic to stop people from making claims. "Yeah sure, we'll pay your claim. But your premiums will become massive and no one else will insure you".

 

[kickazz]

Yeah they are crooks for sure.

 

[radiojake]

yeah that's a bit rough

 

[kickazz]

I appreciate insurance companies quote on the basis of a risk assessment, but not-at-fault accidents surely can't be attributed to my risk to the insurer?

Of course it can. You can be an excellent driver but things like how often you drive, when, where and all of that contributes to how likely you'll have a crash that's not your fault.

 

[perthblue]

Insurance companies are altruistic and only have your best interests at heart

 

[Power Raid]

So a couple months ago some unsavoury citizen rear-ended me and when I pulled to the side of the road he floored it out of there. Being heavy traffic, I only got a partial on his plates and so the cops couldn't do anything. Wasn't any major damage, but its a relatively new car so repair job on bumper came to some $2,000. Excess is $800, so pay the excess as it's the cheaper option.

Fast forward 4 weeks and we get a renewal notice for our policy with our premium having tripled! The insurance company will recoup the cost of repair within 6 months and then it's all profit from thereon.

I appreciate insurance companies quote on the basis of a risk assessment, but not-at-fault accidents surely can't be attributed to my risk to the insurer?

Naturally I go to shop around for something cheaper and so far nobody wants a bar of us because the accident was so recent. I don't understand this at all? A decade of no claims and the one we make is not even our fault and we're uninsurable?

Putting my tinfoil hat on, this smells like an industry tactic to stop people from making claims. "Yeah sure, we'll pay your claim. But your premiums will become massive and no one else will insure you".

insurance is a con. just for smiles, complain to the insurance company and inform them to remedy the quote or you'll go to the insurance ombudsmen.

Then write to the ombudsmen anyway and just for the privileged of reading your letter he will charge the insurance company $2k-10k even if he throws it in the bin.

Then get a quote elsewhere and get on with life.

Big companies have no shame and nor should you when dealing with them.

 

[Scotland]

I had insurance for a previous car that was along the lines of $500 a year for a $15,000 car. Ball park figures.

The following year I get a renewal notice for $700 saying my agreed value is now $12,000.

Nope, didn't agree to that at all. Nope, not paying more to insure the same car for a lesser value. Goodbye.

 

[Allikat]

insurance is a con. just for smiles, complain to the insurance company and inform them to remedy the quote or you'll go to the insurance ombudsmen.

Then write to the ombudsmen anyway and just for the privileged of reading your letter he will charge the insurance company $2k-10k even if he throws it in the bin.

Then get a quote elsewhere and get on with life.

Big companies have no shame and nor should you when dealing with them.

This. Companies tend to bend over backwards with talk about the ombudsmen. You could put in the most ridiculous claim, and the insurance company will get charged for it.

 

[Catfish Alley]

I wish I had the option of shopping around but it's just controlled by one governing body. They have a $1B deficit but still keep giving themselves raises.

 

[BotsMaster]

I wish I had the option of shopping around but it's just controlled by one governing body. They have a $1B deficit but still keep giving themselves raises.

What about your gas and electricity? Is that government controlled as well?

 

[Catfish Alley]

What about your gas and electricity? Is that government controlled as well?

Yep. BC Hydro.

 

[Hamingja]

Who was the original insurer? I had a similar one with aami and they never bumped the premium up. Though I guess if you can't fully id the other car they might just class it as at fault by default. Guy who hit me was coming out of the pub so was probably happy to cop it sweet as if it went further he would have been in more s**t.

 

[dales.girl38]

The biggest rort is that if your car is a write off and you get a new car, you need a brand new insurance policy. So if you crash one month after paying your yearly insurance bill, you need to pay for another year on the new car. So you're much "better off" doing it 11 months into your policy. This happened to my friend at work, absolute rort.

 

[3rd Grade Maggy]

They are just lucky there is health insurance so they aren't the biggest bunch of campaigners out there.

 

[The Dice Man]

Been driving for 25 years and not once have I paid for insurance. Ive never been the driver in an accident either so even if I write off a Benz tomorrow I reckon I'm still well ahead.

Insurance is for s**t drivers.

 

[Gralin]

Been driving for 25 years and not once have I paid for insurance. Ive never been the driver in an accident either so even if I write off a Benz tomorrow I reckon I'm still well ahead.

Insurance is for s**t drivers.

No, insurance is for protecting yourself financially.

If you can afford to pay the bills from an accident great but most people couldn't afford to replace their own car let alone pay for someone's Porsche if they were found at fault

 

[The Dice Man]

s**t driver.

 

[Demosthenes]

Been driving for 25 years and not once have I paid for insurance. Ive never been the driver in an accident either so even if I write off a Benz tomorrow I reckon I'm still well ahead.

Insurance is for s**t drivers.

Insurance is for people who need a car, and can't afford to replace it immediately if something happened to it.

There are a lot of reasons why a car can become unroadworthy that have nothing to do with the driver's ability. Not guarding against that risk is unwise if, as for many people, their job relies on owning a vehicle.

If I recall correctly, you're a kept servant for some rich bloke? Easy for someone in that situation to hand-wave the need for insurance.

 

[The Dice Man]

Insurance is for people who need a car, and can't afford to replace it immediately if something happened to it.

There are a lot of reasons why a car can become unroadworthy that have nothing to do with the driver's ability. Not guarding against that risk is unwise if, as for many people, their job relies on owning a vehicle.

If I recall correctly, you're a kept servant for some rich bloke? Easy for someone in that situation to hand-wave the need for insurance.

A kept servant? Ha that's one way to put it. Or you could say Im the manager of a 5 hectare luxury villa above Cannes with sweeping views of the Mediterranean. We are all servants in some way if you think like that.

As for insurance it's a con, unless you are a terrible driver.

 

[Demosthenes]

However you want to dress it up, mate. Just make sure you use the back stairs and ensure there's a nice shine on the silverware.

 

[Gralin]

A kept servant? Ha that's one way to put it. Or you could say Im the manager of a 5 hectare luxury villa above Cannes with sweeping views of the Mediterranean. We are all servants in some way if you think like that.

As for insurance it's a con, unless you are a terrible driver.

What about all the s**t uninsured drivers out there? I've seen cars hit while sitting stationary at a red light, or parked on a back street. You're assuming you only need insurance if you are found at fault for the accident

 

[The Dice Man]

What about all the s**t uninsured drivers out there? I've seen cars hit while sitting stationary at a red light, or parked on a back street. You're assuming you only need insurance if you are found at fault for the accident

In that case surely the parked car is not at fault and no need for insurance, unless they're hit buy a s**t driver without insurance.

 

[Gralin]

In that case surely the parked car is not at fault and no need for insurance, unless they're hit buy a s**t driver without insurance.

that's my point, you being a good driver doesn't mean you are safe because you share the road with other people

I got hit by a truck years ago, I was stationary, in my own lane with a car stopped in front of me, his trailer came across into my lane and collected my car to the tune of 6k damage. I saw him coming but couldn't move, he was in a semi and didn't even feel it, i managed to flag him down and get his details.

I had to make one phone call and everything was sorted, car was towed and fixed, I didn't pay a cent and 12 months later my insurance company was starting legal action against the truck company to get their money back.

A guy I used to work with had to take out a mortgage on his house because his insurance lapsed and he did 40k damage to a SUV

my uncle was uninsured and caused a three car accident, he almost died and whlie he's in hospital recovering his wife is dealing with one of the other drivers who was uninsured knocking on her door looking for money not to mention the insurance company for the other car involved sending them bills

not everything is worth insuring, not everyone needs insurance but its about way more than how good a driver you think you are

 

[The Dice Man]

that's my point, you being a good driver doesn't mean you are safe because you share the road with other people

I got hit by a truck years ago, I was stationary, in my own lane with a car stopped in front of me, his trailer came across into my lane and collected my car to the tune of 6k damage. I saw him coming but couldn't move, he was in a semi and didn't even feel it, i managed to flag him down and get his details.

I had to make one phone call and everything was sorted, car was towed and fixed, I didn't pay a cent and 12 months later my insurance company was starting legal action against the truck company to get their money back.

A guy I used to work with had to take out a mortgage on his house because his insurance lapsed and he did 40k damage to a SUV

my uncle was uninsured and caused a three car accident, he almost died and whlie he's in hospital recovering his wife is dealing with one of the other drivers who was uninsured knocking on her door looking for money not to mention the insurance company for the other car involved sending them bills

not everything is worth insuring, not everyone needs insurance but its about way more than how good a driver you think you are

Ok point taken.

 

[Gralin]

Ok point taken.

carry on then, btw I just watched someone microwave chocolate to melt it in a cooking show, he just guessed the time and it came out looking like a tyre fire