The end of sexual discrimination in Europe!

[Hauldren Collider]

Except for people with poor driving records.

I think everyone should start off at the same rate. You don't get rewarded for good driving, you get severely punished for bad driving. The system is flawed right now.

My brother had $10K a year premium in Ontario when he was 18. And it wasn't the car he was driving, if he had an 80s Corolla it'd be about $500 cheaper. It's all demographics-based liability.

That assumes everyone gets in enough accidents to produce enough data points to set the insurance rate. I'm rather grateful that people generally don't. Sorry, but I don't think this would work.

If you just punish people severely after the fact, you may as well not have insurance because you haven't decreased your risk (significantly).

[Asher]

That assumes everyone gets in enough accidents to produce enough data points to set the insurance rate. I'm rather grateful that people generally don't. Sorry, but I don't think this would work.

It doesn't work now.

If you're going to stereotype demographically, be more precise.

At 20 years old, I was a responsible professional in a long-term, stable relationship paying the same car insurance rate as a high school dropout with a criminal record driving a riced-up civic and street racing.

If you just punish people severely after the fact, you may as well not have insurance because you haven't decreased your risk (significantly).

What?

[Hauldren Collider]

It doesn't work now.

Well if you're paying too much in insurance you could just get a high deductible and reduce its coverage to things like medical liabilities. That's almost the same as saying they should start charging like crazy the moment you get in your first car accident, right?

[Asher]

Well if you're paying too much in insurance you could just get a high deductible and reduce its coverage to things like medical liabilities.

I don't think you comprehend how bad it is.

I had a $2000 deductible and had virtually nothing protected on my car but the most basic. 95% of the cost is liability insurance, which is non-negotiable. It was still $8000 per year at 20 with a perfect record (and a learners permit since 14, full license since 16, fully insured since then).

[Hauldren Collider]

I don't think you comprehend how bad it is.

I had a $2000 deductible and had virtually nothing protected on my car but the most basic. 95% of the cost is liability insurance, which is non-negotiable. It was still $8000 per year at 20 with a perfect record (and a learners permit since 14, full license since 16, fully insured since then).

So what exactly would you do to fix this? I already explained that your system would just completely fail because it either wouldn't be insurance or the insurance company would go out of business. If it's free money you're looking for you should try moving to Lake Woebegon, their above-average kids never crash their cars.

[Asher]

For the record, I've now moved to a sane province with more controls on insurance and pay 1/3rd of what I had to pay in Ontario.

[Asher]

So what exactly would you do to fix this? I already explained that your system would just completely fail because it either wouldn't be insurance or the insurance company would go out of business.

Why the **** would the insurance company go out of business? You set your base rates high enough to meet your costs.

If you make it far more expensive to people who have at-fault accidents, they either stop driving (safer for everyone = fewer claims in the future) or pay through the nose (recouped cost).

[Hauldren Collider]

What?

How is charging people loads of money after they get in a crash any different from just making them pay for the damage themselves? It mitigates the cost somewhat, but still it's not really insurance then is it?

[Asher]

How is charging people loads of money after they get in a crash any different from just making them pay for the damage themselves? It mitigates the cost somewhat, but still it's not really insurance then is it?

The real purpose of car insurance in our society isn't to ensure you can afford to replace your car, it's so when some other ******* hits you, you know you're still covered.

If I could, I'd not have any car insurance at all for my own vehicle.

[Hauldren Collider]

The real purpose of car insurance in our society isn't to ensure you can afford to replace your car, it's so when some other ******* hits you, you know you're still covered.

So you're saying what you want is a way to ensure the other guy will actually pay for civil damages, NOT something that will reduce your financial risk?

[Asher]

So you're saying what you want is a way to ensure the other guy will actually pay for civil damages, NOT something that will reduce your financial risk?

Yes. The only financial risk I've taken now is the ~$40K I've paid in insurance over the past decade.

At this point, my car is 7 years old. If it gets totaled, I'll buy a new one. I don't need an insurance payout, and I'd rather not pay the premiums. The risk is in liability (people suing for personal injury, hitting a Hummer slightly which causes $20,000 in damage, etc). I don't give a **** about my car.

[Hauldren Collider]

Yes. The only financial risk I've taken now is the ~$40K I've paid in insurance over the past decade.

At this point, my car is 7 years old. If it gets totaled, I'll buy a new one. I don't need an insurance payout, and I'd rather not pay the premiums. The risk is in liability (people suing for health care, hitting a Hummer slightly which causes $20,000 in damage, etc). I don't give a **** about my car.

You don't have to get insurance on YOUR car you know. You only have to get insurance for other people's cars. At least in Virginia. I think. I may be mistaken.

[Asher]

You don't have to get insurance on YOUR car you know. You only have to get insurance for other people's cars.

I'm well aware of this, and this is what I do. I'm still paying hundreds of dollars a month for the privilege of protecting their cars from my perfect driving.

[Asher]

The whole car insurance industry stinks. The ones in Canada keep posting record profits as they keep raising rates and finding new excuses for it. In Toronto, the primary cost of insanely high rates is insurance fraud -- which they don't REALLY care about because they just jack their rates and say "it's fraud, whatcanyado!".

[Hauldren Collider]

I don't know that much about car insurance in the US, my dad handled the insurance stuff when I started driving and I haven't bothered to look closely at it yet. But I don't recall it being particularly bad. I think it varies around the country though. Still, using demographics to set rates just makes sense to me. I don't see why the insurance companies shouldn't be allowed to estimate your risk using all the data available.

There may be something I'm missing about this, though, I will ask my dad later or Kuciwalker will take a break from work, see this, and call me stupid.