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Questions About Auto Insurance & Accidents

5325 messages,  Last post on May 09, 2013 at 1:37 PM

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Messages Page 521 of 533

#5197 of 5325 Re: POP QUIZ [imidazol97] by Stever@Edmunds HOST

Jan 27, 2013 (1:16 pm)

Replying to: imidazol97 (Jan 27, 2013 1:07 pm)
Oh yeah, went up to $4 last year for passenger cars.
 
No extra charge if you want someone to drive you and your car across.

#5198 of 5325 We subsidize bike lanes and by euphonium

Jan 27, 2013 (2:39 pm)

inter island ferries throughout Puget Sound with gas taxes revenue. Now we need a new bridge to cross the Columbia on I-5 & some progressive crazies want light rail to be included - and paid for by gas taxes.

#5199 of 5325 Re: POP QUIZ [houdini1] by MrShift@Edmunds HOST

Jan 27, 2013 (2:50 pm)

Replying to: houdini1 (Jan 27, 2013 1:06 pm)
your view seems rather grim and unsubstantiated but who knows, you could be right. What I do think is that current insurance rate escalation would definitely have been unsustainable for most Americans without intervention and controls.
 
We know who writes insurance laws don't we? Insurance companies.
 
It's very bizarre to have a business model like airlines and insurance companies where the idea is to try to deny you as much as possible.

#5200 of 5325 Re: POP QUIZ [Mr_Shiftright] by euphonium

Jan 27, 2013 (9:57 pm)

Replying to: MrShift@Edmunds (Jan 27, 2013 2:50 pm)
The casualty insurance busines has been a very competitive one & future competition will keep the premiums within reason. Natural disasters, world wide affect the premiums as a result of re insurance treaties with other carriers world wide. Catastrophies in other parts of the planet influence what we pay as well as the domestic hazards exploding in our own back yards.
 
  Medical insurance pays for the injuries we expect the hospitals and doctors to treat and the cost of that treatment will sky rocket as we demand & expect the best care we can afford. If a person thinks the insurance industry controls - they don't know the duties of fifty different state insurance commissioners and the clout they have.
 
What can be done about using all of the PIP benefits of the policy to take advantage of Chiropracter massages and when the limit is out of gas, the patient is suddenly without any more pain? Claimants work the system if they can.

#5201 of 5325 Re: POP QUIZ [euphonium] by MrShift@Edmunds HOST

Jan 28, 2013 (8:27 am)

Replying to: euphonium (Jan 27, 2013 9:57 pm)
As Christopher Hitchins said (paraphrase)....quality medical insurance allows you to have a level of suffering that normally you couldn't have afforded.

#5202 of 5325 Re: POP QUIZ [steve_] by igozoomzoom

Jan 28, 2013 (9:47 am)

Replying to: Stever@Edmunds (Jan 27, 2013 9:09 am)
As an Insurance Agent (Independent), I have customers ask me if/when I think they should cancel their Physical Damage Coverage (aka- Comp & Collision). Something that I always do before I let a customer drop or reduce coverage or reduce their level of coverage, is to explore ALL of the possible options they have and figure out just how much (or how little) they would save by choosing each option/change.
 
The most common change I end up making, if any, to the policies of customers with older, low-value cars is to drop the Collision coverage but KEEP the Comprehensive! On average, Collision costs more than twice as much as the Comp coverage on a policy. So if Comp costs $100 per year, Collision will be over $200.
 
Collision pays to repair your vehicle when it is damaged and YOU are at-fault. 99.9% of Collision claims are caused by crashing into another vehicle or leaving the roadway and crashing into a ditch, a forest or even crashing into a building! If the policyholder hasn't had an at-fault accident in the last five years, they probably won't be needing Collision coverage for a very long time, if ever!
 
Comprehensive (aka- Other Than Collision) covers numerous different situations, but Comp claims are almost always considered 'Not-at-fault' for the policyholder. Comp covers theft, weather damage such as hail/wind or flooding, fire damage, falling objects or objects thrown up from the road surface (rocks, etc.) and all glass breakage. Even if glass is broken as the result of an at-fault accident that Collision pays to repair, any glass broken in the collision would be replaced or repaired under the Comp coverage.
 
One of the great mysteries of auto insurance is why a "collision" with an animal falls under Comprehensive? At least it benefits the consumer, especially her in rural North Georgia where Bambi gets mowed down on a daily basis during their most active season.
 
By keeping the Comprehensive and dropping Collision, the customer is still protected from situations that they can't control. Some insurers won't allow you to have Comp without Collision, but MOST of them will.
 
During these types of reviews with a customer, I also calculate the amount would save by increasing Comp and/or Collision deductible(s). Once a vehicle is 7-8 years old and has 150k miles on it, increasing a $500 deductible to $1000 will save $30-$40/year, at best. So it's not worth assuming an additional $500 in risk to save $30. It's quite a different story when the car is new, that deductible change will save hundreds per year.
 
Another point I always mention (more than once, if possible) during this type of cost-reduction discussion is the types of coverage that should NEVER be decreased or dropped to save a buck!!! Do NOT reduce your Liability Limits, which is what pays for the other guys vehicle and injuries if you are at-fault. The only way that type of coverage should go is UP...once you hit 100/300/100, additional increments cost so little it's hard to believe! On my personal auto policy, I have limits of 500/500/100 (more than most people) and I pay $160.10 for the Bodily Injury (500/500) and $74.20 for the 100k Property Damage. If I lower the BI from 500/500 down to 100/300, it would cost $148.50/year. So several hundred thousands in additonal coverage cost me $11.60 per year! Dropping the 100k in Property Damage down to 50k would make it $72.80/year, so for half the coverage I'd save $1.40/year!!!
 
The other type of coverage that you should NEVER drop or reduce is Uninsured and/or Underinsured Motorist Coverage! If you carry 500/500/100 to protect other drivers that you don't even know, it only makes sense to carry the same level of protection for you and your passengers. Depending on which state you're in, anywhere from 16% to 28% of drivers are UNSINURED- so now, more than ever, it's essential to have coverage to protect you from people who choose to break the law and drive with no insurance!

#5203 of 5325 Re: POP QUIZ [igozoomzoom] by sandman_6472

Jan 28, 2013 (11:23 am)

Replying to: igozoomzoom (Jan 28, 2013 9:47 am)
Curious about your thoughts on Metlife? We have 21st Century(Farmers) right now but am making a change. My new agent seems to like Metlife to.
 
The Sandman

#5204 of 5325 Re: POP QUIZ [igozoomzoom] by euphonium

Jan 28, 2013 (11:43 am)

Replying to: igozoomzoom (Jan 28, 2013 9:47 am)
One of the best posts to appear. Clear & concise for the reader.
 
As a retired Independent Agent, I'm curious to know what your agency's 2012 Loss Ratio is?
 
The annual Profit Sharing bonus is always appreciated, but earned.
 
Losses due to arson & UM should not be held against the agency's loss ratio, penalizing the profit sharing.
 
I used to suggest that 5% of the bonus could be waived if the company excluded arson & UM claims. Never had any takers.

#5205 of 5325 Re: POP QUIZ [igozoomzoom] by Stever@Edmunds HOST

Jan 28, 2013 (4:13 pm)

Replying to: igozoomzoom (Jan 28, 2013 9:47 am)
I wish my agent was as sharp as you. Maybe I should go to the one other guy in town for a check.
 
Michigan has weird insurance laws too.
 
I'm carrying everything on two old cars that may be worth $2,000 and $3,000 each. Usually I would have dropped collision long before now. My limits are 250/500, PPI of 1 million and "coordinated" PIP. Premium is right at $1,000 a year. About twice what somewhat similar coverage in Boise was.
 
Crap, just noticed I'm now getting the senior discount. Talk about adding insult to injury.

#5206 of 5325 Re: POP QUIZ [euphonium] by marsha7

Jan 28, 2013 (7:52 pm)

Replying to: euphonium (Jan 27, 2013 9:57 pm)
"What can be done about using all of the PIP benefits of the policy to take advantage of Chiropracter massages and when the limit is out of gas, the patient is suddenly without any more pain? Claimants work the system if they can."
 
I must disagree...I have had many clients get more pain relief from chiropractors than the drugs the MDs give them...you would be amazed how many folks say that the pain pills and muscle relaxers not only did not work but made them loopy at the same time...
 
When it comes to the standard whiplash type injury, the chiropractor is about the best there is...obviously, broken bones, lacerations and other ultra serious injuries require medical care, but soft tissue injuries are best handled by the DC...

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