No-Fault Car Insurance (Pittsburgh, York, California: sales, house, buying)

[Elder18]

So I just found out that Pennsylvania (and thus Pittsburgh) has no-fault car insurance.

What the hell? No-fault car insurance is about the lamest idea I have ever heard of.

Some idiot runs into my car and I have to pay for it?
How does this make sense?

Does anyone have any horror stories about this crap?

[Drover]

I don't have any horror stories except to say that when my ex and I moved to Pittsburgh, we had to get rid of one of our cars because otherwise our insurance premium would have more than doubled. We could not afford to insure both cars. In Philly it's even worse.

[Hopes]

Elder, what makes you think there would be horror stories?

It's a clear cut system where everyone's damages get paid!

There's no court battles over silly little things like damages to autos and property.

If you're in an accident, your insurance pays for the other car, their insurance pays for your car.

Ten car pile ups---everyone pays for the car in front of them and the first car pays for the last car in line.

I think a more lame system would be one where you have to go to court to get paid.

Drover, you're clearly buying top coverage which isn't really necessary with no fault.

[Katiana]

Originally Posted by Hopes

Elder, what makes you think there would be horror stories?

It's a clear cut system where everyone's damages get paid!

There's no court battles over silly little things like damages to autos and property.

If you're in an accident, your insurance pays for the other car, their insurance pays for your car.

Ten car pile ups---everyone pays for the car in front of them and the first car pays for the last car in line.

I think a more lame system would be one where you have to go to court to get paid.

Drover, you're clearly buying top coverage which isn't really necessary with no fault.

I thought in "no-fault" each person's insurance paid for their own damages. We used to have no-fault, but the insurance lobby got rid of it.

[pghlibrarian]

Originally Posted by Elder18

So I just found out that Pennsylvania (and thus Pittsburgh) has no-fault car insurance.

What the hell? No-fault car insurance is about the lamest idea I have ever heard of.

Some idiot runs into my car and I have to pay for it?
How does this make sense?

Does anyone have any horror stories about this crap?

Elder18-

I'll quote two classic textbook cases regarding no-fault insurance involving my parents from my childhood, and why I think my parents (in)directly caused the State of New York to go no-fault.

Case #1
My father was driving his 1976 Datsun (the best car he ever had, or so he said) and was making a left turn from a side street onto a larger highway. My dad had plenty of clearance, and he started to make his left turn. The driver behind him was a little impatient and rear-ended my dad, causing him to crash into another car on the highway. No one was hurt, and the damage on all the cars was minimal (none were totaled). The police found that my dad was in the right and the fault lay with the driver the rear-ended my dad.

To make a long story short, my dad was sued by BOTH drivers, and never did get the Datsun fixed because it was held up in litigation for 3 years! My dad was not found negligent and the cases were all dismissed.

Case #2
I had fallen off my bike and tore open my leg on the day before the Fourth of July. My mom rushed me to the emergency room where I required 13 stitches. We arrived at the hospital without incident, but on the way back home, my mom was involved in a chain-reaction accident (#3 in a bumper-to-bumper 7 car crash). Minor damage was done to each car (my mom drove it back home), and the police determined that the fault lay in the driver of the #1 car.

To make another long story short, the driver in the #2 car (in front of my mom) sued EVERYONE involved in the accident for various maladies including broken fingernails (I'm not joking). After another long period of litigation, my mom was cleared and the case was thrown out.

None of this litigation would have happened (and does not happen now) in New York due to no-fault car insurance. I lived in a few states without no-fault insurance (California is a notable example) and was mortified to find out that even if my insurance paid a claim for an accident that was my fault, I could STILL be sued and lose everything. Why even have insurance?

Sure, you may pay a little bit more, and the rates for ALL involved in an accident will go up after the accident, but I like the fact that I can keep my house and the close on my back if I end up in an accident that is my fault.

Oh, and on the topic of insurance costs in Pennsylvania. We just moved from Maryland to Pennsylvania where we were paying almost $125 a month to insure our 2004 Hyundai Accent. Recently we traded in the Accent and bought two new Mazda 3s (great cars by the way) and our insurance for BOTH cars (brand new) is less than $220 a month. We have State Farm, which may a little pricier than other insurance, but we have had good luck with them.

[Elder18]

Originally Posted by Hopes

If you're in an accident, your insurance pays for the other car, their insurance pays for your car.

Ten car pile ups---everyone pays for the car in front of them and the first car pays for the last car in line.

No Fault Insurance Explained: Understanding No Fault Auto Insurance Laws

If you read the info on that link, you actually have to pay for your damages no matter who was at fault.

So again, if some idiot is speeding and plows into me or someone turns in front of me, my insurance has to cover it and my premiums go up.

This is simply ridiculous. I loathe being penalized for things I'm not responsible for.

I guess in Pennsylvania (according to the info I linked to above) you can drive under the liablity system and opt out of the no-fault? Does anyone know anything about this?

[Hopes]

That's not the way I understand it. If we had to pay for our own damages, why do we have to carry insurance to pay for other people's damages?

[Katiana]

In Colorado, it was not 100% "no-fault". The no-fault only applied to certain situations. I'm not a finance person, I really don't understand it well. I think the main application was to medical expenses. But that is here, not there, and as I said, we don't have it any more here.

[pesach]

Originally Posted by Elder18

No Fault Insurance Explained: Understanding No Fault Auto Insurance Laws

If you read the info on that link, you actually have to pay for your damages no matter who was at fault.

So again, if some idiot is speeding and plows into me or someone turns in front of me, my insurance has to cover it and my premiums go up.

This is simply ridiculous. I loathe being penalized for things I'm not responsible for.

I guess in Pennsylvania (according to the info I linked to above) you can drive under the liablity system and opt out of the no-fault? Does anyone know anything about this?

No fault only applies to Bodily Injury. You save about 15% on your Bodily Injury premium if you choose the Limited Tort option. If you are hit and hurt by a drunk driver you still have the rights granted under the full tort option even though you chose the limited one.

Any qualified auto insurance sales agent in the state can give you all the information you need to make an informed decision including brochures.

Phil

[MLN2603]

I didn't think our insurance was that costly.... we have a 06 Ford Ranger Pick Up and a 06 Chevy Malibu... we pay $127 a month for both....