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Virtually NONE of the insurance rates are reasonable any more.
And, for that matter, virtually none of what they're calling automobiles are even worth insuring either. Nor, are they worth buying. The computer electronics isn't reliable enough as currently designed, and it's costing every one of you that owns a vehicle newer than about 1985, in fuel and repairs.
Wow - so much hyperbole.
Today's cars are vastly better than those of yesteryear. Much more reliable, safer, and even quicker. I just replaced the spark plugs on my Honda this weekend. First time in 100K miles. The cars I drove in college 30 years ago needed new plugs every year. And points too. And they had a choke. Drum brakes all around. Didn't like starting in cold (or very hot) weather. 5 digit odometer.
The results were somewhat surprising, although there were differences across the five insurers. Farmers, GEICO and Progressive always gave a higher quote to the safer driver than the woman who’d caused an accident. Across all 12 cities in the study, State Farm offered the lowest or second lowest premiums.
“State insurance regulators should require auto insurers to explain why they believe factors such as education and income are better predictors of losses than are at-fault accidents,” said J. Robert Hunter, CFA’s director of insurance and former Texas insurance commissioner.
“Policymakers should ask why auto insurers are permitted to discriminate on the basis of nondriving-related factors such as occupation or education,” he added.
Hunter, the joker you are quoting is a paid shill for various groups where he crafts faulty results to meet the goals of whoever's paying him. His study on medical malpractice insurance for Missouri was panned by every state insurance commissioner and he is regarded as a laughing stock in the actuarial community. (He also did a "study" on florida homeowners insurance and concluded the insurers didn't need rate increases. Did I mention he removed the years with hurricanes from the study?)
The variables being cited above are all proven via generalized linear models. Basically what hunter is saying is that we should throw all that fancy schmancy math out the window and just use our "gut feel" that a single accident is a greater predictor than credit score and so forth. Well, one accident is generally not a good predictor but 2 or more and it gets their attention as it's more predictive.
P.S. All the rates hunter is complaining about were all statistically reviewed and approved by the various state governments. In other words, dozens of independent state departments of insurance have verified that this is statistically valid.
What recently blew me away was learning the amount my 89 yr. old mother in Florida was paying for car insurance on a leased vehicle - almost $3,000 a year! I'll be taking care of THAT when I go down for a visit soon, that is highway robbery. She naively thought that since she got the insurance through an AARP recommended insurer she got a better rate. HA!
Millions fall for the AARP thing and don't shop for better rates.
If you know you're not going to be using your car for 45 days, why wouldn't you let it lapse? I try to save money wherever I can.
And I actually had a low income discount with State Farm when I had a car, so I've never considered their policies egregious.
Talk to your insurance agency before dropping insurance to determine if the gap will come back and bite you. Then you can decide if the premium saved during that 45 day period is worth it.
As far as the 45 days without insurance that's a red flag for any insurance company especially if the coverage lapsed.
Ding ding ding...it seems we have found our first poster with a functioning BS detector.
The guy that did the "study" has been caught repeatedly over the years torturing data with utterly unacceptable techniques and then rushing off press releases that papers are all too happy to print without fact check or even chance at rebuttal.
In the missouri study on medical malpractice (Oh, btw he was paid by the trial lawyers) he claimed the rates were fine by comparing claims paid today against premiums collected today.
For example $100 collected this year to pay future claims. Let's say that the current years claims were $90 but on average the policies written today will generate claims occurring 4 years from now. Claim inflation is 8%, interest rates are 3%.
So, the policies you collected $100 for today will generate discounted claims of 90 x 1.08^4 / 1.03 ^4 = 108.8
Basically, you won't make money.
Hunter compared the $90 to the $100 and claimed they were making tons of money.
I think it is funny... they say they look at 60 people... SIXTY... and we have six pages of nonsense after that... and by the way, I pay way too much for car insurance... I must be the outlier...
Virtually NONE of the insurance rates are reasonable any more.
Reasonable is a releative term. It's reasonable versus the exposure of the claim and the need to be profitable to achieve a higher rating and be able to pay out a claim. Auto insurance is the most profitable line of insurance. Profits help offset the lines that lose money.
Where can I get some Personal Responsibility gear? I'm looking for a hat and maybe a foam finger.
Trust me, the credit ratings companies will be happy to give you the finger free of charge.
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