[geeks] Insurance, and Why I Hate It (long)

[Bill Bradford]

On Mon, Mar 18, 2002 at 03:51:46PM -0600, Jonathan C. Patschke wrote:
>    I'm 22 years old with a perfect driving record.  I drive a 2001 Pontiac
> Firebird with a V6, air bags, ABS, and alarm.  What do I pay?  About $2500
> per annum.  That alone is enough for me to rant about, but, you know, I'd
> assumed that, if I ever got in an accident, the insurance company would
> actually -do- something, so I didn't bitch too hard.

I was paying around $1500-2000/year for LIABILITY ONLY on an '87 Firebird
for a while.  It gets Much Better (tm) once you turn 25.

>    So, here I am, with two not-at-fault claims, and I'll get dropped if I
> -use- my fscking insurance.  Never mind that they don't do a damned thing
> if I call on them in the first place.  I mean, hell, this is worse than a
> WorstBuy "Extended Warranty"!

They dont care whose fault it is, as long as they dont have to pay.  If you
start actually *using* that insurance, their profit goes down.  so they drop 
you.

>    Am I doing anything wrong here, or am I just stuck between the two
> worst insurance companies on the planet[5]?  Or, worse, yet, is this Just
> The Way Things Are(TM)?

I have a great insurance company - Liberty Mutual.  I had an at-fault
accident last July.  Not only did I get the ticket taken off my record
with defensive driving - my insurance rates went *down* because the 
credit for DD was *higher* than the penalty for the wreck.

I had a clean record though, and also have one other car and my house
insured with them as well.

Bill

-- 
Bill Bradford
mrbill at mrbill.net
Austin, TX