- Oct 20, 2013
- 55,509
- 17,623
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There may be some entities worse, but if they are, it's not by much. The level of indecency, greed, and vileness of insurance companies, is hard to beat. These villains have a huge advantage over other types of businesses, in that their product is required by law. The status of selling a product (car insurance) that people have to have, gives insurance companies the power to take advantage of their customers, and flat out rip them off, in a big way.
First, they charge exhorbitant fees for PIP (Personal Injury Protection) in 13 states in America (Florida, Pennsylvania, Delaware, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Kansas, North Dakota, Utah, Oregon, and Hawaii). The insurance covers things (ex. medical care) that people are already insured against. To force people to pay for what they don't need or want, is highway robbery.
Secondly, insurance companies have a ludicrous policy of raising rates astronomically, if/when motorists have a "lapse" in their insurance coverage. Well, why shouldn't they have a lapse in coverage, in cases where they don't possess a car for some period of time ? Can you imagine any other industry penalizing you monetarily for not buying their product all the time ? Imagine going to a furniture store and buying a couch. Then, you come back 6 months later to buy a chair, and they charge you very high because (they say) you didn't buy anything from them for 6 months.
Or you leave a health club in March, and come back to it in July, and your membership fee is tripled, because you didn't continuously stay with them. Unbelievable, the audacity of these guys. And the insurance reps will tell it to you as if it had a grain of sense and reason, other than them just sticking it to you, for a much as they can squeeze out of you,
Thirdly, these thieves charge people in low income areas more than richer people in high income areas. This does make some sense economically, since low income areas have higher crime rates, but again it just shows the lack of concern the companies have for their customers, and their total fixation on profit maximization, no matter the hurt or damage they cause.
Perhaps, the impact of this can only be realized by a look at the extremity of the insurance companies' rates.
Less than 2 years ago, I had car insurance on a car I owned, and paid $55/month (that was covering comprehensive, roadside help & rental car). Now, having had an 8 month lapse, and moving to a lower economic zip code, with the same company, for an owned car, I'm quoted $163/month ( a 300% increase). Other quotes I got from other companies were $238/mo, $300/mo., and $517/mo. All of these were the barebones minimum coverage (no comprehensive, roadside, or rental)
As a Republican and Trump supporter, I am no fan of government regulation of business, but this is insane, is far worse than gas pump gouging, and does need government intervention. I asked a number of Republican friends about this, and all of them agreed with me 100%.
First, they charge exhorbitant fees for PIP (Personal Injury Protection) in 13 states in America (Florida, Pennsylvania, Delaware, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Kansas, North Dakota, Utah, Oregon, and Hawaii). The insurance covers things (ex. medical care) that people are already insured against. To force people to pay for what they don't need or want, is highway robbery.
Secondly, insurance companies have a ludicrous policy of raising rates astronomically, if/when motorists have a "lapse" in their insurance coverage. Well, why shouldn't they have a lapse in coverage, in cases where they don't possess a car for some period of time ? Can you imagine any other industry penalizing you monetarily for not buying their product all the time ? Imagine going to a furniture store and buying a couch. Then, you come back 6 months later to buy a chair, and they charge you very high because (they say) you didn't buy anything from them for 6 months.
Or you leave a health club in March, and come back to it in July, and your membership fee is tripled, because you didn't continuously stay with them. Unbelievable, the audacity of these guys. And the insurance reps will tell it to you as if it had a grain of sense and reason, other than them just sticking it to you, for a much as they can squeeze out of you,
Thirdly, these thieves charge people in low income areas more than richer people in high income areas. This does make some sense economically, since low income areas have higher crime rates, but again it just shows the lack of concern the companies have for their customers, and their total fixation on profit maximization, no matter the hurt or damage they cause.
Perhaps, the impact of this can only be realized by a look at the extremity of the insurance companies' rates.
Less than 2 years ago, I had car insurance on a car I owned, and paid $55/month (that was covering comprehensive, roadside help & rental car). Now, having had an 8 month lapse, and moving to a lower economic zip code, with the same company, for an owned car, I'm quoted $163/month ( a 300% increase). Other quotes I got from other companies were $238/mo, $300/mo., and $517/mo. All of these were the barebones minimum coverage (no comprehensive, roadside, or rental)
As a Republican and Trump supporter, I am no fan of government regulation of business, but this is insane, is far worse than gas pump gouging, and does need government intervention. I asked a number of Republican friends about this, and all of them agreed with me 100%.
