I HATE Insurance

[cwilson]

I think its dumb to have consumer and small bussines insurance it doens't make much since to me either... i think one type of insurance should cover everything

 

[Builder]

I can't let a group flogging of insurance pass without participating. I've had a hard time with the concept of insurance for a while. I won't get into the "Healthcare costs are so high because the insurance bureacracy interferes with the market impact of supply and demand", but I will chime in about auto insurance.

It's bad enough that we are required by law to pay someone for something that we really never want to use. What gripes me is that if you pay the guy to sit on his @$$ for ten years and then you finally need what you've been paying for this whole time, the guy gives you the fight of your life trying to satisfy the claim, raises your premiums, and/or drops you altogether for filling out a form wrong that his secretary actually filled out for you.

(No offense, Powerstroke444e. I know there are good agents and good companies out there too.)

The most frustrating thing is that the state of our "Not-my-fault-because-the-world-owes-me-a-living-anyway" litigious society is such that no responsible person dares go without it.

One final hint, though, that is only somewhat relevant to the discussion: If your car is totalled and the adjuster calls to settle, remember that you are selling a used car. Negotiate with them to get as much as you can.

Good points. I'm so sick of paying for it, too. I've never had a claim, but I notice my insurance increases every year.

Thay know they've got you by the neck because it's too time consuming to try to fax all your policies to 5 other insurance agencies to get lower rates.

 

[powerstroke444e]

Side note on insurance is that now most large companies, A or better rated, use credit as a major part of their rates for new clients & for giving discounts to current clients. If you get more advice from your agents staff than the agent I would shop or at least get a second opinion to make sure you are covered.

Most likely you will give more $ to your insurance company than you give the church, just makes you wonder don't it.

 

[Rara Avis]

The need for the right insurer

Sometimes the insurance company is not well suited for a trucker's exposures. Let's say Local Insurance Companies (LIC) writes truck insurance and one of its clients is Local Trucking (LT). While Local Trucking (LT) is hauling for itself and acting as a contract hauler, LIC is able to properly handle LT's insurance. Gradually LT starts to expand. Without LIC's knowing about it, LT travels into the neighboring state of Michigan. The first time this occurs, there is no Department of Transportation inspection where they entered the state. On the second trip into Michigan, the Department of Transportation inspection station was open; and as part of the inspection process, the DOT checked to determine if Local Trucking was filed with the Michigan Department of Transportation. Upon learning that Local Trucking did not have a filing in Michigan, DOT told LT to park its rig until the proper filings had been made.

A call to Local Insurance Company revealed that LIC was not filed to write insurance in Michigan and, therefore, they could not make the necessary filing for Local Trucking.

The lesson is that truck insurance should be written only with insurers who know the intricacies of making filings and can service the client's needs. If the insurer can't help you, my recommendation is to use a managing general agent that specializes in truck insurance.

 

[b33b]

Pay attention to what Paul just wrote if you are a commercial operation, your home/auto guy may try to do this but doesn't do it often. I once worked a claim on a tow truck and found that the agent only handled policies on tow trucks - he knew his coverages.

Coverage - when you tell your company you want insurance on your truck, they know from the VIN basically what you have, assess rates based on the value, and usually allow for $1K in extras - replacement rims, special sound system, etc. So if you change to a flat bed, add a lift gate or plow, or any other expensive change, tell your agent and get it included in your coverage - or they may not pay for damage to it.

I don't like to pay for insurance either and carry a high deductible. You buy insurance to cover risk you don't want to assume, so shop around, lowest cost may not always be the best.

 

[Rara Avis]

Seems to be my day today with insurance folks.

Seems I just found out today when I went to insure our new truck, that I would need to buy a rider (or some such insurance drivel) for each and every trailer I own for liability towing behind my commercial truck...........

Becuase it was a "Heavy Duty" truck.... (the first answer)

So, I ask the question, why don't I have that on my current policy?

Was told it was not needed because it was not a "heavy duty" truck....

Then on the callback, apparently I DO need it, and have been towing without liability coverage on my trailers for the past couple years.............

So they will write the rider on the "new" truck, $40 or so, per trailer,,, per 6 months, but it will cover either truck.......... Wait a minute, it will be on the "new" truck policy but will cover it on any truck?? Well yes, obviously.

I HATE dealing with this crap. Oh, and the same trailer, hooked behind my non commercial tagged vehicles is covered..................... no additional riders needed.....

So she says I would not need to say cover my Motorcycle trailer,,,,,,,,,,,,, I said well, what if I pull it with the new (commercial) truck,,, then she says it would not be covered for Liability

This is driving me flat up the wall.

Oh, and if you take your kid to the emergency room,,,,,,,,, You pay the doctor, and the hospital, and the radiologist, and god knows who else seperate.............. Oh, and the inusrance wants a $100 copay to everyone that sends a bill...... So far, $500 in bills for a freaking tetenaus shot that the week before he stepped on a nail his doctor said he did not need.... then the next week when he stepped on the nail, they say I need to get him to the emergency room to get this shot................

Sorry, just wanted to rant a bit.

It's all good, and I am proud and glad to live in a country where these are my problems.

Actually you are lucky, because if you had Progressive...the Maximum Weight of Supplies & Equipment is 500 lbs. under their Personal Policy and Unlimited under their Commercial Policy...
And Liability Coverage for Mobile Equipment is non existant under their Personal Policy and covered under their Commercial Policy...

Do I Need Commercial or Personal Insurance?

 

[mjncad]

Insurance is nothing more than a state mandated legalized protection racket.

Our uninsured motorists premium went up $84 (50%) annually; yet we have no accidents or other claims. Care to guess why our premium for this coverage jumped up that much? My guess is all the unwanted pests...err...guests in our country and the fools who refuse to carry insurance.

 

[Iplayfarmer]

I don't like to pay for insurance either and carry a high deductible.

I think you may have the answer right there. My employer went this route with our health insurance and everyone actually likes it. The higher deductible lowered the premiums enough that the company now provides a Heathcare Reimbursement Account for the employees. Most years no one pays a dime for any healthcare that is not re-imbursed in full.

I wonder what the effects of a high deductible would be on auto/home/commercial insurance.

 

[turbo36]

I can't let a group flogging of insurance pass without participating. I've had a hard time with the concept of insurance for a while. I won't get into the "Healthcare costs are so high because the insurance bureacracy interferes with the market impact of supply and demand", but I will chime in about auto insurance.

It's bad enough that we are required by law to pay someone for something that we really never want to use. What gripes me is that if you pay the guy to sit on his @$$ for ten years and then you finally need what you've been paying for this whole time, the guy gives you the fight of your life trying to satisfy the claim, raises your premiums, and/or drops you altogether for filling out a form wrong that his secretary actually filled out for you.

(No offense, Powerstroke444e. I know there are good agents and good companies out there too.)

The most frustrating thing is that the state of our "Not-my-fault-because-the-world-owes-me-a-living-anyway" litigious society is such that no responsible person dares go without it.

One final hint, though, that is only somewhat relevant to the discussion: If your car is totalled and the adjuster calls to settle, remember that you are selling a used car. Negotiate with them to get as much as you can.

Ok so you don't like insurance I don't suppose anyone does (except when they need it) what's your better idea?

 

[AlanB]

Well, this is what I did,

While crying in my beer (figure of speech) and speaking to a mentor or mine, (owns the used tractor place) he said "here, call this guy".

So I called the independent insurance guy he reccomended late Fri and left a message for him to call me. I figured Monday.

Sat Am he called, we talked for a while, he set up to come to the house that afternoon.

He has been in the business 35 years, and his father had started the business before that.

What I ended up doing was moving all my commercial policies to him, my commercial liability expired on 25 Feb (coincidentally) so now I have one agent handling all my personal insurances (handled by an insurance agent) and one agent handling all my commercial.

So I now have two trucks, 4 trailers, Workmans comp, liability and equipment replacement, and a term life under on the commercial side.

I liked him when I found out he collected old crawlers and Bridgestone Motorcycles.

I also liked him when he looked at my current home insurance policies and said I better keep them, I am getting a great deal there.

I hate paying the insurance, just a little less then I hate the thought of loosing everything, or leaving someone else struggling through my actions.

I hate to think of what I pay a month in all my insurances put together. Rough figuring I am thinking about $600 a month, or $7200 a year for stuff I hope never to use.....................

 

[ultrarunner]

The biggest thing I hate about insurance is that it is so Dang complicated. Just when you think your all set... something comes along and changes.

I've been through several Insurance Crisis here in CA and my family has a 35 year plus no claim history until last year when someone tripped on the city sidewalk in front of Rental and the Insurance paid $5000 to make them go away.

CA has had several insurance Moritoriums where companies left the State or would not write new business. Imagine buying a home and only being able to get the bare minimum fire policy through the State with no Home Owner Coverage?

I do have a Company for my Antique Cars that has been GREAT! Had them for 35 years and they are very reasonable... 22 cars for $1200 a year with NO DEDUCTABLE and stated value coverage... and they added my trailer at no additional cost.

Antique Auto Insurance is not valid on vehicles used for daily transportation... I often wondered why all insurance can't be as reasonable and easy???

 

[gemini5362]

Alan I looked over your list and did not see an umbrella policy listed. If you dont have one you might want to look into it. It is probably one of the best deals you can have in insurance for your transportation and dwellings

 

[Builder]

I bought a 2 mil umbrella for like $180/yr.

 

[gemini5362]

Builder does your policy reflect the number of things on it. I believe the rate on my 1 million policy was something like 36 to 40 per vehicle and then maybe something like 12 to 18 per house. I dont remember the exact amounts but I think it is somewhere around 400.00 for 4 vehicles and 7 houses that are on the policy

 

[AlanB]

My agent said it would work out cheaper to bump my levels up on each insured item, rather then to do an Umbrella.

I don't know that he is right or wrong, but he is whom I have thrown my cards in with so I have to hope he has somewhat my best interests at heart.

 

[gemini5362]

My agent said it would work out cheaper to bump my levels up on each insured item, rather then to do an Umbrella.

I don't know that he is right or wrong, but he is whom I have thrown my cards in with so I have to hope he has somewhat my best interests at heart.

He is very very very very wrong
You have to bump them up to get umbrella policies but once you do the umbrella policy is dirt cheap.

Let me give you an example of why he is wrong. My attorney told me about a case they had where a client was in a car wreck. This client hit another car on a curve in a very curvy mountainous area. The other person had a major artery get cut in the wreck. Paramedics were able to keep him alive until he could get to the hospital. He lost a lot of blood and was in a coma for 4 months. The client had just bought a new lexus and her insurance company had her with all minimum coverages which in arkansas is 50,000 liability. How long do you think 50,000 lasts when someone is in a coma in a hospital for 4 months. Luckly the person lived and recovered I believe the client settled for paying the hospital bills and 80,000 dollars on top of that. I dont know how much it cost but i do know that everything above 50,000 came out of her pocket. Now assuming the hospital bills were free that would mean she had to pay at least 30,000 out of her pocket. My umbrella policy cost me around 400 per year because of the number of properties and cars that I own. still 30,000. oo if that had been me would have paid a lot of premiums. I have a million dollar policy if you noticed someone I believe it was builder has a 2 million dollar policy. Your agent is wrong and he is being wrong with your liability. If something should happen and you needed that policy he wont pay the money out of his pocket i bet.

I am going to point out that you need an umbrella policy only if you have something someone could take. I would not recommend my children buying one because they dont own anything. If they lose a big lawsuit they could declare bankruptcy and go on. I have hundreds of thousands of dollars worth or property that is not mortgaged and I own free and clear. I also have other property as well. I also have some really fun toys and I could not imagine losing my tractor. I would think you have enough toys to have to worry about what would happen if you have an unfunded judgement against you. It would not be pretty

 

[AlanB]

I posted and somewhere it got lost in oblivion.

I went back and have asked again what the actual cost will be. I have also re-read his response to me, and it may be more accurately phrased as "you have enough" (currently 300 on each truck as well as 1M on the business in general)

I can insure myself into the poorhouse I think.

I do wonder what the umbrella wil cost though, should know today.

Okay, just got the pricing back. For us the minimum cost is $500 plus $30 per vehicle, plus I would have to raise the rates of coverage on my vehicles before they will write the umbrella.

Where I am at, with the insurance company I am with, I think I will just sit tight.

 

[powerstroke444e]

gemini5362 I to have advised clients that carrying higher limits on a policy is better than purchasing an umbrella, the reason is that I can offer 1 million liablity, propertie damage & uinsured/underisured motorist coverage, this with 1m limits on the home policy will cover everything but liable & slander. If you have 250,000/500,000 limits with 1m umbrella you are protecting everyone better than your self. I have had clients use over 250,000 of uninsured limits. Each person has differant risks & differant tolerance for risk so consult your local advise.

The purpose of insurance is to transfer risk, you have to decide if/what you are willing to pay for someone else to fix your mistakes/headaches.

 

[gemini5362]

gemini5362 I to have advised clients that carrying higher limits on a policy is better than purchasing an umbrella, the reason is that I can offer 1 million liablity, propertie damage & uinsured/underisured motorist coverage, this with 1m limits on the home policy will cover everything but liable & slander. If you have 250,000/500,000 limits with 1m umbrella you are protecting everyone better than your self. I have had clients use over 250,000 of uninsured limits. Each person has differant risks & differant tolerance for risk so consult your local advise.

The purpose of insurance is to transfer risk, you have to decide if/what you are willing to pay for someone else to fix your mistakes/headaches.

interesting information. I am curious now I will have to see what my insurance agent says about that also some of his competitors. The issue I think is price. for what I pay for my umbrella insurance can i get equal liability coverage for as cheap. I dont need 1 million on my vehicles nothing I have is worth that and they have full coverage on what they are worth. My house has replacement cost so a large coverage on that is not a big deal. I have pretty good health insurance so dont need the coverage on that. What I do need is coverage for liability and that is pretty cheap. If i can get equal coverage for the same money I will but I dont think that I am going to get anything cheaper than the umbrella. Just for grins what would the difference be for me to get insurance through you both ways. For planning purposes home value of 250,000, 6 rental houses at 100,000 3 cars, 1 new at 65,000
a truck new at 50,000 a sedan new at 36,000 and a car with liability only at 3,000 these are just made up figures. If i get them the way you say with 1 million dollar full policies with 500.00 deductible versus full coverage on the house policies and the cars with the cheaper car exception full coverage
450,000 500,000, 450,000 auto liability coverage. then 1 million in umbrella with that . I know you need car serial numbers so I can make up some vehicles just generic, 2008 mercedes slk 350 for the 65000 dollar car, chevrolet silverado 2008 2500 HD diesel crew cab for 50,000 4 door lexus sedan for 35,000 and a geo tracker for 3000. If that is enough information what would the price difference be to go both ways. I realize that is a lot of looking up information and if too much trouble I understand. The cars are not what I own I just happened to at one time or another look at all of those vehicles and know about what they cost. The only exception is the geo tracker I have one of those and love driving it.

 

[texbaylea]

I have a personal liability policy with one of those companies with "State" in their name. When they found out that I had a E-GO Workhorse they claimed that it was an ATV and doubled my qoute. I think that I should shop around. Thank goodness that I don't have my automobiles with them.

Vernon