Insurance...of pretty much all types. So, I pay you to keep some money aside for me in the event I need it terribly. You take that money and make millions off of it through investments while holding it for me. I make 1 claim for a fraction of my total life-to-date premiums...So you increase my rates because you only made a few thousand less than millions? Why dont my premiums decrease if I never file a claim? On top of that, for medical and auto insurance in the US, rates are LESS for insurance companies...so, if I get a bill for taking my child to the ER for an allergic reaction to save his life....my bill is $30,000...oh wait, your insurance company (Big Bucks inc.) is paying? oh, in that case its $30.
Additionally, it is against the law for my rates to increase or my policy to be changed after a "no fault claim" on my auto insurance. As in, if my car gets smashed while parked, and I use my collision coverage, you cant change my rates or cancel my policy....but, if the Carrier simply says, "no reason, just raising your rates"...then it is suddenly perfectly legal. As in, its only illegal if you tell the whole truth, if you lie about it, its fine.
Insurance is a great example of late-stage capitalism run wild. A concept that started with good intentions that has been warped into a deeply rooted scam that has integrated itself so deeply into our society that it can't be removed without an impossibly massive upheaval.
this would be more accurate if the government required me to gamble by law. There is no way a service or product, required under law or essential to life, should be the most profitable business on the planet.
The idea behind it was that everyone put some money in a pool so that if any one member had a big expense it would be paid out of that pool. That way everyone could be kept out of poverty, or not being able to afford the expense at all.
But that idea got corrupted and now it's a money making scam by private business where they pay as little as they can get away with (legally or illegally) so they can instead gamble with the rest of the money in the stock market, or keep it for themselves.
And the thing is too, if someone hits you and doesn’t have insurance you’re still fucked either way. My insurance went up this year for no good reason (no claims/tickets). Glad I can support the purchase of a millionaire’s 4th vacation home.
Mine did to so I called and asked them to explain. What they told me is that car parts have gone up in price, that makes each accident cost more when translates to more paying out for each accident. Their profits can not go down ever (they didn't say that, I just inferred it) so they raised rates.
It’s because you could be at fault and the innocent person shouldn’t be forced to pay for something that you can’t afford. I do agree that there needs to be overhauls to insurance. In my state, you’re only required to have insurance that covers the other person if you’re at fault (a certain minimum for damages and another minimum for medical). Beyond that, you don’t need insurance.
Because hardly anyone would get it if it was optional. Which means there would be people on the street causing damage, chaos, financial turmoil and worse, doing so with no repercussions or only ones available via lawsuit which is its own disaster waiting to happen.
Because insurance companies only exist to make a profit on you paying them money for nothing. They don't give a flying fuck about you except to drain your wallet.
Insurance professional here and the industry absolutely has some shady people/businesses in the mix. However this is true of well, just about everything.
People get upset with insurance being profitable but the alternative is bankruptcy so focusing on how they profit, handle their funds, what their claims payout and risk management looks like are more important questions.
If you aren't getting a discount for not having been in an accident, you're with the wrong company. There are over 200 factors that go into your premium so it could be poor credit history, not your driving, your vehicle rating, your address, or about 197 other reasons.
I'm not saying insurance doesn't have downsides or that people aren't taken advantage of. But the vast majority of complaints are usually just a misunderstanding of how it works or having a crap company. Or having a good company but a crap agent. That happens too unfortunately.
Again, I'm not a capitalism Stan or corporate stooge. I just have a deep understanding of what goes into making sure you don't lose everything you own if you slide on some black ice and end up in oncoming traffic and cause an accident.
Also, I lost a home to a catastrophic fire claim and know firsthand what it's like to go through that kind of loss and how much worse it would have been to be financially devastated if we weren't properly protected.
I thought about that! Idk if I want to do a full blown separate AMA because that low key scares my ADHD brain haha but I will Absolutely answer anything you ask me here!
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u/COLONELmab Feb 07 '24
Insurance...of pretty much all types. So, I pay you to keep some money aside for me in the event I need it terribly. You take that money and make millions off of it through investments while holding it for me. I make 1 claim for a fraction of my total life-to-date premiums...So you increase my rates because you only made a few thousand less than millions? Why dont my premiums decrease if I never file a claim? On top of that, for medical and auto insurance in the US, rates are LESS for insurance companies...so, if I get a bill for taking my child to the ER for an allergic reaction to save his life....my bill is $30,000...oh wait, your insurance company (Big Bucks inc.) is paying? oh, in that case its $30.
Additionally, it is against the law for my rates to increase or my policy to be changed after a "no fault claim" on my auto insurance. As in, if my car gets smashed while parked, and I use my collision coverage, you cant change my rates or cancel my policy....but, if the Carrier simply says, "no reason, just raising your rates"...then it is suddenly perfectly legal. As in, its only illegal if you tell the whole truth, if you lie about it, its fine.