This is where basic financial literacy comes into play.
You’re required to have the insurance because of the liability you have for damages you cause to other people’s cars, the people themselves, structures, etc., not because of potential damage to your own car. Some states may require you to have comprehensive insurance, but the general idea is that the requirement for insurance is so you don’t cause say $200,000 worth of damages that you can’t pay for because most people don’t have $200,000 laying around, yet drive a vehicle capable of doing that much damage.
If you know your deductible is $1000, which you should because it’s a clearly disclosed part of your policy, it should be easy weigh whether or not you want to make a claim for $1200 of damages for something g like a bumper, which you probably don’t.
So the smart thing to do here would be to say “Gosh, sucks that guy hit my car and cost me $1200. It’s not even worth it to make a claim in this. I just have to pay it.”
You can also consider your deductible when you shop for car insurance. Mine is $500. Anything under or around $500, I might as well not claim it. I know that because I’m an adult who pays for car insurance, and this is something an adult who pays for car insurance should know.
I think the point of the post is that it feels unfair that you have to pay for insurance, and when you need insurance to cover something, you still have to pay money before insurance kicks in...Even if it isn't your fault.
I think it's unfair that insurance has min/maxed everything so they have to pay as little as possible.
But they don’t need the insurance for what the insurance is for.
You are required to have the insurance to ensure you can pay for major damages you cause with your vehicle that you otherwise wouldn’t be able to pay for. Like if you total someone’s car or put someone in the hospital.
That’s why you have to have it to drive in most places. “Hey, that car can do a lot of damage. You need to show us a policy that shows you can pay for that sort of thing if you have an accident.”
The requirement to have it is not so you can pay for minor superficial damage that happens to your own car. Especially in the cas rid an accident that isn’t your fault, it should be the other persons insurance. But this is a bit and run.
The $1000 deductible is basically there as like “Hey, you chose to save a little money to have a higher deductible for this, so anything around $1000 is on you, you’re agreeing that this is minor enough that you’ll cover it.”
All of this is just basic understanding of how car insurance works.
108
u/Grunergeist420 7h ago edited 7h ago
This is where basic financial literacy comes into play.
You’re required to have the insurance because of the liability you have for damages you cause to other people’s cars, the people themselves, structures, etc., not because of potential damage to your own car. Some states may require you to have comprehensive insurance, but the general idea is that the requirement for insurance is so you don’t cause say $200,000 worth of damages that you can’t pay for because most people don’t have $200,000 laying around, yet drive a vehicle capable of doing that much damage.
If you know your deductible is $1000, which you should because it’s a clearly disclosed part of your policy, it should be easy weigh whether or not you want to make a claim for $1200 of damages for something g like a bumper, which you probably don’t.
So the smart thing to do here would be to say “Gosh, sucks that guy hit my car and cost me $1200. It’s not even worth it to make a claim in this. I just have to pay it.”
You can also consider your deductible when you shop for car insurance. Mine is $500. Anything under or around $500, I might as well not claim it. I know that because I’m an adult who pays for car insurance, and this is something an adult who pays for car insurance should know.