Given that driving is a privilege, and not a right, big brother can put restrictions on it however they please. In Ohio they randomly send letters out to people asking that they provide proof of insurance on, or before, the date you received the letter. You’re asked for license, registration AND proof of insurance when pulled over.
Now, if you wanna discuss mandated extortion, look no further than the ACA.
it could be argued that it falls under life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, and is a right.
by your logic health care is a privilege too, even more so because you need adoctor to provide it.
I think they are both the same.they are both forcing someone to buy a product from a for profit company
You might consider a member-owned insurance company like Nationwide or State Farm. (Isn’t that like a co-op?)
lol, I have state farm. very nice people. very expensive
Shop around. Maybe you will find a better price. Just make sure the new insurer is a reputable organization. You might also consider changing the deductible or dropping collision if you have it. If you do not use any cars for commuting, make sure your insurer knows that. They charge more for commuter cars.
Do you not have liability insurance to cover losses to others that you cause? If you rent, its called renters insurance which everyone should have and if you own its called homeowners. Includes liability as well as theft and loss from fire etc. I cannot believe people who do not have renters insurance and the apartment burns and they cry that they lost everything.
“I have state farm. very nice people. very expensive”
Well, I will agree with you on half of that assessment!
I dropped State Farm many years ago when their claims-paying ability dropped like a rock, due to their weak financial status. (It has subsequently improved, however) Luckily, I found better, cheaper coverage for both my home and my car with other companies.
Now, fast forward to 2 years ago, when my area was hit by Hurricane Sandy. The neighborhood where my house is located is on a ridge, and almost every house in this area sustained a badly damaged roof. My insurance company (Mercer Insurance) sent a very down-to-earth and friendly claims adjuster who quickly decided that I was entitled to a complete tear-off and re-roofing job as a result of losing about 40 shingles from my 16 year old roof. I submitted an estimate for $7,000, and I received $7,000 from Mercer–in two installments
Now, contrast my neighbor’s experience. He suffered far more damage to his roof than I did, and the extremely nasty claims adjuster sent to his house by State Farm stated that she would approve the payment of a few hundred $$ in order to get his heavily-damaged roof “patched” with new shingles. My neighbor pointed out that it would be impossible to properly match new shingles to 16 year old shingles, and that this mis-match would lower the resale value of his home, but the nasty woman was unmoved.
My neighbor appealed to State Farm’s home office, and a second nasty claims adjuster came to his house and came to the same conclusion. By this time, I had already had my $7,000 claim approved, and my neighbor mentioned this to the claims adjuster. What did she say? She told him, “State Farm is not about give you a big check so that you can go on a vacation to The Bahamas, Mr. S.” He asked her to repeat what she had just said, and this woman actually said the same totally inappropriate words again!
The bottom line is that my neighbor appealed State Farm’s decision to the state’s Commissioner of Insurance. Shortly after he filed the appeal in the state capital, State Farm asked him if he would accept $5,000. Even though this was far short of what a complete tear-off re-roofing would cost, he decided to accept it, because at this point–7 months after the hurricane–he still had his roof covered with a tarp, and he just wanted to move on with repairs.
So, the bottom line is that State Farm’s people were…
nasty, ill-mannered folks…
tight-fisted and did not really want to give him the financial assistance that he needed…
only willing to increase their pay-out when pressured by legal action…
and, did not pay the full amount of his fair claim, even when pressured to do so.
Needless to say, he dropped State Farm like a bad habit after he received the paltry payment from them.
If you have found them to be “nice”, just bear in mind that they may not be so nice if you actually have to submit a claim!
Extortion…yes but I’m willing to live with it as long as everyone else has insurance as well. It’s just one of life’s little necessary evils…like death and taxes.
I have had State Farm for car, home, rental, for 50 years and have never had a bad experience. We had some hail damage a couple years ago. Not bad but State Farm wrote me a $12,000 check for full roof replacement that morning, with the remaining third available after completion. No muss no fuss no hassle. You do realize that each state is different? You do realize how insurance works, right? The risk pool, rates, where the money for claims comes from? Its not magic.
@BLE
“Smoke detectors do not prevent or put out fires and the people who’s job it is to go storming into burning buildings to look for survivors will storm into those burning buildings anyway, smoke detectors or not.”
They don’t go storming in when the occupants are already standing outside because the alarm awoke them all and they tell them everyone is accounted for already.
There is plenty of competition in insurance to stifle excessive profiteering. Then there are states that regulate insurance like MA. My insurance dropped something on the order of 35% when I simply moved from MA to NH…
Over the last 15 years my car insurance has gone up about 400% with no claims and my homeowners insurance almost 300%.
Some years ago a hailstorm damaged my 6 month old new roof and the insurance adjuster said it would all have to be redone no matter what even though I made no claim and did not even ask for them to send anyone out. They would only foot half the bill and basically said take it, leave it, or sue us.
A number of people in Moore, OK are still fighting with insurance companies over the tornadoes that made national news last year. One would think those issues would be a slam dunk but apparently not.
Insurance is regulated by a state insurance commissioner in OK but it’s an elective position and the bulk of campaign contributions come from the insurance companies, so… 
@TwinTurbo
There is plenty of competition in insurance to stifle excessive profiteering. Then there are states that regulate insurance like MA. My insurance dropped something on the order of 35% when I simply moved from MA to NH...
Back in 2008 or 2009 Massachusetts opened up for competitive auto insurance. My rates went down by about 40% when that happened.
Insurance is one of those things most people don’t need most of the time. But the few that need them…they are a life saver. Some 40+ years ago…my sister was hit while crossing the street by a DUI. The medical expenses for her were well over $100k. If that guy didn’t have insurance…my sister would probably have had to declare bankruptcy…because there was no way she could have paid out that amount. She was in the hospital for over a month with two broken legs, broken pelvis, dislocated shoulder and several internal injuries (including the ability to have any children)…It took about 5 surgeries for her to walk again…and to this day she walks with a limp and can’t stand or sit for more then 20 minutes before something starts hurting.
The damage a person can do with a car and the frequency in which it happens - I wish every state had mandated auto insurance. The people who don’t get insurance in NH are the very poor (because they don’t want to pay for it), or the very rich (because they are self insured). Get hit by someone who’s poor (I was rear-ended while stopped at a red-light by one)…and there’s nothing you can do. Luckily I had uninsured motor insurance. The guy that hit me…had no money, no assets, so MY insurance company was out the $2000 it took to repair my vehicle.
when I lived in mass. my insurance was dirt cheap. @TwinTurbo , maybe because its not required in NH
I still think Virginia has the most reasonable system. you can buy private ins or opt out and pay 500 bucks a year to the state and this covers your responsibility
“…pay 500 bucks a year to the state and this covers your responsibility”
How would that work? Is the state insuring you? What do they cover (I assume liability only, but how much)? Do you receive a “policy” of some sort?
We are required to have flood insurance where I live because big brother in washington has deemed this area to be a flood area.
The lady across the street is 87 years old, she was born and raised here has lived here all her life and has never lived anywhere else.She says that in her entire life she doesnt remember this area ever being flooded,Ive lived here for 19 years and Ive never seen anything that would even come close to resembling a flood. It seems obvious to me that the insurance companies paid off some people in washington to have a none flood area declared a flood area so that they could collect premiums without the risk of EVER having to pay out claims. Yeah its legalized extortion but what are ya gonna do about it?
The $500 is not insurance. It merely allows an uninsured person to register his car. The minimum level of insurance is $25,000/$50,000/$25,000.
Ah, it’s simply a penalty for not having insurance. It allows you to forgo insurance, but you are still totally responsible for any liability.