NO…I said he wasn’t FINANCIALLY responsible. Since FINANCIALLY he couldn’t pay it. But he was held RESPONSIBLE (aka - he actually did the act)…but that’s it. I tried to bring criminal charges against him…but they wouldn’t go for it. Said…for me to just submit a claim to my insurance company.
If it was a vehicle accident and he didn’t have insurance…and couldn’t pay the damage…then NH can suspend his license until the debt is paid. But that’s rarely enforced because loss of license many times means loss of job.
“Its not people driving 50 mph over the limit or driving drunk or texting. Its damage that anyone can do in the normal course of living. None of us intentionally goes out to injure someone or run into a school bus but it happens to the best of us. And when that happens we rely on insurance to take up the slack.”
Absolutely, Bing!
Many years ago, I saw a colleague at work visibly age about 10 years in the space of less than 2 years, due to the stress of the claim that a woman was making in regard to an accident involving my colleague’s daughter. I have no idea whether this woman’s claim was valid or bogus, but if she won in court, it would have wiped out all of my colleagues assets–and more.
After this real-life experience, he took out a $1 million liability rider, and almost everyone else at work did also. To this day, I still carry $1 million in liability coverage, split 50% each between my car insurance policy and my home insurance policy.
Yeah I have the umbrella too that covers after auto or homeowners is exhausted. Its really cheap and 1 mil is pretty much minimum. Probably should be higher but geez I pay a lot for insurance. If nothing else it gets you a free lawyer which is worth quite a bit anyway.
I am president of a chamber orchestra and treasurer of a concert band. By state law, these organizations have to each carry one million dollars in liability insurance. In the band, the insurance had to take care of two claims. We had a trombone player that fell from the back of a riser because the rail hadn’t been put on correctly. The fall resulted in a perforated bowel. A couple of years later after a July 4th concert, a tuba player was descending the steps from the platform where we played and while on the steps, the lights were switched off so that the audience could better see the fireworks. The tuba player had a night in the hospital to be checked out. A person never knows when insurance might be needed.
I have a personal one million dollar umbrella policy for that reason.
@rwee2000 That doesn’t address what happens to other drivers when the driver with this bare-bones insurance is at fault for an accident. How does their insurance company collect the money for repairs if the at fault driver has only covered himself for his own losses?
I’m having a comprehension problem. “Bare bones” liability insurance would cover the State’s minimum legal requirements if required by the State. It is complicated as insurance requirements or lack of vary by State. If the at fault driver’s insurance falls short of the actual cost the not at fault driver’s insurance pays. If that falls short it will usually end up in court.
the sad fact is that everyone can t have every imaginable typeof insurance and eat too. when my son was an infant and I was raising him alone, I often ate beans for a week so that he could have formuia and daycare while I worked, insurance and even a car was out of the question for awhile. I did not enjoy, or feel safe during the 7 miles each day on my bicycle with the baby seat, but that what we had to do to survive
@sgtrock21
Maybe I wasn’t clear the insurance YOU buy is to cover yourself not the other driver or people. So if you have a 25,000 limit that’s all you could collect, even if the other driver is at fault.
That said, I know there would be many problems with that, so how about the you can only collect to the limit of what your insurance. That way you can collect up to that limit of your policy and no more. Buy the state minimum that’s all you can collect, have a million you can collect a million.
State minimums are a joke and have not kept up with the times.
The boating sites are rife with these type of discussions. There are always people claiming it is your responsibility to have insurance, not theirs. Never mind it was their fault. I was brought up to believe it is your responsibility to own up to your debts or the damage you may cause to others. So I have a hard time understanding when someone takes the position that I should be responsible for making myself whole in the event they do some material damage or personal injury to me or my family. Their argument is often that they do not have any money or valuable assets and therefore do not need insurance. That is exactly the circumstance when you most need it! When you cannot afford to right your wrong.
Unfortunately, society will always have leeches and so it is important to make sure you and your interests are protected in the event you cross paths with one of them…
(After checking on Wikipedia to make sure C.B. wasn’t the ill-considered outcome of a drunken tryst between Al and Marcy Darcy)…I can say he probably isn’t the most ethical human in the world…but gotta give him credit…his buddies and he stared down the federals. I mean, I grew up in the shadows of the Whiskey Rebellion–and probably a lot of them were scoundrels, too–but there’s something romantic and wild about “sticking it to The Man,” regardless of the details and politics involved.
These sorts of popular uprisings are part of the “Genesis story” of the American birth, and a certain empathy towards outlaws is part of the American psyche–be it political, or just apolitical “Bonnie and Clyde” stuff. We seem to share that makeup with Austrailians, too, amongst former Brits.
On a practical note, observe the tactical advantage C.B. et. al. enjoyed from being armed. Unarmed, he’s out his cattle and in jail; armed, he enjoys an uneasy truce and got his cows back. (Note that this is NOT a statement on whether “guns are good” or anything similar–just a tactical observation on outcomes in one instance.)
But, I’m not exactly sure why you’d deliberately take this thread in such a political bent, db4690, and after countering, I’d just as soon we return to more garden-variety leeches.
Hello. Figured this was a good place to vent so here goes. I recieved my auto insurance policy renewal today and found that I got about a $400 increase in my policy rates, from $935 to $1325. Mind you I havent had a claim, an accident or any tickets in the last 15 years so the jump has nothing to do with my driving record. I contacted the company to find out why and was told that there was a “corporate rate revision” So in other words, a flat out money grab. How do they get away with a jump of more than 30% on my rates? The simple answer: because they can. It ticks me off that Ive had the policy for 4 years and every year it goes up in spite of my clean record. They past few years it was a minor jump but this time its insane. It boggles my mind that Ive paid this company over $3500 for insurance that Ive received absolutely nothing for in return but a massive rate increase. You have to love this government mandated legalized extortion racket. At least if you want to drive you do.
Unfortunately, most Insurance companies do not care how long you have been with them. your best bet is to check other insurance companies for better rates every few years.
You can check other carriers , talk to your current insurance and see what discounts you may not have or change the deductable . Most insurance carriers have to answer to a state regulator and if you want extortion just have an accident without insurance.
You may live in an area that has had lots of claims like California fires or Florida Hurricanes .
Partly inflation, partly politics I expect. Besides checking rates at other companies, you could write a (polite) letter to your state’s governor, your area’s legislators, state insurance commissioner. Won’t do any immediate good, but will at least register some voter-displeasure is at hand. Suggest to at the very minimum schedule a sit-down with your insurance agent. Harder for them to ignore your concern if you are sitting right across the table. They deal with this sort of problem on a daily basis and may have some helpful ideas about some ways to reduce the rate. For example, they may tell you the reason is b/c their computer is telling them you got a speeding ticket. But you know you didn’t, so they could double-check, may find the computer’s database is corrupted.