alchresearch Posted May 1, 2012 Share Posted May 1, 2012 The car insurance companies complain that it is because of uninsured drivers, yet they are forcing drivers to go uninsured by making insurance costs higher than the cost of your car. No they aren't. 1) Nobody is forcing you to go uninsured. You can't afford it, you don't run a car, simple as that. 2) If you own a £500 banger, does that mean your insurance should be up to that value and no more? What if the driver crashes into a brand new Merc and writes it off to the tune of £50,000 plus associated injury costs? Prices went up because insurance companies like Churchill try to weasel out of paying when one of their drivers has a crash which was their fault. They dragged their heels so much with me I had to take on a solicitor to get what was owed. In the end it cost them the value of my claim, car hire for 2 months, and my solicitor's bill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walkertelecoms Posted May 1, 2012 Share Posted May 1, 2012 2) If you own a £500 banger, does that mean your insurance should be up to that value and no more? What if the driver crashes into a brand new Merc and writes it off to the tune of £50,000 plus associated injury costs? Similar statistics to many many moons ago, when insurance was 10x cheaper. Many moons ago we weren't living in a whiplash society. 20 years ago £50k cars were about then but 20 year olds weren't expected to stump £5000/yr up Injury costs and loss of earnings is a large financial burden though, I had a VW van plough into the rear of a car I was a back seat passenger in, about 5 years ago. As the VW's triple roof ladders bounced off the rear quarter I was 4inches from death. The 40mph impact incapacitated me for 2 whole weeks which cost me £6k of income which I claimed back. BUT it's not as straight forward as just dumping a claim in for that amount, you have to prove you were to earn that wage, wasn't a problem, but I can imagine loads of people attempting scams regularly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barleycorn Posted May 1, 2012 Share Posted May 1, 2012 I haven't encouraged any law breaking. Most jobs require a car, if you are priced out of car ownership, you are often priced out of the labour market, rationally you must sign on till the state collapses and car ownership becomes affordable so that you can re-enter the labour market. Or wait for car ownership to become affordable so that you can participate in the labour market. If car insurance is unaffordable - don't buy it, don't drive, don't drive to work, don't work. Most jobs which require a car to get to could just as easily be gotten to on a moped on low powered motor bike, both of which are considerably cheaper to insure. jb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walkertelecoms Posted May 1, 2012 Share Posted May 1, 2012 Most jobs which require a car to get to could just as easily be gotten to on a moped on low powered motor bike, both of which are considerably cheaper to insure. jb Some people just aren't prepared to make an effort to get to work. My daughter has to catch 2 buses to get to her McDonalds job which pays about £4/hr. The journey takes 2 hrs, one way. Sometimes her working shift is less than the travel time, but making a real effort isn't for everyone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarryRiley Posted May 1, 2012 Share Posted May 1, 2012 No they aren't. 1) Nobody is forcing you to go uninsured. You can't afford it, you don't run a car, simple as that. 2) If you own a £500 banger, does that mean your insurance should be up to that value and no more? What if the driver crashes into a brand new Merc and writes it off to the tune of £50,000 plus associated injury costs? Prices went up because insurance companies like Churchill try to weasel out of paying when one of their drivers has a crash which was their fault. They dragged their heels so much with me I had to take on a solicitor to get what was owed. In the end it cost them the value of my claim, car hire for 2 months, and my solicitor's bill. Ok no one is forcing people to drive uninsured but someone struggling to survive and being a car for their work is going to make the choice between not making enough money to survive or skipping insurance in some cases. I understand that even an old banger can write off a 50k banger but how often is this really happening. If there are a huge amount of people paying 400 pounds a year who have never made a claim in their lives then someone must be making a huge amount of money from this. If it is the case that prices are rocketing up because of insurance companies getting out of paying out then the government should be stepping in and regulating this. I still stand by the idea that any compulsary service like this should either be privatised or heavily reulated to protect the consumer. Sure you could shop around and get a better deal but who is going to offer a huge discount when all competitors are charging so much? You just end up with artificial pricing and corporate cartels. After all, you don't get to own a succesful insurance company by playing fair. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarryRiley Posted May 1, 2012 Share Posted May 1, 2012 How does the value of your car limit the amount of damge you can do to other people or their car? Insurance is more for other people's protection, not yours... Well it does of course play a part. However, something is still wrong if insurance prices are as high as they currently are considering how rapidly they've risen out of line with the general economy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Isabelle Posted May 1, 2012 Share Posted May 1, 2012 Most jobs which require a car to get to could just as easily be gotten to on a moped on low powered motor bike, both of which are considerably cheaper to insure. jb Or you could cycle Doesn't cost a penny in insurance or fuel (unless you count extra food ) and I much prefer it to driving. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarryRiley Posted May 1, 2012 Share Posted May 1, 2012 Or you could cycle Doesn't cost a penny in insurance or fuel (unless you count extra food ) and I much prefer it to driving. I wish I could, however it's just no viable for me. I would love a job close enough to home so I could walk/cycle/get public transport and break the shackles of petrol, car insurance, road tax etc. However, according to Google Maps directions, if I opted for public transport, I would still need to get 2 taxis and it would take over an hour! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Isabelle Posted May 1, 2012 Share Posted May 1, 2012 I wish I could, however it's just no viable for me. I would love a job close enough to home so I could walk/cycle/get public transport and break the shackles of petrol, car insurance, road tax etc. However, according to Google Maps directions, if I opted for public transport, I would still need to get 2 taxis and it would take over an hour! How far away do you live? For me its only 3 miles there and 3 back, but I do know people who do 7 or 8 miles each way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarryRiley Posted May 1, 2012 Share Posted May 1, 2012 How far away do you live? For me its only 3 miles there and 3 back, but I do know people who do 7 or 8 miles each way. Only 15 miles each way but it's a very awkward direction meaning that public transport is a nightmare. Two years ago I was traveling 90 miles a day though so it's an improvement Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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