I have come to the conclusion that car insurance is nothing more than a giant scam. I don't think there is anything that anyone can say to convince me differently. All dealings I have had with car insurance companies and several stories that I have heard from friends have been negative enough to convince me that car insurance is a legalized, federally mandated scam.
The reason I am complaining about this is due to (what else) the current situation with my car. As you probably know, I have decided to get rid of my car and utilize Metro buses (and generous rides from friends). The decision has been a tough one and there have been many times when I have wavered and wondered if I really was making the right choice.
Back in early February, I called my car insurance company and told them that I'm in the process of getting rid of my car. I told them I wanted to change my policy so that I was only covered for storage. I was told then that the monthly charge would then be $13 (as opposed to the outrageous $115 per month I've been paying for car insurance).
Last week, I received a notice from the insurance company that in March, they would be taking $104 from my account (when I first started with them, I was informed that it was, according to them, cheaper for me to set up automatic withdrawal from my account). Since I had been told that the monthly charge would only be $13, well, you can see why I was confused. So I called them.
I was told that they had decided (despite what they told me) to charge me for the remaining months of my policy at one time rather than month to month has they have been. Since I'm planning on getting rid of the car in March, why would I want to pay for insurance on it through November when my policy is renewed?
I ended up deciding to simply cancel the insurance on the car and forgo any more headaches with the insurance company. It was then that I was told that they would compute the remaining payment on my policy to see if they owed me money or I owed them. Surprise, surprise....I owe them $17 in March. I asked why this was. Why, exactly, will I owe them $17 in March? The reason, of course, is that I'm paying them for my coverage in February. According to them, I am a month behind in payments - meaning I am paying them for the last month of coverage.
Now, when I first changed coverage of my car to this company, I paid immediately for coverage to begin. As I understand it, I was paying in advance for coverage. In all the months since that dreadful day in my life, they have faithfully taken payment from my checking account every month and there was never a month that they neglected to take money from me for "coverage".
How, then did this mysterious lack of payment occur? The guy on the phone was unable to give me a logical answer. Sure he hemmed and hawed excuses, but he always came back to me paying for previous coverage. This just doesn't seem to logically flow with how my payments to them have always gone.
To me, this is a scam. Let's get back to my earlier statement about car insurance. I have paid these guys $123, then $114 per month to essentially do nothing for me. I never claimed so much as a dinged window with them. $1300 a year I gave to them to do NOTHING! Now, if I had had an accident, would they have happily handed over the money needed to fix my car? Of course not! They would have fought and argued so they could hand over the least amount of money possible.
This is a scam! Taking money from people for doing nothing and then doing nothing when that money is needed back is a scam.
And it's a federally mandated scam. We are required by law to have this crookedness thrust upon us. Now people have argued with me that this law is needed because so many people drive without insurance. If this is true, then why do I have to pay for "uninsured motorist" on my policy? Are we really supposed to believe that making it illegal to drive without car insurance will convince people to get it? Is this in the same category of rationality that says that by making drugs illegal, we won't have drug addicts and pushers out there? 'Cause that's working REALLY well. *note, that last sentence should be read with heavy sarcasm!*
I still can't help but see how this is anything but a scam.
Under dear, departed President George W. Bush, this legalized scam was further scandalized when it was declared that car insurance companies can look at your credit score to determine what your policy should be! HUH? How exactly is my driving record reflected IN ANY WAY by my credit history? SCAM! SCAM! SCAM!
I have been really struggling with this issue of my car. I know that it's going to be hard not having a car. I'm going to be giving up freedom of mobility. But as I have reflected on this issue of car insurance and how little they have done for me over the years at the rate of $1300/year, I have begun to realize just how blessed I am going to be to not give any more money to them for doing nothing.
Don't even get me started on how happy I am that I will no longer being throwing money to those crooks that run the fuel industry!
3 comments:
if you moved to Iowa, i bet your insurance would drop to about $30 a month.
But being able to not pay car insurance will really make a difference financially. Adding that to the gas savings and other odds and ends, you're probably getting close to making up the difference on your rent.
By the way, do you have a grocery store near your new apartment? What about other places that you normally go? For me, it would be important to have a book store, I guess (or at least a library).
Oh I am covered in the library department. There is a fantastic library that is a 20 minute walk from my new apartment. Trust me, I even had that one all figured out before I started considering where the nearest grocery store is.
As for the grocery store, it's a little further, but not too bad, and it is the store I shop at most. Of course, the walk back with all the bags will be much more difficult. I am also looking at the option of home delivery. That same grocery store, Safeway, does deliver and from what I've seen, orders of $150 or more are only $6.95 to deliver. I have been figuring that if I really planned out my month, I could do one lump order for heavy stuff like milk, laundry soap, etc at one time like that.
Of course, this all sounds great in my head. The actual aspects of how my life will change have yet to be practiced.
Also, cloth/reusable grocery bags are much easier to carry than the old plastic ones. I know we can do $100 worth of groceries in about four of those bags (scary, really) which I can carry all by myself.
Sounds like you've got this figured out.
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