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Welcome to the Era of the $20k Family Car Insurance Bill

nytimes.com

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Re: Welcome to the Era of the $20k Family Car Insurance Bill

#41

Post by lordnacho »

rozap wrote: post #24

The 20k price tag in the article is pretty clickbait-y. It talks about families with 4 kids, and, if you have 4 16-20 year olds all driving, the chance of a 20k bill is not far fetched. If someone wanted to make a bet with me that their 4 kids wouldn't cause >$20k of damage over a year, and I get $20k if they don't, I'm not sure I'd take that bet. We gathered a ton of quotes, and yea there are crazy prices at the end…

What about male/female? Are young men more likely to cause damage than young women?

Re: Welcome to the Era of the $20k Family Car Insurance Bill

#42

Post by PreInternet01 »

scottLobster wrote: post #29
PreInternet01 wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, I'm not suggesting any kind of financial pain at all. Do I support the ability of people to travel to their job, shopping centers, or any destination they like? Absolutely! Do I think a privately owned vehicle, which spends 90%+ of its active life being parked in spaces that could be utilized much better otherwise, is the best way to achieve those abilities? Nope. Sorry.

Oh, so you're in favor of playing Sim-City with the infinite money cheat codes. Cool. Because if you were suggesting that in the real world then, at least in America, you're suggesting a complete overhaul of almost all transportation infrastructure and saying that no average person will have to spend an extra dollar to pay for it somehow. Is Mexico paying for it or something?

You're projecting harder than the average IMAX venue.

Even in many parts of America (which are not that different from many parts of, say, France, which I'm very familiar with, thankyouverymuch), private car ownership is not an absolute requirement.

Can people there get around with Public Transport? Nope. Do they require their Own Private Sardine Can At All Times? No, not necessarily either.

And I'm firmly in the "No Sardine Cans Ever!" camp, and I have solutions. If you're somewhere else, that's fine with me, but you're not so convincing as you might feel...

Re: Welcome to the Era of the $20k Family Car Insurance Bill

#43

Post by otterley »

janetmissed wrote: post #22
PreInternet01 wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why? I'm against private car ownership. Ask me all about it...

Making using a car more expensive doesn't disincentivize car ownership or usage when there is no other alternative. Like you can't rely on public transportation, biking, or ride shares to get to your job in most parts of this country. The rising costs of the past few years haven't reduced personal car usage as much as its made the lives of people near the bottom of the income scale much more stressful and expensive.

> you can't rely on public transportation, biking, or ride shares to get to your job in most parts of this country

Sounds like a problem we are all responsible for solving by voting for people who will address this problem.

Re: Welcome to the Era of the $20k Family Car Insurance Bill

#44

Post by Hilift »

dragonwriter wrote: post #13

"Have several children, a driveway full of cars, and a few moving violations..." Yeah, that's kind of an edge case, there.

Multiple recent moving violations is a red flag. There's probably a better story here, such as "my insurance company is prevented from or unable to cancel my policy, where I would normally end up on expensive state subsidized insurance which is probably less expensive than $20k".

Re: Welcome to the Era of the $20k Family Car Insurance Bill

#45

Post by neilalexander »

RIMR wrote: post #27
baggy_trough wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Well, the more expensive driving a car is, the better! What an astonishing statement.

Driving is hideously inefficient. It should be the most expensive option, because taking a 2-ton machine with you everywhere you go should be considered a luxury.

Not everyone lives in cities, not everyone can afford to live in cities, not everyone lives in areas well connected by public transportation and not everyone can afford to live in areas well connected by public transportation.

Re: Welcome to the Era of the $20k Family Car Insurance Bill

#46

Post by felizuno »

toomuchtodo wrote: post #10
baggy_trough wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Well, the more expensive driving a car is, the better! What an astonishing statement.

Disincentives a suboptimal transportation option. Price signals are important, just like making it expensive to own property where the risk is too high. Automotive ownership and transportation is likely to never be as inexpensive as it previously was. You will either need to pay the cost or live somewhere you don’t need a car.

Buses and trains don’t run 24 hours a day. I paid a premium to live a walkable distance to most things I do. We drive so little that I fill my tank once every 2-3 MONTHS. But when my four month old has a fever in the middle of the night I absolutely need my car or I would have to call an ambulance. SMH

Re: Welcome to the Era of the $20k Family Car Insurance Bill

#47

Post by smileysteve »

taylodl wrote: post #4

Distracted driving + expensive new cars = "crazy" premiums. We all pay the price when new cars are priced in the upper 5-digit and 6-digit range and a fender-bender costs $5K - $10K.

We also all pay the price when state insurance minimums don't keep up with replacement, repair, or medical costs.

- $25k bodily injury coverage might cover CT scans and a broken bone at best.

- $25k property damage coverage might cover replacement of the bottom 25% of vehicles sold the last 5 years.

Re: Welcome to the Era of the $20k Family Car Insurance Bill

#49

Post by kccqzy »

silisili wrote: post #39

I keep reading about ridiculous insurance prices the last few years, but it seemingly never affects me. Do most people tend to get lots of moving violations and in accidents or something? I have two vehicles, mid range limits, one brand new with full coverage, and one a bit older with liability, and for two drivers the bill is around $1200 a year. I know kids of course get a higher rate, but even so, $20k seems a bit…

I have the same bill as yours, $1200 per year, for two adult drivers. The $20k is for four kids, which is believable, since $5000 for a young driver is reasonable.

Re: Welcome to the Era of the $20k Family Car Insurance Bill

#50

Post by gosub100 »

toomuchtodo wrote: post #5
taylodl wrote: post #4

Distracted driving + expensive new cars = "crazy" premiums. We all pay the price when new cars are priced in the upper 5-digit and 6-digit range and a fender-bender costs $5K - $10K.

Automakers charge what the be auto market can support. They can limit supply to keep prices high. Used car market is limited by new car market sales. Structural demographics means there are less workers every year (auto repair labor costs). Costs are unlikely to decline.

> Structural demographics

Is that an euphemism for "refusing to pay a livable wage"?

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