Auto Insurance

[shai]

There's been a lot of good talk here.

I'm in the insurance biz and nobody likes us. However, as I talk to the public, I am certain is that they don't like any of the high costs assocaited with driving.

Do we ask our politicians to legislate downtown parking rates in private lots?

Do we insist that the government sell us gas at a "reasonable" price"?

So we insist that all auto work be performed at minimum wage and that the cost of parts be fixed by legislative fiat?

No, but everyone will bitch about their insurance and complain to the government. Then we have the gall to hold people responsible for their actions. People don't seem to realize that black ice does not cause accidents by itself. It is driving your vehicle onto the balck ice that may contribute to your lack of control and subsequent accident. If black ice caused accidents then each and every driver who encoutere it would get into an accident.

Did you know the auto insurance product in Ontario is part of a statute not written by the insurance industry (though we do get some input).

Did you know that it is one of the most generous coverages on the planet?

Have you priced similar coverage in any US city of similar size?

To the gentkeman that started this thread. Shop around. Now that a year has gone by you should find some relief.

By the way, try www.pcinsurance.ca and see what happens

Ciao

Shai

 

[Gentle Ben]

Dont come here looking for sympathy Buddy, insurance companies are making huge profits on the backs of clients, I have little symapthy or respect for them, they love to take your money fro premiums, yet if you make a claim(even after having no claims for 15 yrs) and they drop you like a rock cause you're a bad risk, something needs to change!

 

[Gentle Ben]

. . People don't seem to realize that black ice does not cause accidents by itself. It is driving your vehicle onto the balck ice that may contribute to your lack of control and subsequent accident. If black ice caused accidents then each and every driver who encoutere it would get into an accident.


Shai

And a good buddy of mine had a slip & fall claim last year for a snow removal contract, the victim wanted to be reimbursed for $1000 to cover missed time at work, dry cleaning etc, The contractor supplied pictures and logs to show that the sidewalk had been cleared, that the kids had pushed snow onto the sidewalk after the removal had taken place, the lady didnt have proper boots on, the insurance company paid the claim, this year they refused to cover him for the same contract, stating previous claims and high risk, they have taken his money for 12 yrs for liability with no other claims, pure & simple, Insurance comapnies are bastards

 

[Esco!]

You get no sympathy from me either pal, the entire industry is fraught with corporate greed and you take advantage of the fact that consumers, by law, MUST have insurance. It's the perfect scam in the old boys club

 

[stang]

My auto rates have actually dropped 12% this year.

 

[Keebler Elf]

It's hard to have sympathy for companies that were making huge profits with huge insurance rate hikes. It's one thing to cover increased claims, it's quite another to hike rates to cover up your investment screwups...

 

[stainless]

Shai, i wouldn't be shooting my mouth off about how great insurance companies are cause you'll find few in agreement with you. Another record year for profits.

Anybody with a car knows if u dare actually make a claim you're rates sky-rocket.

 

[antaeus]

Actually, I thought Insurance industry provided all the content to revised bill that enshrined 'no-fault' in Ontario.

Do you know that to insure my vehicle in MB, Sask, Alta or BC for the same coverage it would cost 50 - 75% less.

Do you know that my company to maintain our profit margin prefers repeat clients, not raise our rates.

Are you aware that every action and every word from any insurance company or person is pretty easily shown to be disengenuous, mean-spirited, money grubbing, arrogant or cavalier with the truth.

 

[Keebler Elf]

Re: Re: Auto Insurance

Are you aware that every action and every word from any insurance company or person is pretty easily shown to be disengenuous, mean-spirited, money grubbing, arrogant or cavalier with the truth.

I was with you up until that statement. That blew your cred.

 

[Esco!]

My auto rates have actually dropped 12% this year.

Hey stang how did you get your rates to drop?????
Did you go a few years without tickets???
And who's your broker, maybe I'll switch

 

[stang]

I'm a long time client with Pilot. No tickets/accidents for 13+ yrs, even driving a somewhat high performance car. If people would learn how to drive sensibly and be patient, it wouldn't be so bad.
Almost everyone bitching about auto rates have tickets and claims on their records. In fact I don't even road rage anymore - everytime I get cut off or see somebody do something dumb on the road, I just smile thinking about what those idiots are probably paying for insurance, LOL.

 

[shai]

Auto insurance

Yes, we raised our rates too much from 2000 to 2003 and they will come down over the next few years and so will our profits.
Aren't we allowed to make a buck like everone else?

Yes, we made money this year. Still have a smaller ROE than the banks. No one was complaining, when we had a 2% ROE in 2002, but how long do you expect an industry to stay in business at that rate of return.

We had input, but no final say on the wording. If we had the wording would have been much more restrictive. However, most companies dropped their rates twice this year and will probaly do so again.

Rebuild: Get a contractor to promise to rebuild your house for $340K, on a rush job, where he'll have to drop other work to respond to. Go ahead, I'll wait.

Snow removal, is a real problem for every one. Many, Many companies have just gotten out of the game as there is no profit in it (my company stopped about 4 years ago.) and this is leaving the public high and dry. The problem, is people willing to sue at the drop of a hat and walkways improperly maintained. Do you think the Ins. Industry can enforce any changes here? Puh-leese!!!!

Listen, I'm used to the ridicule, but the basic premise of insurance is that the premiums of the many (even the good drivers) pay the losses of the few (usually the bad drivers). Our premiums have lagged our payouts for some years now and getting back into balance. Most people have felt the right to claim for even the most insignificant amount but all the payouts come from the same pool of money as the large claims.

As an industry, we still deserve a lot of criticism. Which industry doesn't? We're just the easy mark.

Regards

Shai

 

[oldjones]

I'm a long time client with Pilot. No tickets/accidents for 13+ yrs, even driving a somewhat high performance car. If people would learn how to drive sensibly and be patient, it wouldn't be so bad.
…edit…

I'm a defender of insurance, but not of for-profit insurance. Clearly it's in the for-profit companies interest to minimize payout—their lobbying efforts with recent PC and Liberal governments on auto insurance have stood them in good stead there. As long as their rates stay in the same ballpark with their "competitors" they have no incentive to lower rates.

An industry truly concerned for the public interest would be actively involved in driver ed.—schools would be eager to display the Industry's Seal of Approval. Re-educating the bad drivers you mentioned stang might actually do some good, instead of leaving the entire effort to a MoT lecture after certain point levels.

And what about the industry's inability to keep track of your driving record as soon as you cease to insure a car? Are they that incompetent? They companies claim it's because the insurance is on the car, not the driver, yet the companies can't be bothered to inform anyone when coverage lapses without the vehicle's plates being surrendered. But they know to raise my car's rates as soon as a certain driver gets a ticket.

Why is it so hard to get rate-of-theft/rate of accident/cost to repair stats on particular makes and models before you buy? Wouldn't a concerned industry benefit itself and us by publishing them widely? Why is it the Toronto Star and not the Toronto Auto Insurance Brokers who indentify the most accident prone intersections, or the highest car-theft neighbourhoods. The stats come from the industry—why does it sit on them? There was much convo about the design-safety of 407 before it opened. Never heard from an industry rep.

It took years of increasingly horrible death tolls before the US government finally stepped in to do 'something' about testing, rating and improving car safety. Carmakers and insurers were just attending each others' self-congratulatory banquets. Because all the car insurance guys saw was a need/opportunity to raise rates. And the carmakers still thought no one would ever buy something called a Volvo. The fact that no carmaker advertises "Carrys the Nat'l Insurance Bureau's Highest Safety Rating" says a lot about just how responsible the Insurance companies are as corporate citizens.

I'll believe in our present insurance setup in Ontario when I see some examples of insurance companies being active in my interest—working so there are safer drivers, cars that survive accidents better and are cheaper to fix afterwards.

 

[shai]

Auto insuranc

About the government insurers.

Check out how much they pay out in claims for every dollar they take in. They keep more of each premium dollar than we do in Ontario.

Did you know that their versions of OHIP pays much more of the medical bill than here in Ontario where it is your auto policy that responds?

Do you whink that anywhere in Manitoba or Saskatchewn compres to the GTA for traffic volume? Even Vancouver isn't close.

2002 - BC average claim payout just below $1000
- ON average claim payout just over $5000

It's a lot easier to have lower premiums with those payouts.

Ciao

Shai

 

[shai]

Auto insurance

Try www.vicc.ca for info on the damagability of vehicles

Yes, as an industry, we've been slack. But is regulation of consumer products a private industry concern

Ciao

Shai

 

[Esco!]

Re: Auto insurance

Yes, we raised our rates too much from 2000 to 2003 and they will come down over the next few years and so will our profits.
Aren't we allowed to make a buck like everone else?

Making a buck??? YES!!!!
Gouging folks to the point where they cant drive or have to pay 10 grand, NNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Stick that in your pipe and smoke it

 

[SucroseFree]

I'm not sure how anyone can be serious about defending auto insurance companies.

Someone should pay in the high 4 digits a year for something, the odds are, they will never use? And you claim that its still not enough, because its still less than what the banks make? And to say that your lobby group is not that effective because, although you do have an effect on them, they don't have the "final" word in the laws? (Seriously, insurance companies do have a big enough effect on things. You are pretty much blind/believe their press releases if you don't see it.)

The insurance companies have $36 billion in sales and $80 billion in assets with a consistant consumer base. Exactly how are we suppose to take pity on them?

 

[Esco!]

I think Shai regrets the day he started this lame thread

A thread that will go in infamy and be attacked over and over again as much as the search button and our boiling motherf__g anger will allow!!!

Hell Yeah!!!!

 

[Esco!]

I'm in the insurance biz and nobody likes us

No Shit!!!!!

 

[2fast]

Do we ask our politicians to legislate downtown parking rates in private lots?

Do we insist that the government sell us gas at a "reasonable" price"?

So we insist that all auto work be performed at minimum wage and that the cost of parts be fixed by legislative fiat?


Shai

Does the government mandate that i must pay for parking? No

Does the government mandate that i must purchase gasoline? No

Does the government mandate that i must have insurance? Yes

If i have to carry insurance by law then then the government should control the industry. Period.