Quote:
Originally Posted by rennlistuser3
The thing about insurance is that I have my doubts about them really being a safety net as opposed to being an all out profit organization that tries to make as much money as they possibly can get away with.
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That's a false dichotomy. Those two things are not mutually exclusive.
Businesses are not started to
not make money. If you take the profit out of it, there's no incentive for anybody to provide private commercial auto insurance, and nobody will. So you're basically either arguing against having insurance at all, or you want the government to provide it for you.
The profit motive is also an incentive to cut costs. Government doesn't have that incentive. As a result, government insurance would cost more to provide than private insurance. Therefore, either you would pay higher premiums than you pay now for private insurance, or you would pay more in taxes to subsidize the government insurance.
Any way you try to get rid of private insurance, you pay more. Instead, we have a for-profit system that also works well to provide a hedge against financial loss. Hence the falseness of your dichotomy. It doesn't always work perfectly or come out "fair," but it's better than the alternative. Insurance companies are neither good nor evil. They just provide a service in exchange for consideration.
Quote:
Originally Posted by rennlistuser3
I totally understand what you're saying about the insurance being a safety net in case something really bad happens but but my question is does it really have to be that high?
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Yes. Because if it didn't have to be that high, profit-minded people would realize it, and they would come into the market and provide insurance for less than what you're paying to undercut your insurer and force them to reduce their prices as well or leave the market. That's how competition works in free markets.
If you don't like it, don't buy it. Nobody's forcing you. That's the freedom buyers have in a free market. Even "compulsory" liability insurance is optional deep down. Nobody forces you to drive. Ride a bike. Walk. Take the bus. In fact, nobody's really forcing you to carry compulsory insurance even if you do drive. Just don't buy it and drive without registration.
Go ahead. Accept the risk.
Or learn why and how insurance works and stop complaining.