Insurance speculation between Scion/Toyota and Subaru?

[czar07]

Originally Posted by Palmy

Dont get insurance, its not worth it.

I've never had insurance, written off and motorcycle and a car and I've still paid less on repairs for them both than I would have paid in insurance fees.

what happens when you write off someones brand new 458 italia?

[Kids Heart]

Originally Posted by czar07

what happens when you write off someones brand new 458 italia?

Indentured servitude.

[Brett]

Originally Posted by Palmy

Dont get insurance, its not worth it.

I've never had insurance, written off and motorcycle and a car and I've still paid less on repairs for them both than I would have paid in insurance fees.

That approach doesn't work for everyone. If you cause an accident and put people in the hospital you are responsible for the bill. If you cause any property damage you are responsible for the bill. 49 of 50 states in the US require insurance (all but New Hampshire), and I'm pretty sure all require proof of financial responsibility. I believe that in Australia you pay for similar coverage when you pay your license registration fees.

[Palmy]

Originally Posted by Brett

That approach doesn't work for everyone. If you cause an accident and put people in the hospital you are responsible for the bill. If you cause any property damage you are responsible for the bill. 49 of 50 states in the US require insurance (all but New Hampshire), and I'm pretty sure all require proof of financial responsibility. I believe that in Australia you pay for similar coverage when you pay your license registration fees.

Yes, here in Australia we have whats known as a greenslip that is compulsory third party insurance. It covers only third party personal injury and is compulsory for registration of a vehicle.

Comprehensive insurance is a complete rort, a few years back I had a $12000 car that I wanted to insure, and the cheapest I could find was $3000 a year. Ridiculous.

Originally Posted by czar07

what happens when you write off someones brand new 458 italia?

Personally I am quite willing to rely on my own ability and more importantly awareness, to ensure that doesn't happen. Worked out pretty well for me for a decade now.

Further more, if you're involved in an accident that is your fault, you either can't drive a car or more likely weren't paying attention and you deserve to pay through the nose for it.

[NorCalRider]

So what happens if some idiot hits your car and doesn't have insurance or the funds to pay for the damages done to your car? Are you screwed then? Just curious.

[Torquesteered]

Originally Posted by fistpoint

You can't get an answer even if the people here had one for you. Age is a factor, your county as well as state, your level of education, married or single, previous accidents/tickets, the average age of the majority of owners too.

There are simply way too many factors to have an accurate answer from anyone here even if they work in an insurance company. Asking your next door neighbor who owns the same car won't give you a comparable rate either, even with the same company, unless your lives are identical possibly.

Being married for example can almost cut your rate in half! That's probably the single biggest savings you'll find.
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The last 2 months I have contacted over 20 insurance companies trying to find a better rate for my nearly 9 year old car and this is the information I gathered during the course of my research.

At my age (38) being single really has little effect on my rates, so only if you are younger does having a family help alot. Later on with a good record it becomes a non factor. My rates are considered dirt cheap by almost any standard in the US. It leads me to believe record/location/age/vehicle cost are the biggest factors, atleast in my age bracket.

[Palmy]

Originally Posted by NorCalRider

So what happens if some idiot hits your car and doesn't have insurance or the funds to pay for the damages done to your car? Are you screwed then? Just curious.

Thats what civil court is for.

[Silverpike]

Originally Posted by Palmy

Thats what civil court is for.

Not quite. Most insurance policies have uninsured/under-insured clauses. I've had this since I was 16 and I thought all policies had it, but I've heard recently there are some people without this coverage. I and my roommate have been hit over 4 times (collectively) by people with horribly low insurance coverage, and this clause has paid for itself several times over already.

I strongly urge everyone reading this thread to add this clause to your policy. It means your ins. co. is responsible for paying you any damages that the other party can't/won't pay. Your ins. will then sue the other drivers on your behalf, so you don't have to get involved in squeezing blood from a rock.

In fact, without this clause I would most likely have filed for bankruptcy. My previous Honda was hit by a maniac in a Suburban with the state minimum coverage, $25k/accident. He hit 5 cars before he came to a stop, and the damage was well above $200k not counting my hospital costs. I was about to start grad school with no income, and had i been forced to pay my own medical/car repairs, I would have lost everything.

[fistpoint]

Originally Posted by Torquesteered

At my age (38) being single really has little effect on my rates, so only if you are younger does having a family help alot. Later on with a good record it becomes a non factor. My rates are considered dirt cheap by almost any standard in the US. It leads me to believe record/location/age/vehicle cost are the biggest factors, atleast in my age bracket.

I'll be 38 next month, "our" bracket.

Trust me, it does matter. I had more than one of the insurers tell me this directly including reading about it at Clark Howard or Dave Ramsey's website. It might not cut in half for you based on what you drive and the various other factors involved, but in my scenario it came to slightly less than double for being single. They were very forward about it by saying if I was married I would pay X instead of Y.