what the hell is car insurance good for?

[Minnerva]

okay it may sound like a stupid question but I am just upset. I had some stupid kids scratch the back bumper of my car and yank the windshield wiper off my new car. I put a comprehensive claim because it was destruction of private property and i filed a police report. after they looked at my car they stated "we decline your claim because the damage is not big enough to meet our coverage" why the hell am I paying them for then? i could have used the money i been paying to fix the car myself.

[Thalia]

Do you have a deductible? And how high is it? Lets say its a 500 dollar deductible, if the total damage of the vandalism is less then that, that means it has to come out of pocket, if its more then the insurance should cover it after you pay 500. If you have 0 deductible I don't know why they wouldn't cover it.

[Minnerva]

yea my deductible is of 500, but the damage they said was 100 dollars so they won't cover it. but they sure like charging me 145 dollars a month.

[Fridmarr]

yea my deductible is of 500, but the damage they said was 100 dollars so they won't cover it. but they sure like charging me 145 dollars a month.

I know it's frustrating, but you can pay more to get insurance with a lower deductible if you really want it.

Deductibles are a somewhat necessary evil to stop abuse, otherwise folks would claim every tiny little nick. Now that said, if another party is at fault (and you actually caught them) you can sue them in small claims court, but that's a whole other jar of flies.

[Aubade]

yea my deductible is of 500, but the damage they said was 100 dollars so they won't cover it.

I'm sorry Minn, but why did you bother posting this thread? You answered your own questions >.<. If you don't like it, raise your monthly Premium to lower your Deductible.

[Dorvan]

yea my deductible is of 500, but the damage they said was 100 dollars so they won't cover it. but they sure like charging me 145 dollars a month.

The deductible is the amount of out of pocket expenses you pay before the insurance kicks in. You can get a lower deductible, but it'll cost more. The insurance coverage you have is to cover you when something major happens. As Frid said, if you know the responsible party, small claims court is the way to go.

[Grehn|Skipjack]

Car insurance is good for everything over the deductible. A baseball bat is good for everything under it.

[Thornir]

Car insurance is good for everything over the deductible. A baseball bat is good for everything under it.

[Candiru]

You don't buy insurance for things you can afford to pay. You buy insurance for things that would bankrupt you.

If you had an accident and wrote off your car and another, then you could be liable for £100,000s. In the states with medical bills, maybe much much more. That's what you are insuring against.

If you bought insurance for small things, the insurance will always cost more than just fixing it yourself (since they set the premiums at a level where they make a profit on average.) Your Excess (You yanks call it deducible it seems) is there to make your insurance cheaper. You can normally choose how high you want it, and the higher you set it the cheaper your insurance is. You want to set it so you you aren't buying insurance for anything you could afford to fix anyway.

[Vanifae]

Classic Minnerva post.

[Lightbeard]

Classic Minnerva post.

I love you Vanifae

[Euphoria]

You're paying $145 a month for insurance? What do you drive and how bad is your record? I drive a 2010 GT500 convertible and only pay 110 a month!

[theckhd]

Christ, I pay a little under $200 every six months, or about $33/mo. Then again, I'm almost 30, drive a station wagon (Outback), and don't drive to work every day. If you have a small sporty car and are under 25, you'll see a drastic increase.

[Euphoria]

Well, a GT500 is definitely a sports car but I'm 28 with a clean driving record.

When I was in college and drove beater vehicles I was paying about 30 bucks or so a month. What amazed me was when I bought the mustang my insurance only went up 5 a month over what I was paying for my Charger. I figured it would have been more expensive. And, for what it's worth, my motorcycle is 94 every six months.

[Rachmaninoff]

yea my deductible is of 500, but the damage they said was 100 dollars so they won't cover it. but they sure like charging me 145 dollars a month.

I know it's frustrating, but you can pay more to get insurance with a lower deductible if you really want it.

Deductibles are a somewhat necessary evil to stop abuse, otherwise folks would claim every tiny little nick. Now that said, if another party is at fault (and you actually caught them) you can sue them in small claims court, but that's a whole other jar of flies.

people still file claims for every nick and scratch, especially old people, I know, I work in claims. also comp coverages are a cheaper than collision coverages so you could get the destructible lower for that. also did you file a claim? if so, make sure you call them get that shit off your record