I'll never figure out how insurance companies operate.

[Booyaa]

The ignorance shown towards insurance and insurance companies really is staggering. They are (usually) commercial companies there to make money. Poke and prod them a bit and you will get closer to what you want. If you don't, go elsewhere, in this day and age everyone wants business and someone will cut their rates to get your business. Almost every shop you go into or service you pay for could be had for cheaper but the person setting the price is usually doing so to make money. Most of these people are able to make money so they stay in business.

 

[colly]

The ignorance shown towards insurance and insurance companies really is staggering. They are (usually) commercial companies there to make money. Poke and prod them a bit and you will get closer to what you want. If you don't, go elsewhere, in this day and age everyone wants business and someone will cut their rates to get your business. Almost every shop you go into or service you pay for could be had for cheaper but the person setting the price is usually doing so to make money. Most of these people are able to make money so they stay in business.

I'm not sure anyone here doesn't understand that insurance companies are commercial bodies and need to make money. It strikes me that what people really don't like is the way they weasel out of claims using small print, often underpay claims which are quite justified and bitch all the time about how hard up they are. Their pricing is about as transparent and straightforward as a Brian Rix farce.

 

[vernon]

No I'm not saying they have said anything other than the figures suggest.
You and I both know you can uses stats. and figures to prove almost any point you want to make.

For example: Motorways are the safest roads to go for a walk.

Taking bald figures as the proof of the statement:
20 people were killed last year walking along motorways whereas 300 were killed walking in town centres.
Conveniently for my 'proof' I miss out the fact that the number of people walking in towns is over 60,000,000. The numbers wandering along motorways is less than 100. *

*All quoted figures and statistics were collected and collated by the Thinair Society

Anyway I still don't trust them.

No-one would be able to get away with 'motorways are the safest roads to go for a walk'. You've picked a poor example that would be challenged everywhere it is published even if the bald figures were published alongside the assertion. Your 'proof' proves nothing.

 

[Booyaa]

I'm not sure anyone here doesn't understand that insurance companies are commercial bodies and need to make money. It strikes me that what people really don't like is the way they weasel out of claims using small print, often underpay claims which are quite justified and bitch all the time about how hard up they are. Their pricing is about as transparent and straightforward as a Brian Rix farce.

There have been at least two links on here that show they are not making money though. As for weasling out of claims that is just conjecture, like anything you need to read the small print. That is just common sense. The pricing will never be transparent, but again, that is the same with most commercial bodies. Clueless people just like to have a go at insurance companies like clueless people have a go at the whole banking industry.

 

[colly]

Your 'proof' proves nothing.

Quite !

 

[vernon]

Quite !

So what were you trying to demonstrate with your unsuccessful attempt to use smoke and mirrors?

 

[Wobblers]

My car insurance is due, anyone who thinks insurers make a fortune want to give me a quote and earn a mint. If I need a claim you will have to pay up quickly and for as much as I want.

I'll take you up on that. Of course, I'll reserve the right to pay all valid claims in Monopoly money... And the conditions in the policy document will be written in 0.1 point Fly Speck font. In Swahili.

 

[Spoked Wheels]

Never let the facts get in the way of blind prejudice eh?

Oh I see, those are facts, right? Somehow I find that hard to believe, same way I find the recently increases in fuel prices fair or justified.

 

[glenn forger]

Oh I see, those are facts, right? Somehow I find that hard to believe, same way I find the recently increases in fuel prices fair or justified.

The cost of motoring has fallen 14% in real terms since 1997.

http://www.publications.parliament..../cm100205/text/100205w0001.htm#10020537000025

 

[Profpointy]

There have been at least two links on here that show they are not making money though. As for weasling out of claims that is just conjecture, like anything you need to read the small print. That is just common sense. The pricing will never be transparent, but again, that is the same with most commercial bodies. Clueless people just like to have a go at insurance companies like clueless people have a go at the whole banking industry.

Seriously though, it's quite a stretch to really believe that insurance companies have been running for years losing money on a particular business sector. A bad year or three maybe, but they're not charities, so why not shut the doors and lose less money ?

A similar argument is used against film / music piracy - it's asserted that the profits are used to fund drug dealing. And we're to beilieve that drug dealing has such poor profitabiliy that it needs to be cross-subsidised by film piracy.
Mmm

 

[Spoked Wheels]

The cost of motoring has fallen 14% in real terms since 1997.
http://www.publications.parliament..../cm100205/text/100205w0001.htm#10020537000025

That figure includes the price of buying a new vehicle in which case I expected that figure to be greater.

If you could show me insurance companies books then you might persuade me.

Same way I would like to see the fuel companies books rather that the BS they testified in front of MPs yesterday.

 

[glenn forger]

Almost all aspects of running a car are subsidised, motorists pay nowhere near the real cost. For example, uninsured drivers cost £400m a year and rising, in damage, injuries and deaths. Where do you think that money comes from? The profit for an insurer on any single policy is tiny, an awful lot of policies have to be sold to cover almost half a billion pounds.

 

[Spoked Wheels]

There have been at least two links on here that show they are not making money though. As for weasling out of claims that is just conjecture, like anything you need to read the small print. That is just common sense. The pricing will never be transparent, but again, that is the same with most commercial bodies. Clueless people just like to have a go at insurance companies like clueless people have a go at the whole banking industry.

Since all we have to go by is the information they allow us to have, one could argue that naive people believe insurance companies.

 

[Maz]

I've just renewed my motorcycle insurance for my CB500. I asked about the excess as it wasn't listed on my renewal notice. It was £500. I asked to have it reduced to £250 and the premium went down when I was anticipating an increase as the company's potential liability in the even of a claim increased.

What's that all about?

I take it you didn't point out the error of their ways and accepted the lower premium, right?

 

[Booyaa]

Seriously though, it's quite a stretch to really believe that insurance companies have been running for years losing money on a particular business sector. A bad year or three maybe, but they're not charities, so why not shut the doors and lose less money ?

True, although many companies do cross subsidise their insurance, Legal & General is a prime example, some of their businesses loose a lot of money each year, but other arms make huge profits that make it worthwhile, Aviva are sometimes similar. Often the different arms of the company offer benefits in other ways so closing down one arm is not always the best business practice. Car insurers also make most of tyheir money, in general terms, in their add ons. Things like legal cover etc.

I just like to play devils advocate when the consensus is that insurance companies are crooks, of course they don't want to pay claims but I've never seen a problem where the claim is valid.