My rant is about Insurance and the bloody rip off merchants they are. I have crossed swords with insurance companies on 2 notable occasions and now feel that they should be taken outside and shot.

1) Whist at the end of my world tour I was Travelling between Islands in a wee nation called Vanuatu. To cut the story short. My rucksack with all my worldly posessions went on the plane in one airport and then, for whatever reason, didn't come out at the other end. I was left with the pair of shorts, flipflops and T-shirt that I was wearing along with my passport, bankcard and some local currency. Everything else I owned was gone. I was consoled by the fact that I had travel insurance and would get my stuff replaced upon my return to Australia.
When I got back to Oz I was told that my claim would take 3 weeks to process and that if I left the counrty, the claim would be null and void. I had 300 aussie dollars to my name. I waited 3 weeks nothing. I waited 4,5 and 6 weeks. Eventually in the 7th week I was presented with a cheque for under a third of what I had claimed for. The pitifully low sum was explained by the fact that all of my posessions had depreciated by 2 thirds of their value. When I phoned their customer services to ask where I might buy myself a 2/3 depreciated rucksack or 2/3 depreciated underwear I was told that was not their problem.

2) I recently drove into my bosses car in the staff carpark (the day after asking for a payrise, oops!) He recently got a quote for the damage. It came in at a whopping 650 squid. I went to the insurance brokers as I'm due new insurance next week and was told. If I didn't claim, next years premium would be 650 squid if I did, it would be 950 squid plus a 5% penalty weighting for the next three years + the 100 squid excess + if I had to make another claim in the next 3 years my penalty weighting would go up to 15%. In other words. It would be cheaper for me to pay for the repair myself. So, not only do I pay 950 squid for a years insurance (last year) I also have to pay for claims that are anything under approx 800 squid.

My problem isn't so much with the cost though. Its with the way insurance companies use fear to get you to use their products.

1) If you get into medical problems in the 3rd world without travel insurance. You are fucked!

2) Its against the law to drive without car insurance

Is it just me or are they exploiting points 1 and 2 above to provide us with a service that is tantamount to extortion?

Deep Breath

And Relax!

Any suggestions on how I can take down the system?

Fight Club. But we can't talk about it.

Yes sir Mr Dirdan

Having shunted my car (hereafter known as "The Cherry Wagon") on Friday, I found out on Monday that if the cost of repair is greater than 140% the market value of the car, then it is an automatic insurance write off. Cherry Wagon cost me £700, repairs >£1600! Fuck.

What gets me is that I can afford (just) to get it repaired, and would like to do so coz it is an excellent vehicle, apart from the shagged front end. But no. Oh no. No, no, no.

That would be too easy.

Once the engineer has made an inspection aand assessment, and the car is judged re the above, then it is illegal to take upon her Majestys highways, no insurer will touch it, and the DVLA will list the car as a write off - one step down from a burnt out wreck, as it happens.

Bastards, Cherry Wagon was a steal at £700. No way am I going to get a deal as sweet as that one again. Bugger, bugger, bugger. Sob. :.(

Car insurance what a JOKE

do not use CIS (co-operative insurance services) they are crooks.

not only did they try to withold the money for my nans life insurance they also tried to hold back my proof of no claims because i told them they could stick there 30% premium increase up there co-operative arse this was just a company increase i had not had an accedent.

I was straight down the local office, there is nothing quite like a slanging match in their own building to put off potential customers. especially when u start talking about abusing dead relatives.

Last year when I went to get Car insurance It was £150 cheaper if I added my boyfriend to the policy as a second driver, and he is an ex drug dealing tosser who drives like a maniac.

nice points men.
wants nice fat breasts image when getting screwed

I sympathise. I acquired my latest car in a game of pool. If I crashed or broke down I would probably just set fire to the fucker. It is a worthless pile of shite, (rusty yellow Nova saloon cica 1986) but the grasping fagin's at my insurance company still want £390 a year - providing of course that I DONT drive to and from work in it! What bollocks, I mean, most people use their car for this very purpose. Do I drive a 17 year old relic for fun? No.

Insurance companies are SCUM!!

I think insurance fraud should be actively encouraged. Its the only way of getting back at the Motherhubbards.

Word is, that there is a very high proportion of people driving around (in the UK at least!) without valid car insurance. If you are involved in an accident with one, then you are screwed, as the cost of repairs etc will come from your insurance.

The fines are supposedly quite low when compared with the cost of insurance, so you can quite understand why some people don't get it...

nope, when you are involved in an accident with an uninsured driver, there is an insurance industry group that compensates you. the cost of this is added on to all of our policies. any one who pays insurance is paying for all the wankers who don't have insurance too. also if you ever get done for driving without insurance, or failing to disclose things to your policy maker, it is near impossible to ever get insured again. there are thousands of cars going around with no insurance or tax and not registered in the owners name. the system in the UK has so many loopholes it's unbelievable. you sell a car and you don't have to get the guys name or anything, it's just voluntary, or he can give a false name

WBPS, you can fix up a written off car. you need an engineers report afterwards to say that is roadworthy again. your insurance company will put a value on the wrecked car and take that amount off your settlement, then you can fix it up, almost always for a lower price than the insurance quote. usually they are written off if the cost of repair is even 80% of the car's value. most people would rather just have a new car, than a fixed up one

hugo-a-gogo spouted:
WBPS, you can fix up a written off car. you need an engineers report afterwards to say that is roadworthy again. your insurance company will put a value on the wrecked car and take that amount off your settlement, then you can fix it up, almost always for a lower price than the insurance quote. usually they are written off if the cost of repair is even 80% of the car's value. most people would rather just have a new car, than a fixed up one

Shit, damn, blast, bugger. Didn'y know about the report when fixed. Probably a bit late now, and the car was pretty deeply screwed. O well, marking this one down to experiance.

...drives a half a million dollar bus today, 6 months old, transbission would not upshift sumt. And stopping was a 'dice roll'. but I still collected my 200 bucks for driving the beeatch.
my company has 'Llyod's of London for anything over 1 million dollars, under that we are self insured.

Dont ever use cover plan, not only did not pay out on my lost phone (which I reported stolen of course" but carried on charging me for insurence for a phone I had did'nt even have anymore.

They are all theives and tossers.

toycar69 spouted:
Word is, that there is a very high proportion of people driving around (in the UK at least!) without valid car insurance. If you are involved in an accident with one, then you are screwed, as the cost of repairs etc will come from your insurance.

The fines are supposedly quite low when compared with the cost of insurance, so you can quite understand why some people don't get it...