Re: SCREWED by the ins co.

[c a l i b a n <caliban@sharon.net>]

	though one little note:  our broker pal said they
	invest their money.  i bet those buildings are an
	investment, as well as good for generating income.
	just a thought, i think it's a bit of a racket
	myself.

On Thu, 6 May 1999 dwall@sisna.com wrote:

]I may not have my finger on the bottom line of Insurance companies, but I 
]have noticed one thing in my travels:  Go to any major metropolitan city 
](Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago...) in the United States, drive to 
]the tallest skyscraper you can see, and 9 times out of ten it will be 
]owned by an Insurance Company!  You can't tell me insurance companies 
]aren't making money hand over fist.  Any industry whose services are 
]REQUIRED BY LAW and that has no regulation what so ever is going to 
]eventually become corrupt.  To quote Ferry Porsche, "they sell you 
]umbrellas, and then when it starts to rain, they call in all the 
]umbrellas".
]
]Darren D. Wall
]darrenwall@netzero.net
]dwall@sisna.com
]1985 Audi 4000 Quattro
]1969 911 Turbo-Look 2.7Liter
]1984 Volkswagen Vanagon (The Bus)
]1999 Nissan Quest (The Wifes Kid Hauler)
]
]
]   Sorry to hear about your experiences, but I have a different view.
]
]   Being an insurance major I happen to know a little about how the 
]business
]works.  Yes, some insurance companies (less known ones) will sometimes low 
]ball
]and rip off people.  Don't use them, but if you get hit by someone using 
]an
]insurance company like that, sometimes you get screwed.
]
]   Go with an insurance company that has a high rating from rating 
]agencies
]like AM Best and Moodys.  And, most importantly one with high consumer
]retention.  Insurance companies generally don't want to screw over thier
]customers as they want to keep them and they can better classify the risks 
]of
]customers that have been with them for a long time.
]
]   It is a fact that most insurance companies (practically all) pay out 
]more
]money in claims than they collect in premiums.  So, they actually loose 
]money.
]How do they stay in business?  Well, by investing the premiums and betting
]they won't have to pay out for a certian amount of time.  So, insurance
]companies have to price thier products at a very fair rate or they will 
]loose
]to thier competition.  They only stay in business because of thier 
]investment
]income.  And, they have to choose certian (safer) investments due to the 
]high
]liquidity of the business and to remain solvency in times of crisis.
]
]   The main advice I have to listmembers is to keep good (meticulous) 
]records
]and reciepts for all work and parts on the car.  If something happens to 
]your
]car, then you have defence that your car was very well maintained and is
]worth more than the average car of that age and vintage.
]
]   Don't settle for a low ball amount.  You can fight it.  Show them 
]reciepts
]and what other comprable cars are going for in the market.  But, with an 
]older
]Audi, you are almost never going to get what you have put into the car. 
]Those
]are the breaks.  It sucks, but that's life.  Roll with it.
]
]   Good luck with it, and I hope you get a fair amount for your car in the
]settlement.  BTW, Was it you that had pictures of your wrecked car on the 
]web
]somewhere?  If so, I'd like to know the URL.  I know someone on the list 
]had
]posted pictures of a totalled 5000 (head-on collision) on the web, but I 
]missed
]it.  It was supposedly pretty badly totalled.
]
]   Later,
]   Dan
]
]
]
]
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--
 rocky mullin
 http://caliban.sf.ca.us/
 two strokes are faster than four!
 this message was composed using the vi editor.
 '83 ur-q - yamaha rz350 - suzuki ts250 -  chaotic good