Date:         Wed, 27 Sep 1995 09:41:00 -0700 (PDT)
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         "Maher, Steve (SD-MS)" <SMAHER@PO2.GI.COM>
Subject:      RE: BUSES, VALUE & RESALE



>You are right about the sexual/age discrimination situation
>in the insurance scam (I wouldn't call it business).


Uh, hey guys and gals...
What about the stat that says young single males have more
wrecks, and drain more payments from insurance companies,
than do any other group? I should know, I was one once.

This doesn't automatically legitimize age/gender discrimination, of
course. But so far I haven't heard any better suggestions, at least
not in this thread.

How about same rated for everyone, till you have your first ticket
or accident, and then zoooooom-oh!!! Your rates go WAY up, and all
companies raise them on you by the same amount (How to accomplish
that?). And with the next ticket/wreck, you wind up tripling your
car payment. With the next, get a horse...

As I recall, this scheme received even louder screams than the
present thread. "How can we essentially strip a guy of his ability
to afford to drive, because of ONE (or TWO etc.) tickets? When all
he did was goof a little bit???

I don't know if insurance companies are scamming or not (i.e. diverting
money from payments into their own private pockets). It's sure easy to
announce greedy criminal behavior by others to explain away something
you don't like. Either of these things might be happening, dudes and
dudettes!

Anybody ever totalled up all the auto premium payments made in the US,
and totalled up all the insurance company payouts made on auto accidents,
and subtracted A from B? Of the result, some of course would go for
salaries, buildings, legit expenses. Some will go to cash reserves or
investments, held in reserve for the day when the next 200-car pileup
happens on I-5 in California.

Is any held in reserve for the next earthquake or hurricane? Is any
quake or 'cane money held in reserve for the next pileup? Is this
justifiable?

Finally, if the insurance companies are ripping us off as badly as
I have heard here (and elsewhere), then why don't YOU start a company,
not rip us off, and lower our payments by the amount you're not stealing,
but they were? I'll bring my business to you, and tell my friends!

I don't know how easy/difficult the above info is to get. I personally
don't know how to get it, and don't know how much research I'd have to
do even to get a clue of how to get it.

But it is certainly needed, and even necessary, to even begin to get
answers to the above questions. If scams are happening, then of course
the info will be REAL hard to get, like impossible. But, you who just
started your own legit company, are you going to publish your actuarial
tables? Your legit competition would love that (so would your crooked
competition).

More fact, less blind accusation and innuendo, OK?

 -Steve Maher   smaher@gi.com   '71 VW Transporter