Car Insurance: Male vs Female - Old vs Young

[drunkenmaxx]

ok, i want to know, how can it be legal for a male's car insurance to be higher than a female's, just because of gender? the same for older people as opposed to younger people? this is by all means legal descrimination. they say it is because of statistics, statistically, males get in more accidents than women, older people drive better than younger people, etc. However, if there was a statistic that showed perhaps white people drive better than other races, therefore, their car insurance is cheaper, that would be grounds for a lawsuit that i guarantee would hold up in court. descrimination is descrimination, why is this allowed? everyone, give me you 2 cents.

[ArcsVibe]

I agree also with you Salsa!You know especially here in Quebec they smoke some real good stuff when they quote insurance prices........call 8 different companies and get 8 different quotes that are not even close to each other in price!Thank God your wife was ok in those accidents... How is she now when she drives?

[millster]

I have to agree as well. When I moved out to Ohio, I had one insurance company flat refuse to cover me because I was too high-risk. Right. I was 19 and had no traffic record. That's got to be high risk. Not to mention that I had my home owner's insurance with them already. After a long battle, I got a quote from them, and as it turns out they were about the cheapest I could get. Obviously the higher ups in the company didn't see the risk, they just saw a business opportunity and a good customer. I'm still with them at the moment and I think I've proven my point. No claims at all. I'm not sure what I'll find back here in MT, but I'm sure I'll have to be ready for another battle.

[drunkenmaxx]

it's definitely not fair, why should you have to pay more if you had no way to avoid the accident? if i had more money, i would get a highend lawyer and sue the companies for descrimination and unfair business practices, i bet it could go pretty far! that's way less frivolous than sueing mcdonalds because you can't hold your coffee upright

[pwarren4]

The fact that states require by law people to carry insurance is understandable - it protects the innocent.The fact that they do nothing to regulate the cost is infuriating!!The insurance companies just say: "We can charge whatever we want and your just gonna have to pay it - it's the LAW! HA! HA! HA! (evil, sinister laugh)I would think the whole competition thing would help the consumer, but it seems to work backwards - Company A charges "X" so Company B says "Hey, they are charging "X" so we're gonna raise our rates to "X". Company A finds out and says "Our coverage is better than Company B's so we can charge "X+10%". From there the downward spiral begins and we get to foot the bill.There is not a word in the English language that comes close to describing how pissed I am about the insurance situation in the USA. (Auto, Home and especially medical).I'm a die hard conservative Republican and even I think it's time for the government to do something about the insurance problems!Just my .02 - sorry about the rant

[drunkenmaxx]

rant on brother, this is a bubbling crock of sh*t and the companies (as well as the government) probably think we're too stupid to realize that they are f*cking us and we don't even get a kiss!

[Reynoma]

.quote:rant on brother, this is a bubbling crock of sh*t and the companies (as well as the government) probably think we're too stupid to realize that they are f*cking us and we don't even get a kiss!Drunkenvibe,Stop beating around the bush and tell us what you really think!

[drunkenmaxx]

i've done burned the GD bush to the ground!

[joatmon]

I don't know what the statistics are that insurance companies base the different rates for different age groups/sexes, but it would be interesting to get the age/(removed) demographics of all of the genvibe members who have posted stories about their recent street racing experiences. I am guessing that a significant majority would be male under 25. Car parts are expensive. It would be interesting to see what the total cost would be for all the parts in a Vibe if bought individually, instead of as a complete assembly. Lawsuits also drive up insurance costs, especially medical malpractice insurance. Get lots of commercials on TV from ambulance chaser lawyers trying to find civil suit cases for injury. An accident with minor car damage can still injure someone to the point where they need recurring long term medical treatment and therapy.I'm not saying that insurance is reasonably priced or plenty cheap for what you get out of it, just that I know there are lots of factors involved. Tomorrow, if someone slams into your vibe in a completely reckless and negligent way, will you be thinking "How can I get my car fixed at the lowest price so that I'll do my part to keep insurance rates low" or will it be more like "They better use the best parts, and maybe I'll sue that SOB for being so careless"I'd take the second option.

[drunkenmaxx]

the point i'm trying to discuss is the blatant descrimination i face as a male under 25. if a study showed ethnic tendencies in safe driving, the same practice would not be allowed, yet it is the same exact principlei am not a statistic, i am an individual, a wierd one, but still an individual

[joatmon]

quote:the point i'm trying to discuss is the blatant descrimination i face as a male under 25. if a study showed ethnic tendencies in safe driving, the same practice would not be allowed, yet it is the same exact principlei am not a statistic, i am an individual, a wierd one, but still an individualI think that if there was statistical evidence to support insurance companies charging different rates based on race, a court challenge would probably rule in favor of the insurance companies. However, the insurance companies would have to be really stupid to try to implement race based rates because of the PR fiasco it would be. There is probably a significantly higher risk associated with being unmarried male under 25. If they adjusted their policies to use a uniform age/(removed) independent rate, then my insurance costs would go up. Also, some middle aged people would probably sue them for charging the same rate as for a high risk 17 year old male. We are all individuals, and I understand your anger at being grouped into a stereotype. Since I am currently grouped into a less expensive stereotype than you, I'm ok with not helping pay for your goup's higher risk.

[drunkenmaxx]

it's not my group, my record is as clean as a whistle. if i drive safely, how am i any higher risk than you? why then is an 80 year old who can't tell the difference between the gas and the brake getting cheaper rates than me?

[red]

i can understand your frustration about the labeling that occurs within the insurance business....i am wmf, age 46 with 0 accidents and 1 ticket given 13 years ago and pay $600 a year for full coverage. there are people who are younger w/o tickets or accidents and pay triple or quadruple that amount....sometimes it varies according to the car...insurance would have cost me double that amount for a tahoe and a $1000 a year for a mazda p5...alot is based on how much it costs to fix a vehicle and the worth of the vehicle. as of may 03 the vibe gt would have cost me the same to insure as my awd even though the gt has considerable more power and is more likely to be involved in riskier situations...insurance co's have to use something to base there rates on and unfortunately they do it on averages for an age group not on an individual basis....i am dreading the day my daughter wants to drive...that will cost a fortune regardless of her gender..they are also getting tougher on older drivers, one accident and the insurance goes waaayyy up..at least up here anyway!

[drunkenmaxx]

if i was an employer and i had a stack of papers with statistics saying that race x is lazier than race y, therefore, i will not hire anyone from race x, i could not get away with that. that is my point. statistics schmatistics, it should be illegal

[red]

agreed, but the insurance co's have lots of lawyers and a HUGE lobby in congress/senate...the only ones who can attempt to challenge them at this point are states and the insurance co's reaction will be to take their "ball" and leave that state that is protesting, stranding alot of people suddently w/o insurance like a couple have done to ny and such on the east coast!! my suggestion is to meet with someone who has legal expertise and see if you can get a class action suit going on behalf of you others like yourself. if you can prove a case then there will be changes made across the board to everyone, regardless of age....i'd personally like to see states test the driving ability of some of our "older" drivers to check for compentency and base insurance accordingly or outright restrict their licenses...some individuals really shouldnt be driving regardless of age BUT who's to stop them...it states that you have to have insurance BUT if you own the vehicle outright you can drive w/o it and face the penalties if you are caught...in alaska its mandatory to have insurance but it is estimated that up to 40% of our drivers DONOT have it or are not current on it! the only way to check for it up here is during stops by police, involved in an accident or your vehicle's title holder checks with your claimed insurance carrier to see if you are current, if you are not, they will call in your note...gmac does that up here anyway or use to!

[joatmon]

Unfortunately for your argument, you are not likely to have a stack of valid statistics that indicate that one race is lazier than another, or more of an accident risk. However, a average young male, jacked up on testosterone and a sense of immortatlity IS likely to do more stupid/risky things while driving than an average soccer parent would do. I know I did.

[drunkenmaxx]

quote:Unfortunately for your argument, you are not likely to have a stack of valid statistics that indicate that one race is lazier than another, or more of an accident risk. However, a average young male, jacked up on testosterone and a sense of immortatlity IS likely to do more stupid/risky things while driving than an average soccer parent would do. I know I did.no matter how true that is, it is besides the point, period.red, in IL, you must have liability insurance to drive too, no matter what, which makes sensemy statement about race is entirely hypothetical, of course no such statistics exist, although, i couldn't use them if they did.

[joatmon]

We have different perspectives on insurance, and that's cool I think of insurance as gambling, the insurance company is a vegas bookie. You go to the bookie and say "I bet I am going to have an accident in my car" he says" I bet you won't have an accident."you say "but if I do have an accident, you have to pay to fix the damage"He goes into the back room, figures the odds, and comes back out and says "OK, based on the odds, you have to pay me this much money to take that bet"If you both agree, then you've got insurance. If you don't like the terms, you go looking for another bookie. If a different gambler goes to the same bookie, he may get different odds, and the bet may cost him more or less than it cost you.

[Vibe Rater]

The insurance companies have long ago taken care of the age discrimination problem. The rates you pay are not based on age. They are based on years driving experience. The statistics say that a young driver with few years of driving experience are far more likely to get in an accident and make a claim. I sometimes wonder where these clowns get their statistics from though. The car theft statistics look like a big fraud too. It doesn't seem to matter what you buy, it's always an extremely high risk to be stolen (according to the insurance companies). They are the new lawyers. Everybody hates the insurance companies now, almost as much as the RIAA.

[redlava]

I agree with you. Age discrimination is easer to hide than racial descrimination. It started out as a good idea, like Communism. Younger people did get in more accidents than older people, so Ins. companies said lets make more money by charging absurd amounts to ALL young people instead of taking it on a case by case basis or charging more after a ticket or accident occurs. But you cant drive without it so they have us by the balls, and until the government steps in to regulate it, it will spiral out of control like health insurance.

[drunkenmaxx]

it's kind of the the petroleum industry in a way...they mask the age discrimination, what about the gender?

[Charlievibe]

I want to jump on this insurance band wagon.....had I not traded in my 2000 Grand Am for my Vibe, my insurance, per year, would have been $1400. Now, the fact is, I am female, I have a great driving record and I am over 30-years of age. Here is what added the insult to the injury of the insurance cost....my insurance company told me that I was getting the "preferred rates." Can you IMAGINE what they would have hit me with had I not gotten their "preferred" rates?Honestly, I am paying about $200 less on my Vibe (base model) and think it is a major screw job. Had I gotten the GT, they would have hit me for close to $1600/year.This cost was explained to me by my agent...although I think the explanation is lame. I live in Tennessee. And, apparently the part of TN I live in has high thefts (not of the Vibe's) and high accidents. And like Red said, I was told that the cost to repair the Vibe could, and I emphasize the word could, be very expensive. And, from what I am being told, the people in this city have either very little or no insurance - even though we are supposed to prove it when we get our plates - yeah right!!! I have YET to prove my insurance and have been living in this gosh forsaken place for too da*n long (Close to three years now - will be moving on soon).Okay, so now for the differences in gender and insurance cost. Honestly, when I was in high school, the guys had more tickets and accidents than the girls did, but I figure that was due to the drag racing and goofing off.You should be rated according to your driving record, NOT your gender. I personally think the insurance companies need to get a grip and assess each person on their own merit - but then I guess they wouldn't get rich, huh?!?!?!Oh, and I wouldn't want you all to think I am bitter about this insurance stuff!!!