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Insurance has got to be the best business to be in. In what other industry is the business model "take people's money and don't do shit"? Plus, in a lot of doma

Insurance has got to be the best business to be in. In what other industry is the business model "take people's money and don't do shit"? Plus, in a lot of domains people are required, by law, to get insurance. It's great.

avn2109 11y ago
>> "Plus, in a lot of domains people are required, by law, to get insurance." It's almost like the insurance industry is large, wealthy, and politically well-connected enough to capture regulatory bodies in order to insure the existence of markets for its produc... wait a second...
ams6110 11y ago
take people's money and don't do shit That's not what they do, though. They are in business to make money, yes -- but they don't always. A bad hurricane season and they can (and do) lose billions.
- jandrese 11y ago
  Yeah, it costs a lot to hire inspectors to go out to every property and determine that it was the water in the air, not the wind itself that destroyed the house so they aren't covered.
  - patio11 11y ago
    Cynical and false. http://www.iii.org/sites/default/files/paper_HurricaneAndrew_final.pdf http://www.iii.org/sites/default/files/paper_HurricaneAndrew... Katrina: $47.6 billion paid out. Andrew: $25.0 billion paid out. Ike: $13.1 billion paid out. (Constant 2011 dollars.) See discussion of "wind pool" in the document, by the way: the way Florida works is by having a semi-governmental organization insure wind damage and letting private insurance companies sell "we'll insure any risk as long as it isn't wind damage" policies.
Cthulhu_ 11y ago
The requirement by law is fair. If you drive your car into someone else's, you or your insurance company should pay for the damage - the case where the victim gets nothing is thereby avoided. In theory anyway.
- jstanley 11y ago
  In New Zealand there is no mandatory car insurance, and that's how I think it should be. (I do not live in New Zealand). Take your own risks in life. Don't drive a car you can't afford to replace.
  - deciplex 11y ago
    Mandatory insurance is for the injury and property damage you cause, not that you incur.
    - jstanley 11y ago
      Yes but any damage that is caused by one party is also incurred by another party. In the "no mandatory insurance" scenario, you're taking the risk that someone else may damage your car. So don't buy a car you can't afford to replace.
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      - deciplex 11y ago
        It's complicated in the US because the person at fault is also on the hook for medical costs of any injured parties. The car insurance you get is mostly about taking care of that, not the property damage. FWIW I didn't downvote you. Your post is borne of ignorance of how it works in the US, which is actually enviable because it means your healthcare system isn't an absolute wreck :-)

avn2109 11y ago

>> "Plus, in a lot of domains people are required, by law, to get insurance." It's almost like the insurance industry is large, wealthy, and politically well-connected enough to capture regulatory bodies in order to insure the existence of markets for its produc... wait a second...

ams6110 11y ago

take people's money and don't do shit That's not what they do, though. They are in business to make money, yes -- but they don't always. A bad hurricane season and they can (and do) lose billions.

jandrese 11y ago
Yeah, it costs a lot to hire inspectors to go out to every property and determine that it was the water in the air, not the wind itself that destroyed the house so they aren't covered.
- patio11 11y ago
  Cynical and false. http://www.iii.org/sites/default/files/paper_HurricaneAndrew_final.pdf http://www.iii.org/sites/default/files/paper_HurricaneAndrew... Katrina: $47.6 billion paid out. Andrew: $25.0 billion paid out. Ike: $13.1 billion paid out. (Constant 2011 dollars.) See discussion of "wind pool" in the document, by the way: the way Florida works is by having a semi-governmental organization insure wind damage and letting private insurance companies sell "we'll insure any risk as long as it isn't wind damage" policies.

Cthulhu_ 11y ago

The requirement by law is fair. If you drive your car into someone else's, you or your insurance company should pay for the damage - the case where the victim gets nothing is thereby avoided. In theory anyway.

jstanley 11y ago
In New Zealand there is no mandatory car insurance, and that's how I think it should be. (I do not live in New Zealand). Take your own risks in life. Don't drive a car you can't afford to replace.
- deciplex 11y ago
  Mandatory insurance is for the injury and property damage you cause, not that you incur.
  - jstanley 11y ago
    Yes but any damage that is caused by one party is also incurred by another party. In the "no mandatory insurance" scenario, you're taking the risk that someone else may damage your car. So don't buy a car you can't afford to replace.
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    - deciplex 11y ago
      It's complicated in the US because the person at fault is also on the hook for medical costs of any injured parties. The car insurance you get is mostly about taking care of that, not the property damage. FWIW I didn't downvote you. Your post is borne of ignorance of how it works in the US, which is actually enviable because it means your healthcare system isn't an absolute wreck :-)