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The alternative is to have the poor and middle class continue to subsidize the rich in the form of everyone paying higher insurance rates so insecure rich peopl

The alternative is to have the poor and middle class continue to subsidize the rich in the form of everyone paying higher insurance rates so insecure rich people can drive around in over-priced status symbols. A limit of liability on property damage of $20K per vehicle would be much fairer. Want an expensive car, or a car with excessive repair costs? Go for it, but you will shoulder the extra insurance premium costs too instead of forcing e.g., minimum wage workers to help pay for your ego car.

fwlr 3y ago
I mean, a quick search of insurance prices for cars said $1700 for a Honda Civic, $2200 for a Rivian RT1, and $7800 for a Lamborghini Aventador… so I think owners of expensive cars are indeed already shouldering the extra insurance costs? This is what I meant about more expensive cars already being priced in by insurance companies in the current system.
- kashunstva 3y ago
  The cost of a Lamborghini Aventador is about 21x that of a Civic, give-or-take. I would expect that repair or replacement costs covered by insurance to have a similar sized differential; so if the Civic driver isn’t partially subsidizing the Lamborghini, shouldn’t the driver of the latter be paying $35700 in insurance premiums?
  - fwlr 3y ago
    Would the likelihood of a crash be the same between a Civic and an Aventador? A priori, I would assume they would be different. By how much, I don’t know - but I imagine the insurance companies do know, and they’re pricing the insurance respectively. Insurance companies also change their price based on the gender and age of the driver and how much they use the car. Insurance companies are businesses who want to make money so they’ll charge as much as they can, and they’re also competing with other insurance companies so they’ll also try to undercut each others prices. My point is that they have a lot of data, a lot of incentive to use that data, and a lot of pressure on their pricing. There just doesn’t seem to be very much room to also fit in “let’s all fuck over poor people to save rich people some money”.
  - MichaelZuo 3y ago
    No, the bulk of insurance premiums are to cover human injury. Only a small portion is needed to cover damage to the cars involved. Well not so small when it's an Aventador, but still the ratio is not anywhere near 21x.

fwlr 3y ago

I mean, a quick search of insurance prices for cars said $1700 for a Honda Civic, $2200 for a Rivian RT1, and $7800 for a Lamborghini Aventador… so I think owners of expensive cars are indeed already shouldering the extra insurance costs? This is what I meant about more expensive cars already being priced in by insurance companies in the current system.

kashunstva 3y ago
The cost of a Lamborghini Aventador is about 21x that of a Civic, give-or-take. I would expect that repair or replacement costs covered by insurance to have a similar sized differential; so if the Civic driver isn’t partially subsidizing the Lamborghini, shouldn’t the driver of the latter be paying $35700 in insurance premiums?
- fwlr 3y ago
  Would the likelihood of a crash be the same between a Civic and an Aventador? A priori, I would assume they would be different. By how much, I don’t know - but I imagine the insurance companies do know, and they’re pricing the insurance respectively. Insurance companies also change their price based on the gender and age of the driver and how much they use the car. Insurance companies are businesses who want to make money so they’ll charge as much as they can, and they’re also competing with other insurance companies so they’ll also try to undercut each others prices. My point is that they have a lot of data, a lot of incentive to use that data, and a lot of pressure on their pricing. There just doesn’t seem to be very much room to also fit in “let’s all fuck over poor people to save rich people some money”.
- MichaelZuo 3y ago
  No, the bulk of insurance premiums are to cover human injury. Only a small portion is needed to cover damage to the cars involved. Well not so small when it's an Aventador, but still the ratio is not anywhere near 21x.