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Having more wealth if anything has had me buy less insurance. My newer car is liability only. Worst case if it blows up, I can afford a cheap replacement that I

Having more wealth if anything has had me buy less insurance. My newer car is liability only. Worst case if it blows up, I can afford a cheap replacement that I've already more than saved up for by not paying full coverage. Also, that $4K cash for clunkers was a lot. I agree with the author, that would've totally gone into my pocket if they did it today. I still have my old car from college that's worth about $500 now, purchased for $1500, and I don't need it.

omgwtfbyobbq 22d ago
My insurance is getting to the point where I might do the same. My car is worth maybe a third of what it was new, and my monthly insurance bill is the same, it's nuts. I may go with a significantly higher deductible as a compromise.
yojo 22d ago
If you can afford to eat the loss, don’t insure it. Obviously insurance companies make money on average for every policy. If they didn’t, they would go bankrupt. So on average, every time you buy insurance, you lose. So insure only what’s required by law, or things that would throw your life off track if they vanished.
- hn993302 22d ago
  Yep. Which is also why I find vision insurance ridiculous. No it doesn't cover me going blind, it covers a pair of glasses at best, more like 25% of one.
  - lotsofpulp 21d ago
    Vision and dental "insurance" in the USA is a mechanism of paying someone with non taxable income, it is not insurance.
    - vel0city 21d ago
      This is the way to understand it. Also, sometimes discounts "in network", but that can be pretty mixed in usefulness. Sure, you can use HSA/FSA money on these things, but better to go through "insurance" and keep/use that money for other things.
    - hn993302 21d ago
      Dental yeah, vision is just a scam. There are also "life insurance" plans that are basically tax-advantage investment/inheritance funds if you have like $50M+.
WalterBright 22d ago
I've eschewed collision insurance, and what I've saved on those premiums is far more than the cars were worth.
jjav 21d ago
Also be aware that even if you buy comprehensive insurance for an old car (don't do it), they won't actually cover anything useful. If there is an accident, the insurance company will say: Your car is only worth $700 per blue book value and your deductible is $500 so here's $200 and your title is now totaled. Buy liability only and self-insure for any damage (or just buy a new beater as needed).
saltcured 21d ago
On the other hand, you likely need more liability insurance with more wealth, at least in the range where this topic of affordable transport comes up. In an accident, your risk becomes not the cost to restore your ride, but the cost to defend yourself from vampire litigants looking to suck you dry. Without significant assets, you can just treat bankruptcy as your answer here. With growing assets at middle-class and higher levels, that would be a pretty painful outcome for most. I suppose, once you are fabulously wealthy, you can wisely be self-insured again, simply trusting that your wealth can defend itself in a sustainable way?

omgwtfbyobbq 22d ago

My insurance is getting to the point where I might do the same. My car is worth maybe a third of what it was new, and my monthly insurance bill is the same, it's nuts. I may go with a significantly higher deductible as a compromise.

yojo 22d ago

If you can afford to eat the loss, don’t insure it. Obviously insurance companies make money on average for every policy. If they didn’t, they would go bankrupt. So on average, every time you buy insurance, you lose. So insure only what’s required by law, or things that would throw your life off track if they vanished.

hn993302 22d ago
Yep. Which is also why I find vision insurance ridiculous. No it doesn't cover me going blind, it covers a pair of glasses at best, more like 25% of one.
- lotsofpulp 21d ago
  Vision and dental "insurance" in the USA is a mechanism of paying someone with non taxable income, it is not insurance.
  - vel0city 21d ago
    This is the way to understand it. Also, sometimes discounts "in network", but that can be pretty mixed in usefulness. Sure, you can use HSA/FSA money on these things, but better to go through "insurance" and keep/use that money for other things.
  - hn993302 21d ago
    Dental yeah, vision is just a scam. There are also "life insurance" plans that are basically tax-advantage investment/inheritance funds if you have like $50M+.

WalterBright 22d ago

I've eschewed collision insurance, and what I've saved on those premiums is far more than the cars were worth.

jjav 21d ago

Also be aware that even if you buy comprehensive insurance for an old car (don't do it), they won't actually cover anything useful. If there is an accident, the insurance company will say: Your car is only worth $700 per blue book value and your deductible is $500 so here's $200 and your title is now totaled. Buy liability only and self-insure for any damage (or just buy a new beater as needed).

saltcured 21d ago

On the other hand, you likely need more liability insurance with more wealth, at least in the range where this topic of affordable transport comes up. In an accident, your risk becomes not the cost to restore your ride, but the cost to defend yourself from vampire litigants looking to suck you dry. Without significant assets, you can just treat bankruptcy as your answer here. With growing assets at middle-class and higher levels, that would be a pretty painful outcome for most. I suppose, once you are fabulously wealthy, you can wisely be self-insured again, simply trusting that your wealth can defend itself in a sustainable way?