CommuterRun

What if we did away with auto insurance?

Make people pay for damages and medical expenses out of pocket.

I'd just about bet dollars to donuts crash rates would go way down.

What do you think?

linux_author

- IIRC, you don't need car insurance in Indiana... *if* you post a $250K bond to the state...

(Hoosiers may want to chime in here as my knowledge is based on living there in 1986)

yes

Bankrupcies galore - otoh - about 80% of the cars out there are owned by banks who wouldn't let people drive w/o collision. So, this might get rid of 80% of the traffic out there .

dobber

Car insurance often pays the offended party for your mistakes.

Should my medical treatment and cost of restoration/replacement be subjected to your ability to pay?

Brilliant !!

filtersweep

They do- indirectly through deductibles and higher insurance rates.

rideabike

It is a social policy issue. If there were no insurance requirements, many injured people would turn to Medicaid to pay for their injuries. So the payments would go from payments to insurance companies to payments in higher taxes.

And of course, many people who are not eligible for Medicaid would get minimal treatment and would suffer because of this.

Pat

Well, given the fact, that a large percentage of serious auto accidents involve an uninsured driver, I don't think such a policy would have much of an effect at all. Of course, it would really increase the incentive for hit and run, so I think those rates would go up.

sauerwald

I don't like the fact that many states have 'assigned risk' - in other words a driver has such a bad record that insurance companies do not want to offer them insurance, so the insurance companies are forced to offer insurance at a rate which is below cost. If a motorist cannot afford to pay for their insurance, they should not be permitted to drive, and the penalties for driving without insurance should be steep enough to make it so that people don't drive without insurance. If you drive without insurance, or drive with a suspended license, you should go to jail - that would reduce your 'need' to drive.

Here in Maine we have been having issues with very bad drivers - there are a handfull of drivers who have had licenses suspended dozens of times, have been involved in accidents on a regular basis, yet it seems that we do not have the desire or ability to get theese people off the road. We recetly enacted a new law so that for some of these really bad drivers, we can slap both wrists before we put them back behind the wheel.

patc

How Americentric. Not every country makes people pay for essential medical treatments!

webist

An interesting notion. However, one would have to make certain that one side in all "accidents" involved rich folks who could affor to pay.

CommuterRun

This is like what I was thinking of, but if I couldn't pay off the full amount right away my assets would be liquidated and/or wages would be garnished until the debt is settled.

dobber

So again, my recover is dictated by you ability to pay. As someone pointed out earlier, good drivers are rewarded with low premiums. And our insurance also covers the other drivers inability to pay if at fault.

My wife was involved in a single car accident this past week when her vehicle, which she was operating properly and at a speed prudent with weather conditions, unexpectedly hydroplaned.

Our insurance company totaled out the vehicle, sent us a check and she was in a new vehicle with 48 hrs. And our premium didn't go up because we are classified as safe drivers.

catatonic

As of 2000, when I moved out that still applied...it was some form you filled out, and provided a dollar mount to the state form your own pocket to cover any accidents that may occur. It was basically a form stating you are able to pay for your own accidents, therefore insurance is not necessary for you, and you grant this money to the state to act as your agent in event you do have to pay.

Pretty much they want it this way, so tehy get visibility of any accident that happens...it prevents people who have enough cash to cover the accident, but not to fill out the form from acting like they have and just pay off the other party, since it would be the state paying it off, not the driver.

I was very interested in this when I heard about it in driver's ed. I desipise the concept of insurance, just because I don't see any real benefit from it....you pay thousands and thousands over years, to benefit you maybe less than 10% of what you put into it. Hell, the insurance for my mustang when I was 18 was over $5000/yr for full coverage....how the f*#& can they ask for 80% of bluebook PER YEAR to insure a car?

Keith99

Isn't it bad enough already. At least in California auto insurance premiums are broken down by what they are for. That line 'Uninsured Motorist' is to make sure you do not get burned because the guy who hit you is not insured and can not pay. It is bad enough with insurance coverage required by law. Think what it would be like if insurance was discouraged.

CommuterRun

Well, maybe, but that's not really how I'm thinking about this. I'm thinking that your expenses wouldn't depend on my assets or wages, the cost would be whatever the cost would be and it would be up to me to pay it all off, over time if necessary.

And anyway I have no credible opinion on whether this is a good or bad idea. I was just wondering what would happen.

Hope she's okay. I'm glad everything worked out so well on the insurance.

John E

This is a big problem nationwide. The only solutions for repeat offenders are jail time and improved public transit, to reduce the excuse that one "needs" to be allowed to drive a car.

notfred

Let's ban health insurance while we're at it. If someone robs you at gunpoint and shoots you, and it takes $300,000 to pay off your medical bills while the guy got away, you should lose your home and your family should live on the street so that you can pay your bills.

You know, that makes tons of sense. This is the stupidest idea I've heard in a while.

Az B

Sure, for responsible people. How do you handle the folks that can't or won't pay?

If you want to reduce traffic crashes, replace the driver's side airbag with a sharpened stainless steel spike about 8-10" long.

Az

Ed Holland

Here in the UK, a recent survey suggested that up to 10% of drivers are uninsured (this is illegal), driving untaxed, untested vehicles vehicles (also illegal). This already causes major problems for those unfortunate enough to be involved in an accident with one of these uninsured motorists. The idea that everyone would drive safely if no-one carried insurance is a fantasy. Relinquishing mandatory insurance requirements would do nothing excep lead to a spectacular increase in lawsuits, and leave blameless people even more at the mercy of the wreckless. Although the current system is not perfect (I don't know what a perfect solution would be) it does, in the main part, offer everyone a safety net.

Well, that's my 2d,

Ed

Tom Stormcrowe

Actually, Medicare and Medicaid specifically disallow payment for medical costs incurred in an accident.

dobber

If they were wreckless, I wouldn't have to worry about them

dobber

Unfortunately, she walked away without so much as a scratch

I got to foot the bill for another vehicle, play taxicab for a couple day and miss three straight days of riding to work!!

Ed Holland

Aye thankyou! boboom, Tssh

Artkansas 

I DON'T THINK SO. You neglected to factor in the power of denial. People simply don't believe that they will be involved in an accident.

DigitalQuirk

I had an accident a few years ago. I was driving my car with my wife; it was a clear, sunny, mild December day. An old man drove right into us! Nobody was hurt, but he indicated that he didn't see me coming; even though I was nearly at a dead stop laying on the horn when he did drive into me, and my daytime running lights were functioning before they were smashed to pieces. Of course, it was obvious that perhaps he didn't see me, as his eyes were visably cloudy from the thick cataracts that had developed on them.

In this case, a really old man who was most likely on a limited and fixed income crashed into me. There was no physical harm done, but now I didn't have a car to drive. As much as I'd like to ride my bike everywhere, I and my family depend on my car. With insurance, I was in a nice rental car within a couple of hours for the next three weeks while my car was in one of the best body shops in the city for repairs. Without insurance, I'd be dependant on this really old guy on his fixed income to pay to repair my car and hope that he can also afford to put me in a rental. If he could afford it, it would probably put him into the poorhouse and possibly out in the street! With the current system, his insurance rates will probably be such that he won't be driving after this incident, but at least he will still be able to survive on his fixed income.