Insurance, the tail that wags the dog.

So yesterdayAE19805E-F1C0-4B34-845C-42DEFE462E6E.jpegthis happened. Lucky that it did not kill me or my son. I imagine my little favorite car is toast. And…I also imagine that guys insurance company will think it not worth much.AE19805E-F1C0-4B34-845C-42DEFE462E6E.jpeg
 

Luckily, our house insurance has remained fairly stable over the years....with just minor annual increases. But, we live in an area where flooding and fires have not been an issue, and it has been over 100 years since a tornado hit nearby....knock wood. Auto insurance continues to increase at a rate of 8 or 10 percent/yr., and I sometime think about dropping the Comprehensive coverage, but then I would probably hit a deer or something and wind up with a bill equal to years of premiums. So, I just grumble, and continue to pay.
 

There's a serious flaw in the system. Insurance companies exist to make money, and they're not making money by paying out to the likes of you and me. So, they make it as difficult as they can to claim, stretch our decisions, and will take advantage of all the traps they put into their contracts.

Same with healthcare. The US has the best healthcare in the world, no doubt. IF you can afford it. If you can't, then it's just slightly better than no healthcare. Why? Profit. They need to make money, and they don't make anything from the poor.

Of course, you can read those contracts, but there's no mechanism to reject specific clauses. So basically, you're over a barrel.
 
StarSong said:
By what metric?
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To be fair, I've only experienced healthcare in four countries (UK, US, Germany, and Australia). If you can pay, I found the US to be the best. If you can't pay, it's the worst. Stats on US healthcare are heavily impacted by this delimma.
 
Muskrat said:
@StarSong …my car is the one on the left…guy on the right lost control of his trailer…which flipped him and came unhitched and hit me. We were traveling opposite directions.
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That must have been a terrifying moment. Cannot imagine it. So fortunate you weren't badly injured.

His insurance has to be fair or you can sue them. If it were YOUR own insurance, it would be a different matter.
 
Our home insurance in Central Florida went up by 24% two years ago and by another 25% this year. We never had a claim.
One of our friends in Fort Lauderdale owns his house and can no longer afford a home insurance that is costing him $10,000.00 per year at this point.
Newcomers to Florida are having difficulty finding an insurance company willing to insure them.
This is becoming a serious problem. I watched a few reports on the local TV station and it does not look like a solution is coming anytime soon.
 
I have a home in Florida located right along the Gulf with its own boat slip. As you can imagine, I pay through the nose for insurance. We have had only one claim, which was settled amicably between Travelers and us. No hassles. I was almost speechless because I had expected to pay a lot more out of pocket. We pay close to $10,000.00 a year now. It did drop back $1100 this year. No reason was given.

The house has been for sale for over four years because I have it overpriced due to the fact that I am not in any hurry to sell it. The maintenance on the house has increased 50% the last four years, so I am seriously considering selling the property, which sits on 2+ acres. Just to have the Gardner come by and mow, trim and prune the flowering buses costs almost $8000 a year. Pool maintenance is another $3500 a year and taxes, you don’t want to know. It’s probably time to sell it.

A few years ago, a doctor from New York offered to buy it because it sat next to his brother’s home. The home is assessed at $1.6mil. I have it priced at $2mil even. The doctor offered the $2mil., but I decided to back away from his offer. Today, I would accept his offer. I want to sell the boat with it, if he is interested. If not, the boat will sell quickly.
 
oldman said:
I have a home in Florida located right along the Gulf with its own boat slip. As you can imagine, I pay through the nose for insurance. We have had only one claim, which was settled amicably between Travelers and us. No hassles. I was almost speechless because I had expected to pay a lot more out of pocket. We pay close to $10,000.00 a year now. It did drop back $1100 this year. No reason was given.

The house has been for sale for over four years because I have it overpriced due to the fact that I am not in any hurry to sell it. The maintenance on the house has increased 50% the last four years, so I am seriously considering selling the property, which sits on 2+ acres. Just to have the Gardner come by and mow, trim and prune the flowering buses costs almost $8000 a year. Pool maintenance is another $3500 a year and taxes, you don’t want to know. It’s probably time to sell it.

A few years ago, a doctor from New York offered to buy it because it sat next to his brother’s home. The home is assessed at $1.6mil. I have it priced at $2mil even. The doctor offered the $2mil., but I decided to back away from his offer. Today, I would accept his offer. I want to sell the boat with it, if he is interested. If not, the boat will sell quickly.
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That's a fortune in insurance; don't blame you for wanting to sell it. How often do you go there and enjoy your property?
 
StarSong said:
That's a fortune in insurance; don't blame you for wanting to sell it. How often do you go there and enjoy your property?
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Now that we are both retired, we spend about 4-6 months a year there. Our kids use it occasionally and we allow a few close friends to use it for a long weekend or up to two weeks.

My wife inherited the property from her parents. She was an only child so she received the bulk of her parent’s estate. At first, I thought how lucky we were to get it, but as the years have passed, I have slowly changed my mind.
 

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