MissU28 Posted September 12, 2007 Share Posted September 12, 2007 This may be a dumb question with a simple answer, but I was just thinking about it this morning and I really don't know why. * Why don't we just pay a co-pay when we get standard things done to our cars? (oil changes, tire rotations, emissions tests, etc.) * Why can't we co-pay for major damages like accidents? I'm not talking about a deductible ($500) but more like $15. Can anybody shed some light? It sure would have been nice to have to pay a co-pay or even USE my insurance this past January when I got a flat tire/bent wheel on a pot hole AND had to pay for my driver's side headlight to be fixed (water had leaked into it so the wires burnt out so i needed a new $200 bulb in addition to a new headlight....over $2000 for everything, including labor and the new wheel and tire, etc). Is it because car insurance companies know that cars have many more problems than people so they would be paying a lot more in the end? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrapeApe Posted September 12, 2007 Share Posted September 12, 2007 I'm not sure you realize just how much health insurance costs. It's crazy. But I'm sure you could find a company willing to do this for you. You'll just have to pay them $400/month for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sith lord Posted September 12, 2007 Share Posted September 12, 2007 I too believe you should get more for your car insurance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MissU28 Posted September 12, 2007 Author Share Posted September 12, 2007 I'm not sure you realize just how much health insurance costs. It's crazy. But I'm sure you could find a company willing to do this for you. You'll just have to pay them $400/month for it. I suppose...HMO plans come "free" with my job as a teacher, though...but I know the PPO plans are around $550 a month. Health care IS more expensive in general, though...so I think the $117 a month I'm paying for car insurance should have more of an impact. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FedexFieldInsider Posted September 12, 2007 Share Posted September 12, 2007 Car insurance doesn't cover preventative maintenance and it shouldn't. Otherwise our rates would be 50x higher than what they already are. It covers anything "sudden and accidental". Your deductible is basically your co-pay. In order for you to have coverage under your primary limits you must exceed the amount on your deductible. (I.e. If you only do $200 in damage to your car and your deductible is $500, you don't have coverage under your insurance because you would still have to pay your $500 deductible.) You have higher deductibles for your car insurance because companies don't want you to file unnecessary claims. Some companies now offer benefits like decreasing deductibles for the amount of time that you go without having an accident as a reward to good drivers. It's your responsibility to keep your car in working order and in good condition. The companies will help you with the damage that you cause because that can tend to add up to a lot. But for the everyday maintenance of your vehicle, that's all on you (and it should be). Let me put it to you like this.....If you rear end someone and cause the person you rear ended $100,000 in Bodily Injury and you total a $60,000 vehicle, think of how many months that you've had to pay your premiums in order to cover what the insurance company is going to pay out for you for one accident. Let's see here: $160,000 divided by your $150 per month premium is 1066 months of premium payments. So let's see how long 1066 months is....1066 months divided by 12 months in a year is 88 years. That's for one accident. Still think that you're paying too much? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ignatius J. Posted September 12, 2007 Share Posted September 12, 2007 Because if you wreck your car it's no big deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickalino Posted September 12, 2007 Share Posted September 12, 2007 If you're finding yourself wishing that you had such a coverage, you're buying poor quality cars. And since so many people behave in such a way, that driving becomes high-risk, car insurance rates becomes high enough as it is, and makes it unreasonable to have the option of paying more, to cover breakdowns. I wouldnt pay for it, even if they offered it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Tater Posted September 12, 2007 Share Posted September 12, 2007 MissU28, You have actually pointed out one of the major reasons health insurance doesn't work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrapeApe Posted September 12, 2007 Share Posted September 12, 2007 I did a quick search and there is auto repair insurance, but it still doesn't cover preventative maintenance (which is fairly cheap) or items such as tires. It would be interesting to get a quote. I guess it's similar to the extended warranties you can get on used cars. Covers break downs and stuff typically covered under a manufacturers warranty. There are different levels of coverage too. PS: this probably would have covered some of your $2000 bill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MissU28 Posted September 12, 2007 Author Share Posted September 12, 2007 If you're finding yourself wishing that you had such a coverage, you're buying poor quality cars.And since so many people behave in such a way, that driving becomes high-risk, car insurance rates becomes high enough as it is, and makes it unreasonable to have the option of paying more, to cover breakdowns. I wouldnt pay for it, even if they offered it. It's not that I have a poor quality car (I drive an '03 Acura) but it was more a me-being-curious question. After FedExFielder's response, I think I understand it a little better. But...I consider hitting a pot hole and bending a wheel AND water getting into my headlight causing the wires to short out "sudden and accidental". I guess I could have filed an insurance claim for that. But after thinking about it, I think my mistake was to not buy an additional warranty for my car....that would have paid for it. I'm not really griping about paying $15 for an oil change. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MissU28 Posted September 12, 2007 Author Share Posted September 12, 2007 I did a quick search and there is auto repair insurance, but it still doesn't cover preventative maintenance (which is fairly cheap) or items such as tires. It would be interesting to get a quote.I guess it's similar to the extended warranties you can get on used cars. Covers break downs and stuff typically covered under a manufacturers warranty. There are different levels of coverage too. yeah, I KNEW I should have gotten the warranty when I bought my car (it was only like $20 extra per month) but I stupidly said no. I think that would have been my best bet. Oh, well. You live and you learn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MissU28 Posted September 12, 2007 Author Share Posted September 12, 2007 MissU28,You have actually pointed out one of the major reasons health insurance doesn't work. So you're saying health insurance should work more like car insurance? Why is that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrapeApe Posted September 12, 2007 Share Posted September 12, 2007 yeah, I KNEW I should have gotten the warranty when I bought my car (it was only like $20 extra per month) but I stupidly said no. I think that would have been my best bet. Oh, well. You live and you learn. I don't know. It may have paid off on this car, but I doubt most of the time those things pay off in the long run. Otherwise they wouldn't be offered because insurance companies aren't going to lose money if they can help it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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