So I find myself in the fabulous position of having to deal with an insurance company right now. It’s my own fault – I made the mistake of thinking it was worth insuring one’s possessions against loss or damage. Because, you know, they might cover the losses.
So now it’s looks like I’m paying a $600 stupid tax. The insurance company doesn’t actually call it a stupid tax, they call it an excess. I call it a stupid tax because I’m being forced to pay it for being stupid enough to place any faith in an insurance company. It isn’t as if I expect these fuckers to be a charity but if they’re going to indulge in extortion I’d rather they drop the pretence and act like they criminals they are. I don’t know, they could wear a mask, hold me at gunpoint, make threatening phone calls.
Oh wait, they did the threatening phone call thing on Friday which is why I’m so fucking pissed off at them right now. So I’ll pay the $600 stupid tax and… Well, I’m not going to be any better off. If my foresight was a little better, I would have saved the money I’ve been paying in insurance premiums to hire a hitman.
I used to work for an insurance company so I know a lot of their customers are jerks but you all know how reasonable I am, right? Ummm, actually I don’t think that line of argument is going to work for me.
AngryAussie's Cocktail Bar 
I know people in the mafia (former residents of the adult criminal justice system) that will work cheaper than that $600 and travel all the way to Australia for the thrill.
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Insurance is a necessary evil. It protects you against the What If. I must have paid thousands of dollars into car insurance and house insurance. The only accident that I had was at age 16. Nothing else. So I have been paying a kind of stupid tax over the last 14 years.
Car insurance is even a more necessary evil. I dunno, sometimes I just want to cancel it all.
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Sandra: thanks it’s good to have options
Range: yeah, it just pisses me off when it doesn’t protect you because they choose not to honour a claim.
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I don’t know about in other countries, but here in the UK car insurance is a legal requirement (3rd party cover minimum); I have had my car broken into four times over the last ten years and I have never claimed as the cost of excess, increased premiums, loss of no claims bonus etc. would’ve made it between 3 and 4 times as expensive as just bearing the cost myself. The only way it would be worthwhile claiming is if the car got completely totalled.
Funny aside – one of my friends used to have a £75 fire excess and a £150 theft excess on his insurance, so his car had a note on the dashboard asking any theives / joyriders etc. to torch the car when they were done with it. Fortunately, nobody ever stole it, mainly because it was a worthless piece of shit.
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Reminds me of the old Young Ones joke where Vyvian is talking to some drunken biker punk types at a party.
Drunk 1: I had a friend killed himself for the insurance money
Drunk 2: Did he get much?
Drunk 1: Nah, only had 3rd party.
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No car here, so I get to miss out on a lot of the “fun.”
Here in the US, we get killed on the medical side. I have a friend who has to go out-of-pocket (he’s self employed, late 50’s, smoker) and the monthly premiums regularly go up $150 for no reason. The last I heard it was north of a thousand a month.
I go by the cash n’ pray method myself.
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The medical system in the states scares the crap out of me, I’ve heard some real horror stories. The worst are people who are fully covered but run up unexpected bills and the insurers just go “don’t think we’ll pay those bills” despite the patient being explicity covered.
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