Crazy Saab insurance prices in Minnesota

Here in Oz, each state has a similar but different compulsory 3rd-party insurance that you must buy before registration is renewed. If you don't take out full-comp insurance as well, the price you are charged for CTP is around 175 to 250 percent higher than if you do take out full-comp insurance as well.

Could that be similar to what's happening with the situation described above?

Craig.

No compulsory insurance in NZ; wish there was, it would get some of the hoons off the road!

But then we wouldn't have any good material for new episodes of 'Motorway Patrol'. 8-)

Craig.

Jason-

You may want to get some other quotes. State Farm charges me about $1000 a year for liability and comprehensive. I'm also only 24 and have a ticket or two. Maybe she isn't being honest with you about her driving record. Ha ha....

A-

Be glad you don't live in NJ. That same coverage would probably cost $1,500 to $2000.

NJ home to the highest car insurance in the country and home to insurance rating based on job title, college degrees, and credit score. (Geico and others).

Amica? They probably don't have enough of a customer base to insure any other Saabs. (Just kidding). I looked on their web site. Amica is one of the insurance companies that use a "credit based insurance score". Using this method, the number of payments she has missed is just as important as the number of citations or accidents. If she is heavily in debt, that is almost as bad. Does she know her credit score?

Not to brag, but I have a 1991 9000T with $100K of liability coverage, plus medical, roadside assistance, uninsured motorist liability and uninsured motorist property damage. It costs me less than $300/year for coverage ($140 for 6 months) with State Farm. Maybe you should move to Illinois - its not that far away ;-).

Walt Kienzle

Unfortunately in NJ almost all the companies are now using credit based rating. Once the state allowed Geico and Mercury to do it, everyone else followed.

Lets hope that doesn't start to happen here or there will be masses of people who cannot afford insurance for their house, car, etc.

I think it's rather offensive for a company to say I'd have to pay a higher premium because I might have missed a mortage payment now and then, or had a credit card account go over the limit and unpaid for a period of time.

Why charge more for insurance in those cases when it doubles the problem for the person wanting to take out the insurance! But it's all based on risk modelling, and I expect (to divert from Saab issues for a moment) that it's mainly due to the way BASEL-II is changing the way financial companies do their risk analysis.

In the end it'll hurt the economy because it'll make people stop using cars and that means reduced government revenues, reduced income for oil companies, reduced sales of new cars, more mechanics closing down, etc. And it will ensure that the wedge between people with limitless funds and those who have very little will get bigger and the wealth concentration will grow.

Regards,

Craig.