- “What we found is that behind the rate quotes is a pricing process that judges you less on driving habits and increasingly on socioeconomic factors,” the consumer organization reports. “These include your credit history, whether you use department-store or bank credit cards, and even your TV provider. Those measures are then used in confidential and often confounding scoring algorithms.”
I'm lovin' it 'cuz my wife got in a fender-bender last night (everybody's fine; LAPD was in a rippin' hurry, cut across a lot of traffic and the guy in front of my wife slammed on the brakes, thanks for asking) while also recognizing that it's rankest bullshit to not base insurable risk on insurable behavior.
Holy moly. I'm not surprised, but still. Is your credit history something you offer to your car insurance provider? Or is that something they pull on you using the name and SSN you give them when engaging their services? The takeaway is that a good indicator of responsibility, at least from an actuary's perspective, is credit history.
I asked for a review of my insurance after seeing that my credit score hit 820. Homeowners and auto both dropped about 15%. I refied the house to a 10 year loan for less than the 30 was per month. Having a high credit score was about the same as a 15% raise when it was all said and done. And this can get into a few other discussions about poverty and how to escape it. Poor people, as a rule, have bad credit. So they pay more for banking, more for insurance, and more for credit cards. I've been there, done that and fought out of that hole by not buying anything that did not keep me alive (food, rent, utilities) for a few years. Can everyone do that? I'm not sure. If you can get a 16 year old to save up $500 and get a prepaid card and use it for bills like their phone. By the time they are 20 they have a credit history and are on their way. Now get that kid a job, build his ability to delay gratification, and give him the tools to see the long game/ big picture. And if we can find a way to do that, we need to run for God.
glad everyone is ok - seriously. If an actuary CAN collect and examine data trends, and actuary WILL collect and examine data trends. When I worked for State Farm in 2004... we were collecting SSNs for price quotes. It's all part of the puzzle. Love it or hate it - if you have good credit, statistically speaking, you will be a safer driver - or so they say... I hate it because I have impeccable credit and I'm paying more for coverage now that when I was 25 and single. (that has something to do with the value of my vehicles now though...)
Indeed. Garden-variety in "ticket me" red. Little bitch is at the shop right now because it blew a seal on the clutch master cylinder. Which apparently has a proportioning valve between master and slave, no idea why, which has to come from Boston. We're approaching the point where repairs and upkeep outweigh the price of retiring it... but the only thing I've been able to work myself up into caring about is an AWD CTS (ewww and more than I want to spend on a car right now) or one of the new 'vettes (a factor of five or six more than I want to spend and as completely impractical a car as I could muster, considering I have a toddler). So Ye Olde Stealth may stick around a while longer...
The new 'vette is the first one since the 70s that gives me the tingling in the giblets... it is smooth. the CTS is.... well yah. not my thing. I can admire it's power and even styling. I just have a real hard time thinking about owning a caddy. I think you and I are still two decades away from feeling ok about that. (as much as cadillac wants to change that image).
I'm with you on the 'vette. And the Caddy... Well here's the thing. I've been living in Los Angeles for eight years. Apocryphally, BMW sells more cars in SoCal than they do in Bavaria. It's one of those statistics you hear a lot but can't source... yet it sure feels true. And they're all driven by assholes. This is true of all German cars in SoCal. Audi, VW, BMW, Porsche, Mercedes... if there's an asshole in front of you, his car came from Deutschland. If the Boxster were a Toyota I'd love one, but it's got that stink of entitled Westsider. Meanwhile, the mooks from the 909 love their gigantic Mustangs and Camaros, and the mooks from OC love their Astons and Maseratis because it proves they have all the talent and class of the Redneckistanis but shit tons more money. But Cadillac? Lincoln? You either operate a towncar company or are certifiably deviant. Extend to most American brands. buy a BMW 1-series you're frugal. Buy a Chevy Cobalt you're an Armenian weirdo. I see more Masaratis than I see new 'vettes. I see more Lamborghinis than I see new 'vettes. And I see more Bentleys than I see Cadillacs. The 'vette and the Cadillac CTS are the most "american-made" cars available. And tha Darth Vader-lookin' angular monstrosity is starting to grow on me. When you say "I want a 2-door AWD coupe with a back seat that isn't German" your choices are severely limited... and when one of the best values turns out to be an old man car, you almost get there for the irony alone.
I'm glad she's okay. Got cut off by a BMW again this Tuesday, before I even hit the freeway. Had to slam into the breaks hard to not hit the fucker. Interestingly enough, here in Europe the Audi drivers have taken over the role of most dickish driving behaviour from the BMW drivers. Do they sell Volvos there? Great quality, generally reliable and safe. Better than Saab because Saab drivers are managers who think they're cooler than they actually are.if there's an asshole in front of you, his car came from Deutschland.
IMO, Volvos have been Fords for quite a while. Saabs have been GMs since 1994 (which is why I drive a '93).
Normally I don't recommend GM cars due to quality issues, but I can easily make an exception for their performance cars. The Chevy SS is so easily overlooked, just like the Pontiac G8 was. It's an easy car to recommend, even if the platform it's on is a bit dated at this point. The Cadillac ATS is another solid option. I think I was talking to b_b about that car the other week.
Car insurance pays a high percentage of the premium as claims, not commissions / profit / etc., so they are more likely than, say, title insurance, to really dig down and find the factors that influence payouts. It's still hard to believe that a DUI outweighs the risk aversion that presumably produces a perfect credit score. I'm sure the actuaries know what they are doing.