tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post8889018689606099121..comments2024-03-15T05:45:01.402-05:00Comments on Grits for Breakfast: 1 in 4 Texas drivers lack insurance: Using criminal penalties to require coverage simply doesn't workGritsforbreakfasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10152152869466958902noreply@blogger.comBlogger38125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-49779335849195979282011-08-25T12:20:18.264-05:002011-08-25T12:20:18.264-05:00Has driving become a right? It is a privledge. Why...Has driving become a right? It is a privledge. Why not use the road tax to buy everyone a car? BECAUSE THAT IS STUPID! If you can not afford, or are not responcible enough to get insurance, then you do not need to be driving!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-40975004946191511212010-04-07T06:40:10.091-05:002010-04-07T06:40:10.091-05:00I'm 54 with a driving record near perfect- 2-t...I'm 54 with a driving record near perfect- 2-ten miles over speed tickets in desert outside vanhorn when my speedometer was broken! and that years ago! I'm a great, good driver! That obeys the law- until this situation with having my drivers liscense suspended because of no insurence because my drivers liscence is suspended.<br /><br /><br /> I am a very considerete person that feels utter despair.<br /> My liscense is suspened so I can't buy insurence, I can't inspect the car or renew tags. <br /> I can't figure out what to do- apprently I have a ticket from over a year ago for no- insurence because my liscence was suspended so they canceled my insurence because my liscence was suspended. <br /> But a year ago- I took that ticket, got a number, sent cash to? I Don't know who or why but was told to by the court cashier-sent cash<br />over the phone by moneygram.<br />That seemed to fix it-but when I tried to renew my insurence this year- it seems my insurence has been canceled because my lisense was suspended because??? no insurence?<br /><br /> I can only think it was some 4 years ago-my car was broken by my having a tune up that was lacking badly and a tranmission repair company badly chosen. I had no car so- no insurence briefly- I had already, just called and begun paperwork for the car I was test driving, one I wanted to buy. A car that greedy seller reniged, but the car was insured for customers.<br /> I went to the court and understood it to be taken care of. I don't know. I have always had insurence EXCEPT perhaps for That once I've just mentioned when my Buick was mishandled by a mechenic and I decided to let him keep it.<br /> Mechanics used to be great in Dallas, now so large they don't seem to care about repeat business, and employees of chain shops may not have pride in work - if the company doesn't either.<br /> I have no money- no job- was a hopeful writer- a great mother- a good neighbor- a good artist- a helpfull volunteer-room mother, volunteer teaching children swimming, painting, crafts, etc. <br /> My childs at my ex's-. Ilegaly these last three months or more,I've driven when she needed me to get her from school- or shop after dark when no one can see my out of date tags.<br /> Lovely for her if I GO TO JAIL!<br />My 84 year old mother would love for me to visit- she can't understand, nor can I.<br /> I can't go anywhere- even home- I'D HAVE TO DRIVE. Im homeless. My mother sends my ex money so I can stay there sometimes. A fugitive ! from the law.<br /> I have done nothing wrong except underestimate the viscious heartless unthinking legislators .<br />I'm a 5th generation Texan, and I feel so abused by the many outrages I don't think I can, speak, write, live. <br /> I am a citizen- not a consumer first ! I want a citizens protection agency!<br /> So- I'll say this;throw me in jail- throw me in prision!~ But the names of each person that allows or perpretrates these outrages is going to get it back, their portait in a rogues gallery.<br /><br />There is going to be one hell of a backlash with this many people, and their familes mistreated, robbed, ill- served.<br /><br />And they will be replaced with concerned officials that care. Just expose the creeps for what they are- by electing, and hireing human beings with a brain<br />they feel responsible enough to use.<br />The way things are its like we are attacking ourselves as a state, as a nation.<br /> I'll not edit this , but send it on. I've thought of writing this for many weeks but--- too rattled and after all I'm a fugitive from justice!<br /> Thank you Grits for Breakfast! You make me feel hopeful!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-36648282992124785452010-01-23T01:16:30.011-06:002010-01-23T01:16:30.011-06:00A liability insurance policy is not intended to pr...A liability insurance policy is not intended to provide policyholders a means to shift to the insurer their separate, voluntarily undertaken contractual obligations. Private company D&O insurance policies generally embody this principle in a separate exclusionary provision. However, the wording of the exclusionary clause can substantially affect the scope of coverage otherwise available under the policy. In particular, the expansive reading given certain exclusionary language in recent cases suggests that a more narrowly constructed exclusion would more appropriately address the concern that the provision was originally intended to address.<br /><br />Please visit it at link::<a href="http://www.allinsurancebooks.com/insurance-contract-form/" rel="nofollow"> insurance contract form </a>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-57590811548854553462008-10-17T16:51:00.000-05:002008-10-17T16:51:00.000-05:00JDG, you're 100% wrong about pay at the pump "eli...JDG, you're 100% wrong about pay at the pump "eliminating the ability of the marketplace to remove unsafe drivers from the road by refusing to cover them."<BR/><BR/>The whole point is that right now, in the status quo, when people don't have insurance, they still drive. And since 1 in 4 Texas adults have no insurance, if they can't drive it would decimate the workforce and the economy. You may wish that people who can't afford insurance won't get on the road, but as my father is fond of saying, if wishes were horses, beggars would ride.Gritsforbreakfasthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10152152869466958902noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-7913054716468587652008-10-17T14:36:00.000-05:002008-10-17T14:36:00.000-05:00I fail to see how requiring drivers to have insura...I fail to see how requiring drivers to have insurance is an unjust imposition. Anyone who drives without it deserves arrest. Texas has many laws and law enforcement practices I see as wrong, but this is not one of them.<BR/><BR/>Pay-at-the-pump shares the same problem as assigned-risk and no-fault insurance plans: it covers everybody, thus eliminating the ability of the marketplace to remove unsafe drivers from the road by refusing to cover them.<BR/><BR/>*Health* insurance that covers everybody may make sense, because it's probably not your fault if you're a high risk. But if you're a high risk *driver*, it *is* your fault and you should not be driving.jdgalthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13236899779621301830noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-78832793782785559582008-08-06T18:55:00.000-05:002008-08-06T18:55:00.000-05:00While I do like the idea of no fault insurance I h...While I do like the idea of no fault insurance I have to ask some of the commentors this. Why do we have to assume that all uninsured drivers can't afford it? <BR/><BR/>Granted they're not rolling in the cash, but I have stopped many drivers with no insurance who make other choices with the money they have available. Choices like 20 inch rims, booze, I Phones, bling-bling, etc. For a lot of folks it's just about priorities, not responsibilities.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-18444229799432276382008-08-06T16:03:00.000-05:002008-08-06T16:03:00.000-05:00First: Seal the Border or at least make some real ...First: Seal the Border or at least make some real effort to do so.<BR/><BR/>Second: Rescind any State laws requiring insurance and let the drivers do it, or not, at their choice.<BR/><BR/> It's never going to be perfect, and distorting the market and enabling a huge state bureacracy only makes everything worse...and it still doesn't work.<BR/><BR/> We just drove 2600 miles to Ohio and back. We didn't see one accident. People generally drive with their own self-interest in mind.<BR/><BR/> I'm not sure that dropping the state drivers license requirement wouldn't be a bad idea. Folks used to drive without them- most state license bureacracies date from after WWII. We seemed to do well without them and are doing pretty well now. Just let the people go.Robert Langhamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16497658569363397644noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-88288694310217533752008-08-06T11:26:00.000-05:002008-08-06T11:26:00.000-05:00Sometime ago, I believe in the ‘60s, somebody came...<I>Sometime ago, I believe in the ‘60s, somebody came up with the bright idea that the purpose of liability insurance should be to protect the injured third party rather than to protect the owner of the insurance policy.</I><BR/><BR/>Is it any wonder that this happened about the same time that the white people all moved out to the suburbs and the automobile changed from a luxury to a necessity?!? An automobile is no longer a luxury for the people who vote, pay the taxes, and keep the economy moving. Maybe this will change now that we have expensive gasoline and shiny new highrise condos being built in downtown.<BR/><BR/><BR/>/yeah that sounds bad<BR/>//it is bad<BR/>///it might be trueAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-28646292789627933622008-08-06T10:48:00.000-05:002008-08-06T10:48:00.000-05:00At some point the idea of automobile liability ins...At some point the idea of automobile liability insurance got turned upside down.<BR/><BR/>When the insurance companies first started selling automobile liability insurance the insurance was intended to protect the insured person from being required to pay, out of his own pocket, damages owed to an injured third party. Damages owed by the insured person to another party who was injured, physically or financially, by the insured person’s negligence under certain circumstances, contractually agreed to within the insurance contract, would be paid by the insurance company.<BR/><BR/>The insured person was wagering a certain sum (premium) that, within the time period covered by the insurance contract (policy), he was going to negligently injure a third party. The insurance company was wagering that he wouldn’t. And, both parties were hoping that the insured person wouldn’t need to rely upon the company to step up and pay, as a proxy, for the results of an act of negligence on the part of the insured person.. <BR/><BR/>The liability insurance contract was never intended to protect a third party, and only people with something to lose needed the assurance of liability insurance coverage. <BR/><BR/>The only time a liability insurance company was required by contract to pay a dime to a third party was in circumstances where the insured party was actually LEGALLY financially LIABLE to the third party. <BR/><BR/>If it was determined that the third party was injured, physically or financially, though his own negligent actions occurring concurrently with the negligent actions of the insured person, there was no liability on the part of the insured person and the injured third party did not have a valid claim foe damages against the insured person. In this instance the liability insurance company would not pay the third party, even if the insured person may have felt morally obligated.<BR/><BR/>Sometime ago, I believe in the ‘60s, somebody came up with the bright idea that the purpose of liability insurance should be to protect the injured third party rather than to protect the owner of the insurance policy. Lawmakers jumped on the bandwagon. The Department of ?Public Safety? got into the mix. The supporters of the Nanny State got involved. Insurance premiums went out of sight. Dollar amount judgments soared.<BR/><BR/>And, here we are……..W W Woodwardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13326046112820327760noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-20928957671224417412008-08-06T10:17:00.000-05:002008-08-06T10:17:00.000-05:00You can't compare health insurance and auto insura...You can't compare health insurance and auto insurance, grits... health care should be a right, not a privilege (like driving). and you can't get health care in this country without insurance (a different, but still totally messed up issue)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-36051975755364652502008-08-06T08:51:00.000-05:002008-08-06T08:51:00.000-05:00Very interesting topic and comments. I find mysel...Very interesting topic and comments. I find myself agreeing wholly or in part with every single poster.<BR/><BR/>This whole "crisis" looks like another Hegelian "problem, reaction, solution" scenario to me.<BR/><BR/>I really do not believe that our top government rulers want people to have their own vehicles and to drive about freely. I believe the plan is to control every aspact of our lives including where we live and where and how we are allowed to travel.<BR/><BR/>I have heard many many reports that the DPS does not ticket illegal aliens for driving without a license and not having insurance. I bet the sample of drivers in the study contained a fairly high percentage that did not even have valid Texas drivers license. <BR/><BR/>I think the DPS is crooked. I think insurance companies are more crooked and rip-off in nature than the average person has a clue about. The thought of the government contracting some insurance to get all those premiums paid at the pump, of course, stinks too. Haven't we all had enough of this fascist "public / private partnership" scam?<BR/><BR/>Our secret rulers are busting our economy and our drivers out right now. Our national borders have been deliberately obliterated by the policies of our governemnt, and that means the end of national sovereinty, and that means the end of our Constitution and the rule of law.<BR/><BR/>I am not in favor of people without car insurance coverage being incarcerated, however, I am highly amendable to the idea of incarcerating the top crooks in all public and private entities of Texas.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-16054557960018503922008-08-06T03:21:00.000-05:002008-08-06T03:21:00.000-05:00I've been an insured driver all my adult life. My ...I've been an insured driver all my adult life. My car got stolen in 1992 and was recovered. My insurer, Allstate, has still not paid the claim. So, actually, I was never really insured, they defrauded me, they're getting away with an ongoing criminal enterprise, and the justice system doesn't give a rat's ass.<BR/><BR/>So explain to me why the government has a right to require me to pay the insurance company to pretend to insure me while actually stealing from me, and how this is supposed to benefit the greater good.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-22702809070643977372008-08-06T03:11:00.000-05:002008-08-06T03:11:00.000-05:00The reason we have insurance requirements for driv...The reason we have insurance requirements for driving is because insurance companies wanted the government to force people to buy insurance.<BR/><BR/>The reason we have insurance requirements for mortgages is because mortgage companies wanted to stick homebuyers with their risks. <BR/><BR/>Think about how many freedoms we have that don't require insurance, and then try to justify forcing people to buy insurance.<BR/><BR/>Imagine if car insurance as as voluntary as health insurance. Those who could not pay would be uninsured. Those who could pay would pay a lot more for the services they enjoy, without putting a burden on the people who will never enjoy those services.<BR/><BR/>It would be better for yacht owners if every one of our 300 million people paid into yacht insurance, but it would really screw the people who can't afford boats.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-19400100502444141592008-08-05T22:54:00.000-05:002008-08-05T22:54:00.000-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.Monkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03005208413859626073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-16991340184904757172008-08-05T21:57:00.000-05:002008-08-05T21:57:00.000-05:00Anon at 10:41 stated that, "If you drive without i...Anon at 10:41 stated that, "If you drive without insurance, you lose your car. Period. No second chances."<BR/><BR/>Sorry but that doesn't work either, even if the penalty/fine fits the violation.<BR/><BR/>What happens in jurisdictions where autos are seized is that those who can't afford insurance dump the safe car and buy junkers that, if seized, are a minor financial loss. So instead of driving a reasonably safe auto of newer vintage, they end up driving former "rent a wrecks" that are a hazard on the road by their very presence.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-7312568550645855932008-08-05T16:41:00.000-05:002008-08-05T16:41:00.000-05:00Correct me if I'm wrong:Liability insurance -Bodil...Correct me if I'm wrong:<BR/><BR/>Liability insurance -<BR/><BR/>Bodily Injury - BI<BR/>covers medical expenses of anyone you hurt.<BR/><BR/>Property Damage - PD<BR/>Covers property damage of others you cause<BR/><BR/>Uninsured/Undersinsured Motorist - UM<BR/>Covers your medical expenses only if someone else is at fault and has no liability insurance.<BR/><BR/>Colision<BR/>Covers your property if you are at fault or if the person that causes the accident has no insurance<BR/><BR/>Comprehensive - Comp<BR/>Covers fire, theft and other damage events when your car is not moving.<BR/><BR/>The minimum insurance requirement in Texas is for BI, PD and UM. Comp and Collision are optional.<BR/><BR/>So - if you have insurance, you are covered. The problem is that if the person at fault has no insurance or money; your insurance has to pay for all the costs, both medical and property damage.<BR/><BR/>The expensive fines and criminal punishiment are because the insurance system is costly to the insured and the insurance companies.<BR/><BR/>The solution is as Grits suggests, spread the cost to all drivers and reduce the overall cost. Just think of the Advertising dollars to be saved and you get the idea.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-45693039611002007922008-08-05T16:30:00.000-05:002008-08-05T16:30:00.000-05:00Let's draft grits for governor!Your solution is mu...Let's draft grits for governor!<BR/><BR/>Your solution is much better than incarcerating people for driving without insurance.<BR/><BR/>However, you're right, those people with good jobs and lots of money will say, "well, I've got insurance, why shouldn't THOSE people."Ron in Houstonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02496306119920809104noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-22371266874527372032008-08-05T16:17:00.000-05:002008-08-05T16:17:00.000-05:00It's always the same question. Should we force peo...It's always the same question. Should we force people to be insured? Should we enter this area of personal liberty of choosing the risk one wants to bear? If not, do we have mechanisms to force the guilty one to pay the damage? As a <A HREF="http://lsminsurance.ca" REL="nofollow">Toronto life insurance broker</A> I believe in man's own responsibility, but it have to be backed by well working law system!<BR/>LorneAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-46087019591474098032008-08-05T15:03:00.000-05:002008-08-05T15:03:00.000-05:00[...]some people simply don't need insurance. That...<I>[...]some people simply don't need insurance. That's why they don't buy it. They have no assets to lose and their car isn't worth paying insurance on.</I><BR/><BR/>Those people don't deserve to drive. Their cars should be forfeit. The insurance is to pay for the damage they do to other people's property.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-84013248954749085482008-08-05T14:55:00.000-05:002008-08-05T14:55:00.000-05:001:33 what's the difference in terms of money leavi...<I>1:33 what's the difference in terms of money leaving your bank account between paying for insurance at the pump and paying premiums to an insurance agent?</I><BR/><BR/>The insurance lobby.<BR/><BR/>Let's not forget that no-fault will bankrupt the lawyers, too, so even though no-fault has been buzzing around for years it'll likely never happen.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-79225622126288627092008-08-05T14:03:00.000-05:002008-08-05T14:03:00.000-05:00Soronel is exactly right. The likelihood of gettin...Soronel is exactly right. The likelihood of getting stopped, as far as I can tell from the pilot description, is not random: thus, only those who commit some sort of infraction are pulled over, which is probably related to the probability of not having insurance. All of the headlines citing the results of this pilot program are exceedingly misleading and should be qualified accordingly. <BR/><BR/>Also, by expanding the pool to include these high risk drivers (presumably, and you seem to endorse this assumption according to your response to Soronel), wouldn't this increase the riskiness of the risk pool, since this is not a random cross-section of responsible drivers? Won't this, then, boost the cost of insurance? Low risk drivers, from an actuarial perspective, subsidize higher risk drivers (same goes for health insurance), but by increasing the proportion of high risk drivers, this should push up costs for everyone, right? <BR/><BR/>Conversely, as the last poster glancingly suggests, might not having insurance reduce moral hazard, leading to less imprudent driving behavior?<BR/><BR/>Also, if uninsured drivers are such a threat, why are UM coverages so stunningly inexpensive?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-84265199173364788802008-08-05T13:52:00.000-05:002008-08-05T13:52:00.000-05:00I don't disagree with you often Grits, but this is...I don't disagree with you often Grits, but this is one instance. I attended some of the hearings that led to the current law and came away thinking that some people simply don't need insurance. That's why they don't buy it. They have no assets to lose and their car isn't worth paying insurance on. I don't see any real net benefit to society by requiring such people to carry insurance. <BR/><BR/>The only people who benefit from the mandatory auto insurance scheme are wealthier people who like to have someone else's insurance to collect against, and insurance companies. <BR/><BR/>Drivers can already limit any risk they face by purchasing uninsured motorist coverage on their existing policies. So if you can take care of the problem yourself, why bother to set up an entire enforcement regime that attempts to force others - who have no other need for insurance - to waste money on insurance?Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09973107633568677445noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-85115329029347879182008-08-05T13:38:00.000-05:002008-08-05T13:38:00.000-05:001:33 what's the difference in terms of money leavi...1:33 what's the difference in terms of money leaving your bank account between paying for insurance at the pump and paying premiums to an insurance agent?Gritsforbreakfasthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10152152869466958902noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-27207534071114878242008-08-05T13:33:00.000-05:002008-08-05T13:33:00.000-05:00Since your so willing to pay more taxes at the gas...Since your so willing to pay more taxes at the gas pump, I'll send you my future tax bills.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-81723678349192107552008-08-05T13:16:00.000-05:002008-08-05T13:16:00.000-05:00"I would not be surprised if those without insuran...<I> "I would not be surprised if those without insurance also tend to commit more driving infractions than a random sample of all drivers would produce"</I><BR/><BR/>True. Because poor people are also bad drivers.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com