MOS95B t1_jae7caf wrote on February 28, 2023 at 8:12 PM

Insurance companies are a "for profit" business. As their alleged costs to cover customer expenses go up, the rates we pay to be covered also go up. Just because you or someone you know hasn't had any claims, there are probably hundreds per day (or more) that do. With the costs of materials and labor going up, the have to charge us more to cover repairs and losses for all of their clients

That's the official/legal explanation anyway. In reality, it's more along the lines of we have to pay what they charge, or we're not allowed to drive. And since many, many of us need to drive in order to get by, they will charge what the market can bear

stairway2evan t1_jaexfyk wrote on February 28, 2023 at 11:05 PM

For what it's worth, insurance companies actually are charging a "fair" price, in the sense that most years, the amount that they take in in premium and the amount they pay in claims work out to be nearly even. They're not doing that out of the goodness of their heart - they're doing it because it maximizes their market share; if they don't set those rates, another company will, and they'll be priced out. The profit margins on "additional" coverages like comprehensive and collision tend to be a bit higher, but on basic liability and property, they're actually aiming to break even, or as close as possible. That ensures the biggest market share from people who want to pay their cheap rate, without too much risk of losing more than they bring in.

They make their money primarily just on investing that premium while they have it, along with some added income from fees that they charge outside of normal premium. Really, the only type of insurance that usually doesn't follow that pattern is whole life - they actually nearly always pay out more in claims than they take in premium, but that's balanced out by the fact that they get to hold on to the money for so long, they make back a much better investment profit anyways.