11 Feb 2013

Insurance premiums—we’re all to blame

My somewhat bemused expression in this decidedly unflattering photo goes some way to convey how vexed I’m feeling right now.

My insurance renewal notice arrived today—a f**king ridiculous £707... 30% more than last year, despite having the maximum number of years of no claims bonus, no new insurance claims, and no traffic violations.

True, if I rode a 1,000cc Honda or Kawasaki sportbike my insurance would be around £1,500, but I don’t, so that is just an irrelevant number. I ride a sensible bike in a sensible manner and live in a decent neighbourhood in a good part of London. I’ve demonstrated this to my insurance company—proving that I am now a lower risk than I was last year because I have yet another year of no claims.

Doing some digging on Google, it seems the underwriters have increased premiums because, among other things, the UK has recently developed a toxic culture of rampant personal injury claims. You can’t go more than 10 minutes during daytime television without being assaulted by adverts for the sleaziest bottom-feeders of all—the no-win-no-fee lawyers. These adverts didn’t exist only a few years ago.

Perhaps this is due to the recession forcing the growing number of people desperate for funds to sue others for their misfortunes instead of sucking it up and getting on with life. Hardly anyone wants to take responsibility for their actions anymore. Increasingly, the attitude is that if someone jaywalks without looking and gets knocked to the floor by a car, it MUST be the driver’s fault for not stopping. Look where this behaviour has got the States—while I have much love and respect for my American friends, the country does have a culture that overwhelmingly reeks of paranoia, suspicion and guns. Britain is heading in the same direction.

I’m not lashing out at legitimate people making non-trivial claims, but it seems there is a growing number of people who only think about how to find yet another way to line their pockets with funds the easiest way possible instead of getting off their ever-expanding arses and finding a job to replace the one at which they were made redundant. The no-win-no-fee lawyers don’t advertise during work hours without good reason.

And the people whinging for equality certainly got theirs recently when the EU stepped in last December and forced UK insurers to raise young women’s premiums in line with young mens’ rates despite statistically being a far lower insurance risk.

I’ve never been one for equality—we are all individuals with countless differences and unique talents/skills, so equality is a concept set to fail from the start. What happened to celebrating our differences instead of the things that make us part of a herd? I am, however, one for track records and precedents—behave well and be rewarded... behave badly and suffer the consequences.

The last time I was fined for breaking the law was in 1997. While I was annoyed about being stopped for speeding in a section of highway in the back of beyond, I had no one to blame but myself.

Fast-forward 16 years and in insurance terms, I am considered a desirable candidate due to my track record—one which I have worked hard to maintain. Yet I’m still being slapped by a 30% premium increase to subsidise other people’s bad behaviour.

Something is not right with that scenario. Until people stop abusing the insurance companies via the legal system, and until the insurance companies start to REALLY take into account individual track records when calculating premiums there will be no end in sight for year-on-year premium increases.

Well, until the bubble bursts when average people can no longer afford insurance and are forced to sell their motors—that’s when the whole situation will spiral out of control with insurance companies going bust and landing everyone in a huge steaming pile of shite.

It’s late and I’ve said enough.