An interesting attempt at justifying the lies and borderline fraud perpetrated by the insurance industry AS A GROUP.
I currently drive a very good condition ‘97 Lincoln that I paid a whopping $900 for 10 years ago. I have not made an insurance claim in over 20 years, and my last ticket was around 6 years ago.
My insurance rate for pleasure use only / under 7000 miles/year has never dropped below $800/year. Oh, and that is absolute barest minimum coverage. No collision, no comprehensive, just pl and pd.
A guy backed into me in a parking lot, and the insurance company decided we were both half at fault, even though I was parked. (Same insurance company btw).
The only thing worse than insurance companies is not having insurance.
There was no attempt to justify anything. I worked on both sides of the industry (shop and insurance company) for about 40 years and have no particular affinity for either side (although I have more friends on the shop side). Those are simply the factors that go into the decision making process (and of course the insurance company will generally take the path that has the net lowest cost to them).
Insurance premiums are not a savings plan - you’re buying a disposable (albeit intangible) commodity that gets used up every day until the policy expires, and you start over again. Rates are determined by not only your loss history but the loss history of whatever group the insurance company groups you in (city, state, etc.) as well your age, number of vehicles insured (e.g., house), miles driven, etc. Increases in repair costs in your area can also impact rates. They’re not angels by any means, but they - like every business, including the repair side of the industry - are in business to make a profit.
In my experience, fraud is no more common in the insurance business that it is in the repair business. There’s the good, the bad, and the ugly in both...and both are complex businesses that have many factors not that well understood by the average vehicle owner.
BTW, it’s usually not a good bet to pay more (or even close) in annual premium than a vehicle’s actual cash value.
Correction: I re-read your comment and see that you only have PL & PD coverage...in which case, the kind of vehicle you drive and its value would by and large have little (if any) affect on those premiums.