Free Republic

Being proved right isn't always fun. Just weeks after my warning in the March issue that our modern high-tech cars are tracking us and sharing data with manufacturers, cops, and parties unknown, came a report of soaring auto insurance premiums because of snitching vehicles. The consequences get worse from there. Fortunately, there are ways to keep your snoopy ride from contacting the mothership. Your Driving History May Be Transmitted and Stored "Car companies are collecting information directly from internet-connected vehicles for use by the insurance industry," Kashmir Hill reported this month for The New York Times. "Sometimes this is happening...

If you pay for car insurance, you’ve probably noticed that rates are really high lately. You’re not alone. Last week’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) report — the government’s method for tracking what people are paying for goods and services and how that’s changing over time — noted that the price of car insurance was up more than 20 percent over the same time last year. What’s particularly painful is that rates were already rising: CPI reports have shown that, overall, car insurance rates are up more than 38 percent since January 2020. What’s going on? The big insurance companies have...

A San Diego family has learned the hard way why it’s important to know every detail about your car insurance and to keep it updated. Sergio Preciado got in a car accident back in July of 2022 when he was exiting Interstate 805. He admits it was his fault, adding that nobody was injured in the crash.

'When they're damaged, the cost of repair is higher,' she said. Since electric cars have fewer components, when one does fail its more expensive to replace. That means insurers may prefer writing off a car over repairing it. Unlike in the past when a windshield could be replaced with relative ease, the sensors that go into them now mean traditionally simple repairs have become longwinded and expensive. That also means they can take a while, leaving the insurance company responsible for renting a replacement car for the customer for even longer periods. 'If an electric vehicle is involved in a...

Former President Donald Trump will call on Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) to “get back” to Florida and “do the job he was elected to do,” during his keynote address at the Turning Point Action Conference in West Palm Beach, Florida, according to prepared remarks obtained by Breitbart News.“It is time for Ron DeSanctus to get back here and do the job he was elected to do—be the Governor of FLORIDA,” Trump’s prepared remarks say. “He’s got to get home and take care of business.”Trump will urge DeSantis to return to Florida to address the home and car insurance crisis...

He says he saved almost $1,100 He wanted a brand new car — a Chevrolet Cruze with all the trimmings. As a man in his early 20s, he knew his insurance costs would be high. So he became a woman, though only on paper. "I have taken advantage of a loophole," said the man — we're calling him David — who spoke on the condition that his identity be kept confidential because of the potential repercussions. 'Getting screwed' David, who lives in Alberta, says he identifies as a male. But his government-issued identification tells a different story. It started when...

With Senate Bill 248 the Michigan Legislature is attempting to address a number of problems with the auto insurance market in the state. Michigan’s no-fault system creates misaligned incentives, resulting in auto insurance rates that are among the highest in the nation. There is also a larger question of why we treat severe injuries from car accidents differently than we treat the similar injuries from other types of accidents. The unlimited personal injury protection provision in the current no-fault system creates an incentive to provide very expensive care, rather than provide affordable and effective treatment aimed at quickly restoring the...

The debate is going hot and heavy on Obamacare right now. This grand Democrat scheme is going to be a disaster … and the Democrats know it. The reality, though, is that it was designed to be a disaster. This coming health care debacle is no accident. It’s all part of a plan. The Democrats, you see, wanted complete, total and absolute control over your health care. Their true dream was something they have maneuvered the media into calling a “single-payer” plan. Now doesn’t that sound oh so benign? Single-payer. How nice. The problem, though, is that the single-payer is...

GEICO Insurance Cultural Marxist Hypocrisy – Gun Manufacturer Auto Policy Cancelled Because He Is In Firearm Business…. Because he makes gun parts for a living this policy holder received a letter from GEICO cancelling his auto insurance. The letter says his auto insurance is being cancelled because he owns a company that manufactures parts for firearms:(fyi, to insure the authenticity I have submitted a copy along with a request for verification to GEICO via email – we’ll see their response)“The reason for cancellation is your vehicle [...] does not meet our underwriting guidelines because it is used in conjunction with a...

Prop 30: Your Wallet or Your Kids. NO Either approve $36 billion in higher sales and income taxes or else Gov. Brown threatens to shoot the schools. Don't worry, the income taxes are only on the "very wealthy," but it turns out the "very wealthy" include many small businesses filing under sub-chapter S, meaning lower wages, higher prices and fewer jobs. California already has one of the highest overall tax burdens in the country and yet has just approved a budget to spend $8 billion dollars more than it's taking in. Moral of the story: it's the spending stupid. Prop...

Progressive chairman known for promoting drugs, funding ACLU attacks on religion. Everyone has seen the commercials with the ditzy brunette touting the lowest rates on auto insurance.The company’s name is Progressive. This company lives up to its name – the same way the far left clings to the term “progressive.” How so? Word started to leak out earlier this year, when Forbes reported that the “left-leaning billionaire Peter Lewis,” Progressive’s chairman, got involved in the 2012 election with a $200,000 donation to American Bridge 21st Century, a “liberal upper PAC founded by David Brock of Fox News watchdog Media Matters...

<p>I’ve been sending out some impertinent tweets about Progressive Insurance lately, but I haven’t explained how they pissed me off. So I will do that here as succinctly as possible. There’s a general understanding that says, “insurance companies— oh they’re awful,” but since Progressive turned their shit hose on my late sister and my parents, I’ve learned some things that really surprised me.</p>

November 2012 Statewide Ballot Measures Proposition 30 Initiative Constitutional Amendment 1578. (12-0009) - Final Random Sample Update - 06/20/12 Temporary Taxes to Fund Education. Guaranteed Local Public Safety Funding. Initiative Constitutional Amendment. Qualified: 06/20/12 Proponent: Thomas A. Willis c/o Karen Getman (510) 346-6200 Increases personal income tax on annual earnings over $250,000 for seven years. Increases sales and use tax by ¼ cent for four years. Allocates temporary tax revenues 89 percent to K-12 schools and 11 percent to community colleges. Bars use of funds for administrative costs, but provides local school governing boards discretion to decide, in open meetings...

Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA) argued on C-SPAN last week that the upcoming review of ObamaCare by the Supreme Court won't overturn the law, because ObamaCare's mandate is just like those imposed by states on auto insurance. CNS News' Eric Scheiner imagines the reverse: what would auto insurance look like if it were handled like ObamaCare? Only fans of Monty Python could conceive of the result:CLICK ABOVE LINK FOR THE VIDEO During a March 8th interview on C-Span Rep. Jackie Speier (D- Calif.) was discussing the upcoming Supreme Court date focused on Obamacare.When asked what would happen if part, or all...

Mercury Insurance Group, based in Los Angeles, confirmed today that 165 people were laid off in its claims division as well as some administrative staff. A company spokesman said some of the jobs were in Brea, but he could not immediately confirm how many.

Received a letter in the mail from my auto insurance agent wanting to know how many miles are on the car now and how many miles I plan on driving over the next year. Is this required now as I have never received one of these letters????

You’ve likely heard it. “If the government can mandate auto insurance, then why do you say it cannot mandate health insurance?”There are at least four major differences (and be sure to read number 4, because it is the most critical):First: The FEDERAL government does not mandate auto insurance. States mandate it. And three states have chosen not to do so. Auto insurance, like health insurance, is a state issue.Second: The mandate for ownership of auto insurance only covers what the driver might do to someone else. It is liability insurance, not collision, comprehensive, glass, or preventive maintenance. To be like...

What would happen if government-run automobile insurance became a reality as the result of legislation similar to that calling for government-run health care?

California drivers could be offered a new -- and often cheaper -- kind of car insurance next year under a voluntary pay-as-you-drive plan proposed Wednesday by Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner. His plan would base annual rates partly on the exact number of miles driven and would allow people to pay less if they drive less. Poizner issued proposed regulations spelling out the plan, and the state's insurers Wednesday were enthusiastic about the idea but wanted to see more details. Two out of three households in the state could save an average of $276 per vehicle, and lower-income people, who generally...

SACRAMENTO -- An alliance of insurance companies and environmentalists wants to bring a new kind of mileage-based auto insurance to California and charge motorists only for the number of miles actually driven. Called pay as you drive, the option is available from a few insurers in 34 states -- but not California -- as well as Canada, Japan and Europe. One company, GMAC Insurance Group, says its customers -- whose mileage is tracked by General Motors Corp.'s OnStar system -- have reduced the premiums they pay by 13% to 54%. And California drivers could expect to get similar savings if...