Hi George,
I've been following with interest, and amusement, the SUV thread.
Actually in most groups some of the most impassioned--and best--posts
are completely off-topic!
Your exchange with Denton displays some valid points from each. The
real reason that large SUV's are charged increasingly higher rates is
because they constitute a heightened risk of injury, mostly to occupants
of smaller vehicles. It's really a liability issue. The fact is that
insurance companies are mostly concerned about large civil payouts to
those people injured by their policyholders. If my Chevy pickup hits
someone, my insurance company assumes--correctly--that I am more likely
to incur a large payout to those I injure, and charges me accordingly.
The issue of "blame" is secondary------but stiil, if I am at fault and
not injured, a jury might award a much, much larger sum to my victim
than if I had also been hurt, perhaps in a smaller car. When the
insurance guy gives me a quote on my truck, in the back of his
mind...actually in the front of it...is courtroom scene with me in a
coat and tie, and the other guy in a wheelchair. So be it.
The real reason to have a large vehicle is to stay alive, not to save
insurance money. Also, where you live plays an even greater role than
what you drive. If you live in a state with a track record of small
damage awards, as I do in Vermont, then you will pay a much smaller
premium based on that reduced risk. That's the only reason I can afford
a commercial policy on my pickup. It's $800. here, but in Massachusetts
the same policy would be $2500!
Morgan Sparks
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