In case you are wondering why the auto insurance companies are stepping up with reduced premiums, there’s more than meets the eye here.
There was this strange mystery during the financial crisis that I couldn’t figure out for years. Why had I seen so many cars around my neighborhood parked in their driveways with their plates missing?
It finally came to me later: the owners canceled their insurance outright to save money, which means turning in the plates, which also means you can’t park in the street. They all did without the luxury of a second vehicle for weekday use.
This is in front of houses where the property taxes alone are over $1000 a month, never mind the mortgage. That’s how desperate things were.
The reduction in premiums is a shrewd marketing defense against outright policy cancellation, and although some range as high as 25 percent less, the insurance companies, with their actuarial skills in risk and probability analysis, are probably coming out ahead here.
In the meantime, we can all admire our expensive dust collectors. Stay safe.
Donald Davret
Roslyn
