Rock,
I read the post a few times. Chop shops were proliferated long before insurance companies did not always pay for new parts. Without going into extended detail, there are a few reasons insurance companies don't always pay for new parts. Dishonest body shops (they aren't all dishonest, but many are) and people like Lee Iococa. Insurance companies still do pay for new parts, but not under all circumstances. It depends on the cars age, condition, etc... Insurance companies owe to put you back in the condition you were in prior to the loss,
not provide you with all new stuff.
As for the insurance fraud thing, what I asked was if you thought fraud didn't raise your rates...not if you thought it didn't exist. They don't use it to justify increases, it is a reality. I have no idea of your personal experiences, but I can tell you for an absolute gauranteed fact that insurance companies spend millions of dollars and devote tremendous resources to fighting fraud. Either that, or I spend 45-50 hours a week doing nothing.
It's a much more complicated and difficult issue than it seems on the surface. It's not as easy as having someone say..."That person is commiting fraud" and denying their claim and/or locking them up. There are laws insurance companies must follow, lawyers out to get them at every turn, juries who will be overly generous to a plaintiff, even on a questionable claim.
Don't take it as a personal attack, but the myths about auto insurance companies are so inaccurate it's a shame. Are they perfect? Of course not (they don't pay me enough for one...
), but it isn't what people think.
Steve
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