Insurance Problems

[WarrenG]

Originally Posted by Slick61

you obviously haven't dealt with Kalifornia DMV before...

The last thing we need is more governmental regulation/intervention. However good the intent may be going in... the outcome would most likely be grotesquely mutilated into some horrid piece of legislation that causes more misery than it ever hoped to prevent. Too much influence from special interest groups & the ever-present lunatic fringe. If excessive claims become a major issue, the market/industry will correct that on its own. I say let's help the industry find a solution... not look to the government to do it.

two words... PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY!!!

Kalifornia already requires insurance before they will allow you to register a vehicle there (unless of course you are here illegally!). All we really need from the state is to enforce the current law.

[Slick61]

Originally Posted by WarrenG

Kalifornia already requires insurance before they will allow you to register a vehicle there (unless of course you are here illegally!). All we really need from the state is to enforce the current law.

We weren't discussing the insurance requirement... we were discussing the DMV mandating driving courses as part of Cobra ownership...

[STL Mark]

Let's do some internal polling here - Can somebody start a poll?

Have you ever filed an insurance claim on your Cobra?
Have you ever wrecked your Cobra?
Was it your fault? (be honest)
Somebody else's fault?
Deer's fault?
Car accident?
Theft or Fire?
Other?

I am really interested to see how many members/owners here have actually filed claims (Cobra Related Only) and how they actually compare to other groups of autos (and owners).

So can somebody make a poll?

[WarrenG]

Originally Posted by Slick61

We weren't discussing the insurance requirement... we were discussing the DMV mandating driving courses as part of Cobra ownership...

That's right, and I was disagreeing with that idea. I prefer to leave it to the insurance companies to require the training prior to granting insurance coverage.

[ByronRACE]

There are no additional training requirements for street cars as the performance level of the vehicle increases and NO performance driving training requirements for driving cars in the US, period. Nobody is ever tested on collision avoidance, braking, handling, etc. Hell, in CA they don't even do a safety inspection on most vehicles. If you have a heartbeat, you can drive...even if you can't read english street signs. No problem we provide the manual in any language you like. Even braille.

Personally, I think there should be better controls. In fact, I think the training and certification process should be done with the vehicle in question.

If a little old 90yr old lady driving her galaxy 500 can't swerve in time to miss that kid on the bike, sorry, but get her off the road! If dude in the Cobra is seeing deer on every turn, get him off the road!

I think people should be certified in the vehicles they drive. Or, at the very least for a "performance class" of vehicle they are qualified to drive. This would keep new drivers in low performance cars until they learn how to drive them. I'd be more than happy to run my Cobra through a car handling course under the scrutiny of a driving instructor in order demonstrate my ability to control the car and renew my certificate. Why is that so hard?

Yeah, it'd be an hour of inconvenience every couple of years, but that's a lot less inconvenient than driving in a sea of people that might do anything at any given time simply because they don't know any better. Frankly, I'm tired of it.

Or, if you can't do that...how about this...

Offer an attractive insurance premium for people that have passed a certification process for driving competency and car control, and a safety inspection on the vehicle you are insuring. Then, raise your rates on all the rest. I'll be more than happy to move my policy over from State Farm in support of an attractive program like that.