Canadian Insurance company profits up 673%

[Argo]

Originally posted by: Mwilding

Originally posted by: Wuffsunie

Originally posted by: Mwilding

Originally posted by: Argo
I think all companies selling required services (insurance, utilities) should be regulated to the point where their profit margins are frozen. A company shouldn't be allowed to have profit margins higher than 25 percent.

Based on what? That's just idiotic.

Based on the fact that since it's required you have it, they can charge anything they want. Basically it's profiteering; they have something you're required to have if you drive, most of us are required to drive, and thus they go about taking as large a piece of the pie as they can. I mean, it's not like there's an alternative that's legal.

While it could be argued you could get away without utilities (in some locations with proper equipment) if you have car you're basically stuck trying to find the lowest rate so you can have that and not get your a$$ thrown in the can if you ever get pulled over. They know you need them and so extort as much as they damn well can. And it's hardly like they're providing real services to most of their customers as well, considering what one has to go through to try and get any money from them if an accident has occured -- after which they'll just jack the rates to recoup what they paid out (and then some).

Really, car insurance is just mandated theft at this point.

If there is so much profiteering going on, then more companies will get into the racket and the profit margins will go down and the consumer will benefit.

The reason utilities are regulated is that society does not benefit from every company running a separate power grid through town. One is enough.

It's not as easy to enter insurance market - yet, a lot of companies are trying. Every get those annoying phone calls from your credit card co, your banks, etc, offering to sell you car insurance?

 

[Wuffsunie]

Originally posted by: Mwilding
If there is so much profiteering going on, then more companies will get into the racket and the profit margins will go down and the consumer will benefit.

Can you give me an example of that working? Because I can't think of a single industry operating on that wide a scale where that's true. Long distance and phone companies kindda work, but usually anyone that offers substansial reductions uses that only to get customers in the door and then hits them with hikes later, or if that dosen't happen it's usually because the company has folded. Hell, look at gas companies for an example to the contraray! All the prices around town go up to the same amount at almost the same time (within 12 hours anyway). Manufacturing is something else again, as that has to do with production volume and new manufacturing techniques. Insuranec is a service company (in theory) so that's what you should try to stick to.