Wallethub included me in a panel of experts to talk about insurance for "high risk" drivers and I argued with their entire premise. To their credit, they published my response anyway
https://wallethub.com/edu/ci/sr-22-insurance/7337#expert=Tabitha_Combs
TL;DR: people are "high risk drivers" in many cases due to factors beyond their control. Jacking up their insurance rates helps the insurers but doesn't actually solve the problem.
@dgodon Thank you!
And yeah, the shaming really, really bugs me too.
@DrTCombs Could it be that by changing our urban development policies, currently requiring more driving than necessary, we might lower the risk factors for all drivers, regardless of their socioeconomic status?
Many states have discounts for cars are driven less than a designated threshold in a month.
It is not something the industry believes they should be concerned with but it does factor into their rate structures.
@Streetsweeper I think this is one of the (many) major drawbacks of our disjointed and privatized insurance system. Every player is laser-focused on minimizing their exposure to risk with an extremely narrow field of play, because that's cheaper than trying to act holistically. It's kind of a prisoners dilemma.
@DrTCombs all good responses. Plus of course higher insurance prices increase the number of people who don't get insurance at all, which helps no one
@DrTCombs great response! I’ve been cringing seeing these new insurance plans where in exchange for invading your privacy you can get lower insurance for being a low risk driver. The ads often make fun of high risk drivers