Hacker News Reader

Comment by zdragnar | Hacker News Reader

It is easy, if you run an insurance company. Knowing that data is literally how they price auto insurance policies.

Sadly for the rest of us, it's not exactly easy to get that data from the insurance company.

Putting aside Waymo specifically for a second (whom I believe is the leader in the space, but also self operates their own custom cars).

If the current state of commercially available ADAS was dramatically reducing accident rates, then Teslas etc would have lower insurance rates. And yet they instead have higher insurance rates.

Is Tesla’s higher insurance rate not related to them being more common targets of vandalism?

That is entirely new issue and insurance does not respond this quickly.

Tesla's have had higher insurance for 5+ years. Some of which is due to wait times on repairs, costs of repairs, and also accident rates.

AFAIK, it's due to things like single frame construction and expensive + backlogged parts which you order directly from Tesla (as opposed to, eg, a drivetrain that may be made for 3 separate manufacturers).

Or, when you do have an accident it's typically more expensive to repair.

No, Teslas are hard to repair. The insurance rates were always higher than similar ICE vehicles. Any extra problems are marginal.

I think my car insurance policy actually does detail what they believe every part of your body + your life to be worth, it might be my old policy though. From memory an arm was £2,000

[Edit]: found the policy: death: £2,500 arm or leg: £2,000 blindness in one or both eyes: £2,000

Wow. Is that a typo for death? Not only do they not value human life much at all, losing multiple limbs is more than dying?

I mean, I'd probably rather be dead than lose multiple limbs.

As my father quipped to me when I was younger: 'You know the best thing about a three-legged dog? It's not sad about the limb it's missing: it's happy for the three it still has.'

It costs more than dying.

Death is cheaper in our legal system than taking care of some one disabled for many years.

China too, that's why you get... those videos.

If the data made their rates look like a fair deal they'd be plastering it on billboards.

Their competitors would also know, and specifically know which category to compete in to do the most damage.

I don't think that's possible. I don't think this is a "cooperate greed, nobody wants to end the gravy train by starting a price war" situation. I think it's a "the myriad of stuff you have to do to run a compliant company sets the price floor" situation. The fact that there is no nuclear "well I guess I just can't afford insurance, if I lose my house so be it" option available to customers prevents it all from caving in.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com