Quote:
Originally Posted by MarkH13
Sorry, none of that is true... I'm not an apologist for the industry, but let's not just make up stuff.
Some companies operate as subsidiaries of other companies, but there are also dozens of independent operations, all competing hard to get business, often writing policies at a loss.
And it's just nonsense to say that companies 'can basically do what they want' - this is a very heavily regulated industry, and there are strict guidelines as to what insurers can and can't do.
If you mean they can charge any premium they like, it may be true that there's no regulations governing what insurers charge, but this is a highly commoditised market, with most policies bought on price alone. Companies that charge uncompetitive premiums will not survive.
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you contradict yourself in your own answer.
You first say "all competing hard to get business, often writing policies at a loss".
Then finish with "companies that charge uncompetetive premiums will not survive".
You also say its a heavily regulated industry, then acknowledge that "it may be true that there's no regulations governing what insurers charge" - which is surely, from a consumers perspective, a significant factor in the purchasing decision.
It is a zero sum game for them to continue to undercut each other, and some of the main insurance companies that we all use ultimately come under a larger conglomerate.
A simple way to test this is to go and look at the income statements of the largest insurance companies and check out how much they are making.....if it was genuinely the case that they were having to offer lower prices due to the competition, they would not be making the margins they are...