[+++MadMatt+++]

Im in the process of buying a used mini from a mini dealership and have been offered tyre insurance on it.

£199 for 2 years
£299 for 3 years

obv this not for general wear and tear, this is accidental damage etc.

I was told to buy a tyre seperately for my car would cost £70 for a dunlop.

Has anyone bought this insurance and is worth it?

[Fin]

Eh? It would be cheaper to have 2 punctures!

Personally, I would leave it. Although, if your interested I have some old rope for sale

[Fizzoid]

They tried to sell me that too when I bought my Cooper recently. At £88+fitting for the Goodyear Eagle RF tyre, the question is will I get 2 punctures per year?

[NeuroBeaker]

Quote: Originally Posted by Fin (original)

Although, if your interested I have some old rope for sale

So about this old rope... how long is it?

[Tigger, Eeyore & Roo]

Important rule regarding insurance: Never buy insurance to cover you against a loss that you can afford to bear.

Insurance is meant to cover you for serious losses that you simply can't afford to bear, but the insurance industry will gladly sell you any number of policies for relatively minor stuff and, on the whole, they are poor value for money.

I'd save your money...

[NeuroBeaker]

Quote: Originally Posted by Tigger, Eeyore & Roo (original)

Important rule regarding insurance: never buy insurance for something you can afford to lose.

Insurance is meant to cover you for serious losses that you simply can't afford to bear, but the insurance industry will gladly sell you any number of policies for relatively minor stuff and, on the whole, they are poor value for money.

I'd save your money...

Actually, insurance is meant for *** ****ing the policy holder.

I was once hit by a drunk driver who'd "stolen" a transit van. All the evidence pointed to the renter being the driver, but neither the police or the insurance companies were interested. My insurance ended up paying to fix the van - even though the van hit me, and then restarted its engine to ram me off the road into a ditch before driving off. Insurance companies are worthless.

As another example, when my Dad was renovating a townhouse, it was a legal requirement to have it insured because it structurally supported some of the neighbour's houses too. My Dad, being a structural engineer, knew this. He also had sufficient resources to cover any damage to the house, or to either of the neighbouring houses. Yet the local law specified that he had to have the building insured.

He phones up an insurance company and said that they'll cover the house for X amount but that coverage would be reduced as the house was unoccupied. My Dad asks what they would cover it for:

• Fire? Nope.
• Forced entry? Nope.
• Water damage? Nope.
• Structural failure? Nope.
• Vandalism? Nope.

Well, what will you cover it for then??

Impact.

Impact?? Bloody impact?!?! It's in the middle of a very narrow street that is often lined with parked cars. There's virtually zero chance that a car could possibly drive into it accidentally (even it someone tried really hard on purpose this would be extremely difficult) and the only other thing that might impact it would be a meteor!

So, the insurance wouldn't cover the eventuality that was designed to be averted by the legislation! And yet, it's a legal requirement to have the insurance - even if you're more than financially capable of covering the consequences of a catastrophe, and yes, even if the policy you take out is completely irrelevant to the concerns of the initial legislators.

These days, everyone goes on and on about contest scams, mail order scams, internet scams, scam this, scam that... but nobody ever pauses to think: 'hang on a minute - the entire insurance industry is one great big bloody scam!'

I mean, really, insurance companies are worse than the ambulance-chasing solicitors! At least some solicitors can be helpful - I've not yet ever found a helpful insurance company. If anything goes wrong, they throw their hands up in the air, say "Act of God" and don't cough up a cent... look at New Orleans, look at the flooding in recent years in the UK.

I grow increasingly paranoid at every turn about insurance companies - they're so insidious, it's unbelievable. And frankly, I think it's an atrocity that society and our elected leaders simply allow them get away with it.

*Wanders off to another thread, still muttering viciously*

[Martin F]

Quote: Originally Posted by Tigger, Eeyore & Roo (original)

Important rule regarding insurance: Never buy insurance to cover you against a loss that you can afford to bear.

Insurance is meant to cover you for serious losses that you simply can't afford to bear, but the insurance industry will gladly sell you any number of policies for relatively minor stuff and, on the whole, they are poor value for money.

I'd save your money...

Good advice

[NeuroBeaker]

Quote: Originally Posted by +++MadMatt+++ (original)

Im in the process of buying a used mini from a mini dealership and have been offered tyre insurance on it.

£199 for 2 years
£299 for 3 years

obv this not for general wear and tear, this is accidental damage etc.

I was told to buy a tyre seperately for my car would cost £70 for a dunlop.

Has anyone bought this insurance and is worth it?

What they'll do in the end, if you ever go to make a claim for accidental damage - is tell you that it is normal wear and tear. Or that the wear and tear on the tyre with the damage omitted has reached such a state that they will not cover its replacement.

Put that money in your own high-interest bank account, so it's set aside for covering any accidental damage you might receive - but this way you earn interest on it.

All the best,
Andrew.