Whatever you pay in insurance is unlikely to cover the damages won by an injured party. That money is coming out of the pockets of people who will never cause an injury.
Good drivers subsidize the assholes.
this post was submitted on 08 Jan 2026
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A "Showerthought" is a simple term used to describe the thoughts that pop into your head while you're doing everyday things like taking a shower, driving, or just daydreaming. The most popular seem to be lighthearted clever little truths, hidden in daily life.
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Good drivers subsidize the assholes
The same as healthy people subsidize the sick; or childless people subsidize schools anyway?
I'm okay subsiding the schools though! I don't want to be surrounded by more idiots then I already am.
True. No argument there.
In my country, free schools are not an expense, we profit on it.
Whatever money we spend on an education, will on average come back twice in the form of increased income tax. Plus of course the other values of living in a well educated society.
So taking a free education is not society subsidizing you, you are doing society a favor.
Today you; tomorrow me ❤️
Genuine accidents do happen
Rarely.
Most are crashes caused by someone fucking up.
Some are caused by things like medical issues - those would be accidents. Or a rock falling off a hillside into your car, tire blowout, etc.
True. My way of putting it was imperfect but I guess that's what makes it a shower thought
In other words, not only do you have to pay in case you hit someone, you have to pay for other people hitting people
Not quite, you're paying insurance to cover the costs which they might decide not to do and you don't even get a refund for services not rendered.
I just made a comment comparing it to damage deposits, but at least you get your damage deposit back if you don't break anything
you get your damage deposit back if you don’t break anything
Lol
And if you don’t hit anyone, the amount you pay still goes up every year.
Right. My wife and I are something like Super Platinum Diamond whatever-the-fuck loyalty level with our insurance company, claims to have loyalty discounts but we aren't paying much less than we were 15 years ago.
Look into mutual insurance. You actually get back money for the payouts they didn't have to do that year. Northwestern, Amica, USAA, etc.
I get an additional discount (no claims bonus) for every year I don't hit someone).
I’ve already paid so much money. How many people am I allowed to hit now? I still haven’t got anyone, so I feel like I’m missing out.
You have to BET a third party that you WILL hit someone (they pay if you do).
It used to be a driver could present a cashier's check as proof of financial responsibility, but it was a pretty high sum. There is a similar system with some states where you can purchase a bond that satisfies the insurance requirements. It is quite unpopular though and presents a host of other problems and liabilities.
So like self-insurance?
So like you can do that if you’re rich. You out $1M in a bond, or show some proof annually that you’ve got that available, and poof - that’s your insurance.
Most people can’t afford a car without payments. So insurance is there so when / if you break someone else’s car, you’ve already made those payments.
Plus some capitalistic grift for the insurance companies, of course. It’s a courtesy they’re providing you, after all.
In the UK you can set up a self-insurance fund. But to do it you have to set aside tens of millions of pounds in a dedicated, easily-accessible fund, and hire an expensive lawyer who knows how to do it. Probably better to just take the hit and invest the millions at that point. I don't know. I'm not a millionaire. I'm not even a thousandaire. :P
PHENOMENAL shower thought friend.
Similar to how, in order to rent a place, you have to pay in advance in case you break something