NationalOpinion

Burlap Sack: The price of car insurance

Did you buy your own car? Insure it under your own name? If your answer to these questions is yes, I’m very sorry for your wallet. 

I have been driving my car under my own name and insurance since I first got my license. I was 17 because I’m both lazy and a perfectionist, but by the end of that summer, I owned my vehicle outright and had it insured in my name alone. A lot of my friends have parents who pay their insurance, so I wasn’t really prepared for just how much it would cost me.

Although I can’t go into specifics, I will tell you that I pay a lot. Despite my squeaky-clean driving history (knock on wood), my insurance has only gone up since I’ve gotten my license.

“Company-wide increases,” they said.

“Company-wide bull,” I said back. My father’s insurance has done nothing but decrease. 

My problem with the cost of insurance is not that I have to spend money to begin with. I think it’s only fair that with the privilege of driving comes the responsibility of maintenance. The thing is, I’ve driven the same inoffensive car with the same insurance company without incident for over three years. I know way worse drivers with at-fault accidents and DUI’s on their record who pay way less than I do, simply because they’re older.

My driving isn’t perfect, but my legal record indicates that I’m not a financial strain on the company. In fact, at all my time with my insurance company, I don’t think I’ve once used the roadside assistance I pay for every year. So why am I still paying these exorbitant sums?

Car insurance, in the wise words of Kenan Thompson, is too damn high. I may sound like a four-year-old stomping my foot on the Walmart linoleum to get the Barbie I want, I’m tired of spending hundreds of dollars a month on a car built in 2002. Car insurance should decrease every year you’re accident free, and shouldn’t be so high to begin with. Period.

Payton Ferguson

Payton Ferguson is a English major by day, 2019-20 Opinion Editor for The Gateway by night (and also day). She enjoys long walks to the fridge, writing until her wrists ache, and bombarding social media with pictures of her chihuahuas.

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