So my auto insurance came up for renewal recently, and I received a nice chunk of money back for the previous six-month period. Due to the coronavirus situation and how almost everyone is driving far less miles than before, insurance companies have saw fit to refund 15% of our premiums. While I’ll never complain about getting money returned to me, a measly 15% does seem bit small given that I’ve only driven a quarter of the miles I’d usually put on the car compared to last year. I feel like we deserve more than 15%, especially when these days, my 911 sits parked for 28 days out of a month.
Granted, because it is a 911, the amount of premiums I got in return is actually quite substantial - some two hundred dollars. It’s a testament to just how enormously expensive it is to insure a six-figure sports car in San Francisco, a city that’s notorious for car break-ins. That is indeed paying to play, as the saying goes; I would be a far richer person if I didn’t like cars and otherwise fully okay with driving around in a plain Japanese sedan. Alas it is destiny that I would be spending a significant chunk of disposable income to keep an expensive German sports car around.
One that’s barely done 500 miles since the COVID-19 lockdowns began in March.
I have thought about cancelling insurance on the 911 for the duration of the shelter-in-place, though on second thought that would not be wise because the car is not parked safely in a garage, so if someone were to tamper with it, last thing I want is to not have coverage. Things can get pricey very quickly: the front bumper alone - just the skin - is $6,000 dollars for a genuine replacement piece. That’s definitely not something I’d want to or can pay out of pocket for, should it get bashed in by another car while the 911 is stationary.
Besides, it’s rather therapeutic to take the car out on periodic drives; anything to escape being stuck to our homes. I’ll happily continue to pay the exorbitant insurance premiums.
The coronavirus chronicles.