Capitalism 101
Capitalism is the astounding belief that the most wickedest of men will do the most wickedest of things for the greatest good of everyone.—John Maynard Keynes
You may recall my recent encounter with black ice and solid objects. I've written a bit more about it here.
What I didn't write about was dealing with my insurance company. Don't get me wrong they were helpful throughout and paid the claim promptly, and I consider the settlement fair.
But, oh yes there is always a but isn't there? When I called a towing company, I asked how much it would cost for the tow. They quoted $75.00 a reasonable price; they didn't know it would be covered by insurance. When they discovered they would be reimbursed by insurance they increased the amount to $115.00. I only became aware of it when they failed to charge my credit card the $75.00 I'd agreed to.
I stopped by the lot where my car had been towed to inquire and asked for a copy of the bill. They gave me the copy and informed me that the Insurance company had already paid it when they had it towed to the salvage yard. When I looked at the bill, I discovered the higher amount.
Later when I arrived at the insurance company for my settlement check I informed them of the increased charge for the towing. The fellow, not my agent didn't seem concerned. I told him I understood that it wasn't much but that unnecessary payments such as that resulted in higher premiums for everyone. He made sympathetic sounds, but it was clear he didn't care.
He did have my agent call, and he was just as much an apologist for the way they did things as his fellow employee. "It's not an unreasonable charge," he said. "It's standard in the industry ," he said. "It's only $40.00," he said. Perhaps I should have pushed harder, asked to speak with his boss, but would it have made a difference? It was only $40.00, right?
