GM's Bad Driver Appreciation Program
We didn’t want to mention it when we wrote about GM’s buy a car, get free insurance deal. If we would have said it, it would have been the nasty B-word all over again. The rest of the media showed less compunction. “The worse you drive, the bigger the deal” headlined MSN Money. The deal can be staggering under the right or wrong circumstances, says MSN Money:
“For a busy Seattle family with two teenage boys — one of whom has a speeding ticket? We ran comparison quotes on a shiny new 2011 Chevrolet Tahoe LTZ. The lowest premium we found was $4,890 a year; the highest was $10,300.”
MSN interviewed Jessica Caldwell of Edmunds.com ( video here, no embed,) and she had this to say:
“It looks like anyone can qualify. So if you are that 22 year old living at home, and your mom and dad have disposable income and want to buy a Camaro, sign up for it.”
So is that what he meant when GM spokesman Tom Henderson said that many potential new car buyers found it difficult to afford insurance for a new vehicle?
Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.
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All I can say, is that If GM carries out this deal in Michigan, I will likely be buying a GM vehicle. Michigan has the highest insurance rates though, so I don't see it happening anytime soon.
I remember VW trying this several years back. How did it work out for them?
People with inexpensive car insurance might not see the value in this program, but you can bet people who are dealing with assigned risk premiums in the mid four to low five figure range will be thrilled!