Insurance, Debt and Inflation

Speaking of cars and financing, I just had my car insurance jacked up because my home insurance was coupled with it and I had some ridiculous, needless, drawn out trouble with the home insurance and had to replace it.  Because the home insurance was no longer part of the package, the auto insurance raised my payment by 25% when it renewed.  But then shopping it, the quotes I got were really no better unless I were to pay for a whole year at once.  Then I might save around 15% off the now higher amount.



In my experience, both as a homeowner and driver, and as a bookkeeper, insurance companies try to jack you about every two years.  This is almost like clockwork.  When they do, switching brands only gets you partial relief.


If I had bought my car for cash, I wouldn't have to buy comprehensive and collision on the car.  Having financing on a car makes you have to buy a more expensive kind of auto insurance. Also having a newer car means it's worth more and therefore needs more insurance.  Of course there's the tradeoff of the warranty and the older car being more likely to need repair.


I fear that hyperinflation in the next year may make people's insurance on their homes and cars exceed their ability to pay, even if they own the home or car free and clear.  Salaries don't usually keep up with prices in a hyperinflation situation.  The effect may not be felt for several months, as insurance renews periodically, but eventually it'll be a nasty surprise.  Homeowners insurance is only required with a mortgage (I think), although it's a very good idea, especially considering if there's riots there will probably be arson as well.  Although in a large enough breakdown one might expect all insurance companies to fail to pay claims.


One solution to debt-related insurance hikes may be to stockpile fungibles now in hopes that hyperinflation would make them so much more valuable than money that one could sell them and pay off one's debt with the wheelbarrow of cash one would fetch from them.  I'm talking not only silver and gold, but cigarettes, toilet paper, booze, guns, ammo, chocolate, and other things that become currency in times like those.



Another solution, if you have a few thousand to throw around, would be to buy a piece of rural "junk land" so that if one loses one's home because one's taxes or insurance got jacked up to the stratosphere, one could resettle on the junk land, in a used camper, and have the value of the land be so low that the taxes are affordable.  For storage one could build a shed,or a tunnel.  Tip:  You might be able to park your camper under a pole barn and still not have a lot of "improvements" to the land, but have an extra roof to keep it dry.  And one might be able to pack hay bales around the camper in winter and not worry about the hay getting wet.