[SEL] NHMA

[Curt]

peter ogborne wrote:

It would seem to me that the majority of us here in Australia are quite happy to conform
and that doesn't mean to be submissive. 



Ah the sheep continue to be shorn.....

I have been following this thread with great interest most due to the 
fact that Missy and I will have the opportunity to experience the fences 
first hand in a few months. At the same time I have been very leery of 
commenting on any of this because soon I will be a guest of your country 
and do not want to alienate any Australians before ever setting foot 
there. So I will limit my comments to simply observatory and will 
attempt to not pass judgment on them....yet.

One item that was a real eye opener was the tremendous homeowner 
liability insurance requirement one mentioned. I think I counted the 
zeros right and that was 20 million of personal liability insurance 
required for the homeowner!!! I'd venture to say most American's 
homeowner liability insurance never exceeds the 1 million mark. And 
guess what, liability insurance is NOT a requirement for the homeowner 
here. The fact that Australia requires it is the very definition of a 
monopoly. Here in the states you carry liability insurance to protect 
your personal assets against lawsuit. There is little sense in insuring 
yourself for much more than the value of your personal assets. If you 
feel you do not want the protection of homeowner liability insurance you 
don't have to carry it.
The fact that your monopolistic insurance carriers have lobbied your 
legislators requiring you carry these huge liability policies, provides 
the very fuel for the litigation lawyers to feed on.
If everyone in Australia dropped their excessive insurance the 
litigation lawyers would instantly be put out of business. The view from 
this side of the pond is that your insurance companies are on the take 
with the lawyers. The whole mess is a civilized coercion of much money 
from 19 million people to the lucrative benefit of a few lawyers.

Much of the same can be said for the US too. But the sole difference 
being that purchasing insurance is a freedom, not a definitive 
requirement of the government. Many individuals and companies opt to 
self insure, believing that they conduct themselves with enough care & 
responsibility and that they can save money by funding their own 
litigation fund/savings account, that they don't need to purchase 
expensive 3rd party insurance.

Essentially you are submitting to a "liabilty tax" to provide the sole 
income of both the insurance and legal businesses in your country. The 
shearing of the sheep continues.....

Curt Holland
Gastonia, NC