It appears that most of the people responding to the survey by ValuePenguin think insurers and insurance are a solution of sorts to the problem of gun violence in America. The consumer support company says 75% of the people it polled think gun owners should be required to have liability insurance for their firearms.
The editor of Weekly Industry News isn’t sure how this solves the problem, but for the sake of a good debate, we’ll proceed with the story.
ValuePenguin’s insurance expert, Divya Sangameshwar put that kind of thinking in perspective and said why it makes sense to her. “Insurers have always led the way when it comes to safety,” she said.
Generation Z (those born between 1997 and 2010), people with incomes of $100,000 a year and up, and parents with kids under age 18 are those most likely to support the idea.
Here’s another takeaway from the survey. It found that 82% of Americans ought to be accountable for how their guns are used. This was especially true of parents with children under age 18 and with millennials (those born between 1981 and 1996).
Sangameshwar said the idea makes sense.
“Car insurance companies reward drivers with premium discounts for buying vehicles that come with safety features. Homeowners also get discounts for installing smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, erecting child-proof fences around swimming pools, and buying homes close to fire stations,” she noted. “In the case of gun ownership, insurance premiums, and discounts can be used to promote gun safety and pave the way for commonsense safety laws in the future.”
There’s more.
- 44% think each firearm should have its own policy
- 31% think a single policy will suffice for all guns owner by an individual
- Parents with children under age 18 — as expected — support the individual policy idea
- 77% think gun owners need between $50,000 and $250,000 in coverage for their weapons
- A small percentage — 7% — want policies to be $1 million
For gun owners, the scariest statistic of the survey is 82% thinking the gun owner should be responsible for what happens with their weapon regardless of who used it and who pulled the trigger.
Of those thinking that:
- 39% say gun owners should be held criminally liable for what happens with their weapons
- 15% say they ought to be civilly liable
- 28% think both civil and criminal penalties ought to apply
Source link: Insurance Business America — https://bit.ly/3LMBj8f
