In a message dated 10/26/00 1:28:15 AM, vanagon@VOLKSWAGEN.ORG writes:

<< Actually, if my container were to go to the bottom of the ocean it would be
like winning the lotto for the insurance money!
 >>

David,

You never get the best of an insurance company; you are a babe in the woods
and they are the experts.  In 1979, I was riding my week-old Honda CBX on a
city street when I went over what looked to be a minor variation in the
pavement.  The front and rear wheels bottomed out and I was almost throw off
the bike.  I hit so hard, I stopped immediately to check for damage and found
both front and rear rims were now sporting nice flat spots.  I went back to
see what the hell I had run over and I found what had appeared to be a
variation in the pavement was a gapping pothole fully 1 foot deep into which
some smartass had stuffed a gray sofa pillow.

What does this have to do with bloodsucking insurance companies?  Well, I
turned it into the company to which I had been sending premiums for more than
10 years and from which I had received nothing.  I thought they would charge
it against my comprehensive coverage, but, instead, they charged me with a
collision.  According to them, I had COLLIDED with a POTHOLE.  At the time,
new wheels and tires cost about US$ 600; since I now had a collision charged
against me, my premium went up US$ 250 per year for the next 3 years.  You do
the math.

As it has often been said, be careful for what you wish . . . you may get it.

Rich