Insurance would you like ...

[mvega0422]

This is one of those ideas which looks as mundane and boring as f*ck. But some people do want a mechanism by which they can get back cars they value which happen to get destroyed. Daft as it may seem, car insurance is a solution straight out of real life. As such I think it's actually a better idea than having a magic menu driven garage such as in the SR series.

 

But it does need to be simpler than in real life. So to adapt it to GTA I'd do the following:

1. I'd have it so you can only get insurance on a vehicle you own, so you either have to buy the car, or be gifted it. If it's a car you stole you can't do it.
2. Then, to take out your insurance, you dial a number. Your insurance premium is taken as a one off payment (just to keep things simple). It could even be calculated as a formula taking into account game stats such as cars destroyed per unit of time and the vehicle you're seeking to insure (so faster and/or more luxury cars cost more.)
3. When you want to recover a destroyed car, you dial another number. A further small payment is taken (i.e. your deductible aka your excess) and your vehicle spawns at one of a number of locations (i.e. at a suitable dealership or Pay 'n' Spray) on the map to be collected.

This. Insurance can be a very cool/useful feature in GTA V.

[Raynos]

Why don't I just steal a new car 2 seconds later?

The game's name is Grand Theft Auto after all.

Dude. Use some common sense.

 

If you did that then having Insurance would become redundant.

 

[RED_]

Out of all the crazy features mentioned on this site.. this is just as crazy. Insurance? Really? Come on.

[MikeWh]

How do you insure a stolen vehicle? As most vehicles in GTA are, what purpose does it serve?

[Chukkles]

The only way I want insurance in this game is if you buy from a dealership and you insure 1 car at any given time, upon destruction that 1 car will reappear at your safehouse, for a fee.

[Bantri]

Insurance like this is too much. It would be nice to have for cars, so if your car gets destroyed or explodes, you can get the same exact car back to your garage in new condition for a small price, or stuff like that. But don't get too realistic with it. I don't want to have stress causing situations acted out in a video game.

[grandola]

This is one of those ideas which looks as mundane and boring as f*ck.  But some people do want a mechanism by which they can get back cars they value which happen to get destroyed.  Daft as it may seem, car insurance is a solution straight out of real life.  As such I think it's actually a better idea than having a magic menu driven garage such as in the SR series.

 

But it does need to be simpler than in real life.  So to adapt it to GTA I'd do the following:

 

I'd have it so you can only get insurance on a vehicle you own, so you either have to buy the car, or be gifted it.  If it's a car you stole you can't do it.

 

Then, to take out your insurance, you dial a number.  Your insurance premium is taken as a one off payment (just to keep things simple).  It could even be calculated as a formula taking into account game stats such as cars destroyed per unit of time and the vehicle you're seeking to insure (so faster and/or more luxury cars cost more.)

 

When you want to recover a destroyed car, you dial another number.  A further small payment is taken (i.e. your deductible aka your excess) and your vehicle spawns at one of a number of locations (i.e. at a suitable dealership or Pay 'n' Spray) on the map to be collected.

 

This. Insurance can be a very cool/useful feature in GTA V.

This is a great idea. Just to simplify further: we have a touch screen phone, so we just use an "insurance app" on the phone to retrieve vehicle and pay the fee.

[rapturerocks]

Terrific idea, here are some others to make driving in GTA more realistic:

 

1. Seatbelt laws: cops pull you over for not wearing a seatbelt. Officer writes a ticket which you have to take home. You write out a check and send it in the mail to avoid outstanding costs.

 

2. Competing gas prices: Read bleeter to see which of your friends have posted cheap gas prices (or use an app). Alter a little of your routine to make sure you keep using the cheapest pumps. If you pay even a little over what a friend payed, press the correct button to whine.

 

3. Yearly smog test: every year your car will need to be tested for emissions. You can choose to ignore it but eventually you get pulled over and you have another fine. See above about fines.

 

4. Realistic traffic: if you are driving southbound on Freeway 5 at rush hour, traffic is at a complete standstill. You get out of your car and get mugged, get a gun, walk into a Cluckin' Bell and demand breakfast but they don't serve breakfast this late so you pull out your gun and demand it... eventually you got shot on a pier.

 

Bonus points to anyone who gets that last reference.

[Raynos]

Terrific idea, here are some others to make driving in GTA more realistic:

 

1. Seatbelt laws: cops pull you over for not wearing a seatbelt. Officer writes a ticket which you have to take home. You write out a check and send it in the mail to avoid outstanding costs.

 

2. Competing gas prices: Read bleeter to see which of your friends have posted cheap gas prices (or use an app). Alter a little of your routine to make sure you keep using the cheapest pumps. If you pay even a little over what a friend payed, press the correct button to whine.

 

3. Yearly smog test: every year your car will need to be tested for emissions. You can choose to ignore it but eventually you get pulled over and you have another fine. See above about fines.

 

4. Realistic traffic: if you are driving southbound on Freeway 5 at rush hour, traffic is at a complete standstill. You get out of your car and get mugged, get a gun, walk into a Cluckin' Bell and demand breakfast but they don't serve breakfast this late so you pull out your gun and demand it... eventually you got shot on a pier.

 

Bonus points to anyone who gets that last reference.

All those ideas are awesome!!

I really hope it's in GTA!

Just to add, if you really need to take a sh*t or piss, make the handling a little bit off, to indiciate the pressure your bladder and bowels are under!

[Hotrodx199]

In the united states every driver is required to have insurance, if you don't you can be a convicted felon for that. Although it would add to the realism, this really isn't a driving simulator.

[JoeM]

Hell no, have you ever had to deal with real insurance companies, dont need that sh*t in a game.

The only way I would want them in a game was if I could burst into the offices and hit them all with a flame thrower.

[huevos_benedicto_180]

Insurance like this is too much. It would be nice to have for cars, so if your car gets destroyed or explodes, you can get the same exact car back to your garage in new condition for a small price, or stuff like that. But don't get too realistic with it. I don't want to have stress causing situations acted out in a video game.

This is good, leave it at this and don't bother with the rest.

[EDSTEROK]

While I think that paying for insurance and filing claims is silly for GTA I do like the idea of saving $.

So a spin on this insurance idea:

 

What if there were insurance missions where you do some dirty work for some large insurance company and after you finish all the missions you get an insurance perk type of thing.

 

Now when you bring a car to the shop maybe you get free sprays or deeply discounted rates on fixing your custom whip because the insurance is covering most of the bill. This could apply to Hospital bills as well. It would be best if they brought back customization back to your vehicles because I know I would be more likely to keep paying to keep my ride looking nicey nice.

[meson1]

On the whole, I'm actually against GTA having a destroyed vehicle recovery feature. I think if you lose or destroy your car, then it's tough; it's gone; get over it.

 

I don't like the magic menu driven garages a lá Saints Row in order to permanently keep vehicles because it destroys the suspension of disbelief. In other words it's an artificial unrealistic and unnatural mechanism and that's why I don't like it.

 

My earlier post was intended to be framed in the context that IF we WERE to have a mechanism that facilitates the recovery of a destroyed vehicle, then stupid as it may sound, one way to achieve it is to have a car insurance like feature. And because it's a solution from real life it doesn't destroy immersion.

 

But to make such a feature user friendly and simple to use, you trim out all the boring ultra-realistic sh*t like shopping round for insurance deals, filling out claim forms and fighting court cases because that's all unnecessary b*ll*cks which isn't game-worthy material. Instead it's pared right down to one phone call to say "I want to be able to get this vehicle back" and then another phone call to say "get my lost vehicle back." All it is is a way to recover lost vehicles. That's all it is.

 

I note that some people have suggested that if we include this, that we should also include various other ultra realistic elements such as traffic laws etc. They then point out how ridiculous the result would be. You're right. That would be ridiculous. But this is what would be called a "straw man argument". What you're doing there is attacking uber realism (the proverbial straw man), not arguing a direct case against having a vehicle recovery feature framed in the form of car insurance.

 

Having said all this, even I think that having car insurance in a computer game might actually be taking things a little too far.

Edited August 15, 2012 by meson1