Whilst a lot of what you say is very true, I do think that it comes down to an individual person.
I didn't take it out on my car, but I do know that if I was to write it off and there was a shortfall on the market value against what I still owe in finance I probably couldn't afford to pay it...
Thanks for posting that link - prices seem very reasonable. Never took this out when I purchased my car almost 2 years ago as dealer quoted price was prohibative. Kind of wish I'd shopped around at the time as it's too late now...just hope I won't need it!