If you have an older car, one that has been registered and re-registered for years, one that has almost no value left, and is long since paid off, you may find yourself wondering if you really need car insurance, especially every year or six months, when your renewal date comes up.
The easy answer, of course, is that you need car insurance because it’s illegal to drive without it. Get pulled over just once without being able to prove financial responsibility for an accident, and the consequences are dire. Still, you say, you drive safely and you won’t get caught. Well, even if that’s true (and we at CarInsuranceList.com do not condone such an attitude in any way), here are seven reasons – other than “it’s illegal not to” – to have car insurance.
- Your Health: If you are hit by an uninsured driver, and you are not insured, your medical care will not be covered. Whiplash may be something joked about in cartoons and comedies, but even minor accidents can cause severe back and neck injuries, and medical care is not cheap.
- Others’ Health: If you’re in an accident that is your fault, and you are not insured, your victim may not have the money they need for their medical care.
- Your Car: If your car is stolen or totaled, you may not be able to come up with the money to replace it. If you were insured, this wouldn’t be a problem.
- Legal Fees: If you’re involved in a serious accident, being uninsured leaves you open to significant claims from other parties, not to mention the fact that you have to cover your own legal fees. (Insurance companies generally handle legal issues for you.)
- Licensing: If you are caught driving without insurance, your driver’s license could be taken away.
- Gaps: If you have not had insurance for a while, and then try to reinstate a policy, the unexplained break may invalidate the “no claims” discount, costing you more money, and if you lie about the gap your insurance could be cancelled.
- Stress: Driving without car insurance can distract you, causing your driving to suffer making you a hazard on the road, and more likely to have an accident at all.
If you’re still tempted to drive without insurance, there are a few more points to consider. First, yes, it is generally illegal to be uninsured. Where most accidents result in a brief encounter with police, a few phone calls, and the exchange of insurance information, your accident might result in you being dragged to the local police station, and may progress to needing lawyers. Think of the stress on your family, and the cost you will incur. As well, think of what would happen to other passengers in your car if you were in an accident. What if your spouse or child was seriously injured? What if you accidentally hit a kid on a bike, or in a crosswalk?
Here at CarInsuranceList.com we won’t argue that car insurance can sometimes be expensive, but we will assert that it is a necessary expense, and we’ll help you obtain quotes that will get you the best possible premiums.
Car insurance is important. Don’t leave your driveway without it!