posted
by Insurance Assistant
There are serious financial and legal consequences that can come into play if you take a chance and decide not to purchase even basic auto insurance.
Most states legally require auto owners to carry some minimum types of auto insurance and the penalties for failing to do so range from loss of license, fines of hundreds or thousands of dollars or even jail time. And possibly impounding of your auto. According to the ABA Family Legal Guide at public.findlaw.com, motorists risk of having to spend time going to court and paying court costs if they are stopped by law enforcement officers for any reasons and can’t offer proof of insurance. Plus, if you are a long-time auto insurance holder, you won’t go through the hassles of proofing it every timie you have to get your license plates renewed at the local DMV. So, why not just avoid any of these potential career-threatening and expensive threats by just purchasing basic insurance?
If you are a college student with an eye toward any kind of responsible careener, the last thing you want is for an employer to discover that you time spent in jail for not having auto insurance, right? And especially in today’s economic market with the competition for jobs so tight that any minor infraction would look large in an employer’s eyes, not to mention the financial tangle that can possible run into thousands of dollars.
That, of course, would not include the enormous costs that can accumulate as the result of an accident that you might have caused. In that case, the financial liability could possibly exceed hundreds of thousands of dollars when life-threatening injuries are present and you don’t have auto insurance.
In addition to the legal and financial consequences of not having valid auto insurance, there is the moral implications to consider. Would you be able to live with the consequences of causing a serious injury to another person without sufficient auto insurance to cover their health care costs?
You should carry as much auto insurance as you can afford. Sure you can buy cheap auto insurance, but be sure and check the terms of the policy before handing out cold, hard cash for insurance that may not be what you thought you were getting. And beware of some companies that may use shady practices to set their rates. Be a wise consumer and check all of the details before you buy. If you don’t understand something in a policy, ask for an explanation until you fully comprehend it.
So, bottom line, be a moral and responsibile citizen— buy auto insurance.