Skipping auto insurance isn't worth the gamble

YAKIMA, Wash. — While car insurance may seem like nothing more than a financial chore to many, drivers are actually doing a little gambling.

“You’re betting that you’re going to get in an accident,” said Cliff Morgan, owner of Mid-Columbia Insurance, a Kennewick-based firm with several locations, including in Yakima. “The insurance company is betting that it’s not going to happen.”

But when it comes to car insurance, there are some things with stakes too high to gamble on.

One is to not have insurance at all.

During hard times, it may be tempting to cancel car insurance temporarily to pay the bills. Doing so may save a few dollars, but consumers could end up paying more later. Insurance companies sometimes perceive those without any insurance for a period of time as high-risk cases, resulting in higher premiums, Morgan said.

Plus, it’s the law.

A consumer in a tough financial situation is better off keeping the policy but finding other ways to lower premium costs. (See tip box). 

The state fine is $550 for each citation for not having insurance, well above the $124 for a standard infraction such as failing to stop, and even higher than the highest fine for speeding, which is $411.

A judge has the discretion to reduce or drop the fine if the driver gets insurance afterward, but some choose to make the driver pay anyway.

“It’s an incentive for people to get insurance,” said Sgt. Ed McAvoy of the Washington State Patrol. “The penalty is as high as a six-month (insurance) policy.”

But many drivers still choose to go without. About 16 percent of drivers in Washington state are without insurance, ranking 10th nationwide, according to a report from Insurance Research Council, which provides research and other educational resources for the insurance industry.

And some may have insurance but choose to get just the minimum required by law. That, Morgan said, means they might not have enough to cover all the bodily or physical property damage that results from an accident.

That’s why many insurance agents insist on uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage, where the insurance company provides bodily and physical property coverage for the insured driver if the other doesn’t have ample coverage.

The insurance company typically sues the uninsured or underinsured driver to recover those funds.

Dick Elliott of Elliott Insurance, which sells insurance from several companies, won’t write a policy without it.

Doing so prevents customers from coming back and complaining about the policy, he said.

“There’s are so many uninsured and underinsured motorists out there,” he said.