RSSSkipping auto insurance isn't worth the gamble
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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.
Fixing the problem of people that don't get automobile insurance is easy. Pass a law that stipulates that if they are stopped and they don't have automobile insurance, impound the car. The next step is to enforce it.
Every person I know including us has been hit by an uninsured driver. They need to start towing those vehicles without insurance. And if they are in an accident then the car is sold to pay for damage. The fine doesn't work. In Fl. if you go 30 days without insurance your license is suspended. Where I grew up in NC if you went 30 days without insurance your license plate was suspended and you were required it returned to DMV. Our insurance rates are some of the highest in the country. So in essence those who have insurance are actually paying for those without. We need to demand something be done. This article is just smoke and mirrors. Can you actually see someone reading this article and getting insurance because of it? Until change is made those without insurance will just keep driving without it.
Report ViolationThis is a solvable problem. Many countries in Europe tie insurance to the vehicle license. It must have the annual insurance paid to get a license - the old driving being a privilege thing. Any suspension of insurance cancels the license. Any infraction, including parking, or police inquiry reveals an unlicensed vehicle and leads to an impound.
Another bit of silliness, in Washington State motorcycles are not required by law to have insurance.
Really good ideas. Cops cannot see if the person in the car has no insurance or no driver's license. But if you tie both to the license plate, now cops know who to pull over. It is shown on the exterior of the vehicle.
I don't like denying just the driver's license, because they will still drive without one undetected.
I do like impounding the car and then selling it to pay any cost if their is an accident.
I twice wrote to Rep Charles Ross and Norm Johnson regarding the numerous uninsured drivers in Washington State, and the damage they cause. These two do-nothing representatives didn't even bother to respond to my letters with a phone call, e-mail, or snail-mail letter. Great representation we have here in Yakima isn't it?
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