Image: Rian Castillo
Let’s be brutally honest with one another: paying for car insurance sucks. It doesn’t make your car go faster, handle better or look dope, and chances are good that you’ll pay into it and never need it. On the other hand, when you need car insurance, you really need car insurance, and that’s when you find out the difference between a “cheap” company and a “good” company.
With 16 percent of Americans now living at the poverty level, something has to give when it comes to car-related costs. Drivers are already putting off repairs and maintenance (which only ramps up their need for good insurance), but they still need to cut expenses wherever possible. In many cases, driving less simply isn’t an option, so the next thing to go away is car insurance.
According to USA Today, one in seven drivers in America today are uninsured, despite 49 of 50 states requiring auto insurance (New Hampshire is the sole hold out). The uninsured driver rate tracks with the unemployment rate, and since that hasn’t gone anywhere but up over the past three years, the number of uninsured motorists has climbed steadily. In states with high unemployment rates, the number of uninsured drivers is even higher: in Michigan, 19 percent of drivers have no insurance, while in Florida, 24 percent of drivers are uninsured. That’s nearly one in four motorists.
While those of us with auto insurance are generally protected by an “uninsured motorist” clause, the cost of covering drivers without insurance comes to nearly $11 billion per year, which is money that (in theory, at least) could lower insurance costs for the rest of us. With the economy and jobless rate showing no signs of improvement, don’t expect the situation to change any time soon.
[USA Today, via The Car Connection]
Kurt Ernst has been passionate about automobiles and driving nearly his entire life. His early years were shaped working in the family service station, though his real passion was auto racing. After graduating from the University of Colorado, Kurt spent a year club racing with the Sports Car Club of America, before focusing on a business career in marketing and project management. Later, his passion for writing and the automotive hobby found him freelancing for a variety of automotive news sites, including Automotive Addicts and Motor Authority, where his work was syndicated and appeared in several national publications. Recognized as an expert in the automotive field, Kurt joined Hemmings Motor News as an Associate Editor in 2013, and in the years since has progressed to Editor, Hemmings Daily; Managing Editor for Hemmings Motor News, Hemmings Classic Car, Hemmings Muscle Machines, and the Hemmings Daily; and now, Managing Editor, Hemmings Auctions. Kurt was instrumental in organizing the Hemmings Motor News Concours d’Elegance from 2013-2019, and has served as a judge at this event and The Vintage Racing Stable Concours d’Elegance. A Skip Barber Racing School graduate and prolific writer, Ernst is also skilled in copyediting, project management, brand development, and public relations.
