Making Car Insurance Compulsory

It’s never actually happened to me, but I do have friends that have suffered at the hands of an uninsured driver. While you pour out your hard-earned cash in premiums each year looking after your investment you have no control for others who don’t.

When it comes to an accident that involves an uninsured vehicle you can lose big time. In fact, with the laws as they are, it makes more sense to not insure your vehicle.

Here are a couple of scenarios where you’re insured but the other driver isn’t. The first one occurs due to some fault on your part. The whole cost for the damage to both parties is paid via your insurer and your premiums then increase.

The second scenario lays the blame on the other driver. It was due to some error on their part that caused the accident however because they’re not insured you need to take the claim to the courts. If there is a witness involved who will verify that the other driver was in the wrong your insurer will usually fight it for you. If there isn’t, then you may as well walk away and fix the damage yourself.

If you do end up taking them to court and you win the ruling this doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re likely to see any funds – certainly not in the short-term anyway. The average person would be able to plea on grounds of financial hardship and be allowed to pay the debt back over an extended period – usually at a rate of $10 to $20 per week. This is fine if you have an understanding lawyer and panelbeater.

Needless to say, less and less drivers who are wanting to protect their no-claim bonuses find that pursuing a non-insured driver for compensation is a waste of time. Fortunately governments are starting to pay attention and in some countries, like the UK, they are beginning to regulate against drivers who don’t insure their vehicles. Kudos to the UK government for imposing such hefty fines that make insuring seem more tempting.