Do You Need Car Insurance? Yes, and Here's Why

By Elana Goodwin on December 23, 2016

Depending on where you go to college, you may or may not find it beneficial and convenient to have a car on campus or with you off-campus. If you do have a car or are thinking of getting one to have with you at school or to use during the summer, you’re going to want to think about car insurance. While it may seem like an unnecessary and additional expense, having car insurance is crucial — so here are some reasons why you need to look into insurance coverage for your car and how much insurance you need.

Photo Credit: Pixabay.com

1. You’re Legally Obligated to Have Car Insurance. Each state across the U.S. has minimum auto insurance laws — which means depending on where you live, what type of car insurance you have to have will differ; but no matter where you reside, there is some kind of car insurance that’s required. Some states will have varying amounts of liability coverage, commonly sorted into three categories of bodily injury coverage per person, bodily injury coverage per accident, and property damage coverage per accident. This liability coverage will help pay for any damage you cause to another driver, their passengers, any belongings, and their car.

Other states will also require Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Coverage, personal injury protection, and medical payments coverage, so you’ll want to do some research and find out what kinds of coverage you’re legally obligated to have according to your state. And while you don’t have to have collision or comprehensive coverage, those are policies you may want to add to your car insurance coverage as they’ll cover repairs to your car after an accident and will cover the costs if your car is stolen or damaged outside of an accident.

2. You’ll Be Better Off In the Long Run. Paying a little bit each month for car insurance will pay off in the long run if you’re ever in an accident. According to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data, there are more than 6 million car accidents in the U.S. each year, on average. And in 2013, according to the National Safety Council, the average property damage cost of a car accident was $9,300.

By having car insurance, your coverage keeps you from having to shell out all that money in the event an accident occurs and will help you cover the costs and protect you from liability lawsuits, but how much protection you have will depend on what kind of coverage you get. If you purchase a car insurance policy that includes liability coverage, comprehensive and collision coverage, and medical payments coverage for you and your passengers, even though you may be paying more money up front or every month, those policies can save you a lot of dough in the long run.

3. Having Car Insurance Will Give You Peace of Mind. When you have car insurance, if an accident occurs, you don’t have to try to navigate alone, which will alleviate that unneeded stress that would otherwise fall on your shoulders. You’ll be able to rely on your insurer to help you handle everything post-accident, such as talking to the other driver’s insurer, going through the claims process, helping you figure out where to get repairs done, etc. If you didn’t have car insurance, you’d be left having to deal with all that alone, and you’d be responsible for covering whatever costs that the accident may have incurred out-of-pocket, unless the other driver was at fault and insured.

As a driver, you’ve no doubt seen or experienced the fact that there are some not-great drivers out there on the roads. Having car insurance gives you peace of mind as it’ll provide you with financial protection from the bad driving of others — whether they’re texting, running a red light, or just being reckless. Driving can be stressful enough as you never know what other drivers will do, and having car insurance will protect you from whatever calamities may await you on the road.

So basically, the very short answer to do you need car insurance is yes because it’s the law — and if you’re caught driving without insurance, not only may you end up with fines or lose your license, but your car may also be impounded. Hopefully you never have to actually rely on your insurance, so it may seem like you’re paying for a service you’ll never use or rarely will rely on, but it’s better to be safe than sorry, and bottom line, car insurance is legally required.

So if you can’t pay for car insurance, you shouldn’t even get a car. But hey, you can always walk, take a bus or Uber, mooch a ride from a friend, or invest in a bike if paying car insurance is out of your budget!

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