by Don Birkholz

Created on: March 11, 2009

I would imagine that more people lose money to auto insurance than they lose in auto accidents. A rancher with 5 vehicles in a rural area who does not have an accident over his lifetime may be 100,000$ in the hole by obeying the law and purchasing required mandatory auto insurance. That is the same as if an uninsured driver totalled five of his 20,000$ vehicles and leaving him with no recourse to recover. The good drivers are losing much to auto insurance. If someone has collision insurance, he will recover any vehicle damages done by the uninsured, minus the deductible.

There are also costs to consider by those being forced onto food stamps when auto insurance leaves them unable to buy food. A good study on this was done by Dr Maril who is the head of the Eastern Carolina University Sociology Department. (http://www.autoreform.org/090998mar.pdf Dr Maril found 44% of the respondents said they could not buy food due to mandatory auto insurance. What do poor people do when they don't have money for food? The go on food stamps. What good is it to buy liability insurance and have peace of mind if you don't have food on the table?

Then, there are two studies on the nrs on food stamps due to mandatory auto insurance at http://www.foodstampstudy.com. The survey done in Billings, Montana, by the Montana DPHHS, showed that 12 of 96 food stamp applicants said auto insurance was a reason for needing food stamps. That would equal 30,000 over the last 20 years would have said auto insurance was a reason for needing food stamps. Is auto insurance worth the cost?

Also, you have the insurance companies saying auto insurance isn't worth the cost. State Farm Insurance company notes the fact that poor people cannot afford liability insurance at http://www.centspermilenow.org/715oppos.htm If you don't have the insurance industry behind the mandatory auto insurance laws, it may be a hard row to hoe.

Under mandatory auto insurance laws, some states only require the payment of 3,000$ for property damage. If the person has insurance and wrecks a 30,000$ vehicle, he still has to pay 27,000$ out of his own pocket. (Low- income auto liability insurance in California.) If the state law requires 25,000$ payment to cover the costs if one person is injured, if his bills are 100,000$, the driver has to come up with 75,000$. So mandatory auto insurance laws do not protect much in a bad accident.

So, given the fact that many people lose money by buying liability auto insurance, the many more people on food stamps due to liability auto insurance, the insurance industry is not fully behind the law, and mandatory auto insurance is not worth much in a bad accident, I don't see that it is worth the money.

This right to drive on public highways, works both ways.......those favoring mandatory auto insurance laws do not have a right to be on the highways either.

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