Everyone knows that they’re supposed to get their vehicle insured before they drive it. But with everyday things like gas, groceries and rent costing as much as they do, many decide to cut corners and drive without insurance. Hey, if you don’t get in a wreck or get pulled over, who’s gonna know- right?

We’ve already told you on this blog about the Importance of Driving Insured, but this article will focus more on exactly what could happen to you if you drive without insurance. We hope you’ll see that it’s a bad idea and decide it’s not a risk worth taking.

First off, what does it mean to be insured?

While there are a lot of options for plans when insuring your car, there are two main types of vehicle insurance that you need to know about.

Liability is the most basic type required by law, and it covers the expenses of the other driver if you’re in a wreck and it’s your fault.

Collision insurance covers your vehicle in the event you’re in a wreck with another vehicle that you’re responsible for causing, or if you hit an object like a tree or a guard rail. While collision insurance is typically not required by state law, most lenders will require that you maintain it (in addition to liability coverage) on your vehicle until you fully repay the loan.

Ok, well what happens if I drive without insurance?

At the very least, you could be cited for failure to show Financial Responsibility (FR) Coverage. In the state of Ohio, this means you lose your license until you get vehicle insurance (for your first offense), or for one year for a second offense and two years on additional offenses, in addition to losing your license plates and vehicle registration. There’s also a $100-$600 reinstatement fee (depending on how many times you’ve been caught without FR coverage). Plus, the insurance you have to maintain for the next three to five years has to be “high-risk” coverage, which comes with an even bigger price tag than the insurance plan you could’ve had before you got caught without it.

On top of all that, you could be subject to penalties from the lender for failure to insure your vehicle. These could include fines or even repossession of your car.

If you cause a crash with another vehicle, you could also be subject to legal action from the other driver’s insurance company. That’s a whole company with lots of money and time to spend pursuing a lawsuit against you and grabbing every penny they can take.

And you’re still left with figuring out how to repair your car. Even if you have the money to pay the repair costs out of pocket, you have to wait for the car to be towed, find a body shop to fit you in, wait for the mechanic to assess the damage and for the replacement parts to arrive in the mail. Hopefully there’s no supply chain shortages either.

Sources today indicate that internal parts replacement could leave you without a car for up to two weeks, and repairing multiple areas of damage will take at least a month.

Are there any benefits to me for being insured?

Yes! Lots! If you like so many other people need your car for work, having a life or just generally having the freedom to go where you want to go, when you want to go, then having insurance protects that freedom from going away. If you bought a car because you’re sick of paying for Uber, taking the bus or depending on other people to drive you around when they have the time, then it’s worth it to protect that car with insurance.

And if your car is wrecked, but insured, there’s no waiting for tows, body shops and parts to arrive. If the damage is significant enough, your car is totaled and you get another one right away.

No one likes to spend money for insurance, especially now when money is extra hard to come by and everything seems to cost an arm and a leg. But some things are worth the cost, and vehicle insurance is one of those things. Just remember why you bought that car in the first place, and how much you don’t want to go back to waiting for a ride.

If you’re in the market for a new-to-you vehicle, why not give us a chance? For more information, call us today at 513-221-2255!