Friday, December 4, 2009

Uninsured Drivers Pose Risk

The alarm for uninsured motorist is on as some states remain lenient about letting their motorists drive freely without the need to purchase car insurance policy first. According to a recent study conducted by the Insurance Research Council, one out of every seven US drivers go and ride freely without being insured first.

Reports from the Insurance Information Institute show that drivers who do not have car insurance pose a great of threat once they get on the road – when an uninsured motorist causes a road accident and he isn’t capable of paying the damages, the injured party would have to carry the burden. According to the organization, the way to eliminate the problem on uninsured drivers is to first find out how many they are and who they are.

Insurance Industry Committee on Motor Vehicle Administration former chair Loren McGlade says that if the uninsured drivers are not identified, there is no way to solve the problem s that they cause. According to McGlade, states today techniques like random sampling and requiring insurance providers to provide copies of their business books and customer databases.


On the other hand, insurance companies say that the problem is rooted by the lack of understand regarding the importance of being an insured driver. Added to this is the fact that the unemployment rate is starting to increase also forms part of the problem’s cost. According to experts, car owners today will choose to save up on cash rather than spending a lot of money on policy papers because of the challenges caused by the economy. Another study of the Insurance Information Institute shows that around 17% are willing to scarify not buying car insurance if it means having enough cash until the next payday.

The Department of Transportation says that they have already begun looking for ways to lessen the number of insured drivers. According to reports, the Department is laying down plans of making car insurance mandatory in all the US states and is making sure that state authorities punish those who do not follow.

Former Chair McGlade said that insurance premiums should be strictly regulated by each state. Private companies who take advantage by setting high prices are one cause why motorists think twice about being insured. Experts say that when car owners do not enough to pay for policies, they may begin to be blinded by price and deliberately exchange it for money. McGlade responds to this by saying that if these drivers are made to understand the real risk they are creating by not buying insurance, they will all think twice about not being insured.

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