Is automobile insurance required by law?

Traditionally, automobile insurance companies have agreed to only pay for the cost of a tow that is related to an accident that is covered under the automobile policy of insurance. This had left a gap in coverage for tows that are related to mechanical breakdowns, flat tires and gas outages. To fill that void, insurance companies started to offer the car towing coverage, which pays for non-accident related tows.

Personal items in a vehicle that are damaged due to an accident typically are not covered under the auto insurance policy. Any type of property that is not attached to the vehicle should be claimed under a home insurance or renters' insurance policy. However, some insurance companies will cover unattached GPS devices intended for automobile use.

Insurers use actuarial science to determine the rates, which involves statistical analysis of the various characteristics of drivers. In the United States, automotive insurance covering liability for injuries and property damage is compulsory in most states, but different states enforce the insurance requirement differently. In Virginia, where insurance is not compulsory, residents must pay the state a $500 annual fee per vehicle if they choose not to buy liability insurance.

14 Penalties for not purchasing insurance vary by state, but often include a substantial fine, license and/or registration suspension or revocation, and possible jail time. Usually, the minimum required by law is third party insurance to protect third parties against the financial consequences of loss, damage or injury caused by a vehicle. California and New Jersey have enacted "Personal Responsibility Acts" which put further pressure on all drivers to carry liability insurance by preventing uninsured drivers from recovering non economic damages (e.g. compensation for "pain and suffering") if they are injured in any way while operating a motor vehicle.

North Carolina is the only state to require that a driver hold liability insurance before a license can be issued. North Carolina does allow for a "fleet license" to be issued if the license holder has no insurance, however the fleet license only allows for the driver to operate vehicles owned and insured by their employer. The license holder must produce a state form (DL-123) to prove they have insurance, requiring the signature of an insurance agent, in addition to a ten dollar fee, in order to convert the fleet license to a full license.

Some states require that proof of insurance be carried in the car at all times, while others do not. For example, North Carolina does not specify that proof of insurance must be carried in the vehicle; it does, however, require that a driver have that information to trade with another driver in the event of an accident. Arizona Department of Transportation Research Project Manager John Semmens has recommended that car insurers issue license plates and be held responsible for the full cost of injuries and property damage caused by their licensees under the Disneyland model.

Plates would expire at the end of the insurance coverage period, and licensees would need to return their plates to their insurance office to receive a refund on their premiums. Vehicles driving without insurance would thus be easy to spot because they would not have license plates, or the plates would be past the marked expiration date. With the invention of the automobile in the late 19th century came the inevitable side effect of automobile accidents.

This led Massachusetts and Connecticut to create the first financial responsibility and compulsory insurance laws. Connecticut's 1925 financial responsibility law required any vehicle owner involved in an accident with damages over $100 to prove "financial responsibility to satisfy any claim for damages, by reason of personal injury, to, or death of, any person, of at least $10,000."17 This early financial responsibility requirement only required vehicle owners to prove financial responsibility after their first accident. 16 Massachusetts also introduced a law to address the problem of accidents, but theirs was a compulsory insurance, not financial responsibility law.

It required automotive liability insurance as a prerequisite to vehicle registration. Until 1956, when the New York legislature passed their compulsory insurance law, Massachusetts was the only state in the U.S. that required drivers to get insurance before registration. North Carolina followed suit in 1957 and then in the 1960s and 1970s numerous other states passed similar compulsory insurance laws.

Since the genesis of automotive insurance schemes in 1925 nearly every state has adopted a compulsory insurance scheme. Advocates of compulsory auto insurance rely on the assumption that, at least some of the time, the person at fault in a car accident won't be able to pay for the damage to the other person's car. Because insurance has been mandatory in most states for so long, the data to prove this theory is somewhat sparse.

There is a risk of nonpayment in car accidents and compulsory auto insurance is the best way to deal with this risk. Personal financial responsibility laws are inadequate to remedy the risk of nonpaying, at-fault, drivers. The best way to ensure that at-fault drivers will pay for damage they cause is to require insurance before registration, and to penalize drivers if they fail to meet this requirement.

Opponents of compulsory insurance believe that it is not the best way to allocate risk among drivers. New Hampshire and Virginia do not require motor vehicle insurance. In New Hampshire vehicle owners must satisfy a personal responsibility requirement; instead of paying monthly premiums, and prove that they are capable of paying in case of an accident.

In Virginia vehicle owners may pay an uninsured motorist fee.