Car insurance question re: uninsured/underinsured motorist items

[Anonymous]

If insurance is required in order to have a car registered, why do states require you to have uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage? How did those people, if they exist, get away with not having the required insurance, and why are we being forced to pay more on their behalf? In fact, why are we not allowed to all just self insure if we want? I just moved to VA, my insurance rate went up a LOT due to their higher required minimums, and I am not happy. It feels like such a scam.

[Anonymous]

Why are you assuming their car is registered?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why are you assuming their car is registered?

Because I don’t see any cars driving around without license plates, so how can they get plates without registering? And my husband once was about a month or two late on renewing his registration and got fined. It was a while ago, so the details are fuzzy, but I think he may even have been pulled over by a cop for driving with expired tags, rather than just having a ticket left on his windshield. So I assumed it’s something they really crack down on.

[Anonymous]

In my experience, the plates have frequently been pulled off of other vehicles, or stolen. The inspection is likely dead as well, or forged or attempted to be forged, or an inspection sticker is pulled off another vehicle. The police will certainly if they legally can, but in VA at least you can up to 4 months expired before the police can stop you.

[Anonymous]

I'd all that your coverage also includes underinsured coverage - someone who has state minimum limits. Your damages/injuries exceed their coverage - your underinsured coverage then steps in and covers the remainder. Otherwise you would be left with no recourse other than trying to sue a person who is probably broke.

[Anonymous]

I see cars without plates all the time. I have no idea how people get away with it.

[Anonymous]

Different states have different rules. In college I was accident free but had a few tickets at 20. I lived in NY but I registered car in Florida as at the time car insurance was optional.

To add to fun I registered car to the name and address of someone I picked out of phone book in Florida. I used mailing address of a snowbird near me and picked plates up out of his mailbox.

I had car for two years that way. I literally could have run away after an accident.

Car broke down after two years I pulled plates and left it where it died.

I was not the only one. I saw plates on campus all over places with no insurance required

[Anonymous]

In VA you can register your car then file an uninsured driver affidavit with the DMV and pay $500 fee to drive legally. Pretty economical if you're poor and judgment proof.

[Anonymous]

This is a little different that what you're asking, but I've had my car damaged by someone in a parking lot who didn't leave a note. It cost about $800 to fix. If I had called the police (never occurred to me) within 24 hours, my deductible would have been $200 for an uninsured/unidentified motorist claim. I didn't know that, so I had to pay the $500 deductible. They could have been insured, but I didn't know who they were.

Wanted to share so others can learn from my mistake.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is a little different that what you're asking, but I've had my car damaged by someone in a parking lot who didn't leave a note. It cost about $800 to fix. If I had called the police (never occurred to me) within 24 hours, my deductible would have been $200 for an uninsured/unidentified motorist claim. I didn't know that, so I had to pay the $500 deductible. They could have been insured, but I didn't know who they were.

Wanted to share so others can learn from my mistake.

It would have been more economical for you to pay the full price of the repair rather than all the insurance premiums.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In VA you can register your car then file an uninsured driver affidavit with the DMV and pay $500 fee to drive legally. Pretty economical if you're poor and judgment proof.

Thanks for the info. Sucks to pay $500 to the DMV for the “privilege” of self insuring. On the plus side, it is less than a year’s worth of insurance premium. No idea why you are referencing poor and judgment proof — what exactly is the judgment-worthy faux pas here? Btw wealthy people (not that I fall into that category either) have the least need for insurance, since they can comfortably pay out of pocket for any damages or losses.

[Anonymous]

If you have an insured car with plates then stop paying your insurance, you likely are not giving back the plates. So you become an uninsured driver with plates.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In VA you can register your car then file an uninsured driver affidavit with the DMV and pay $500 fee to drive legally. Pretty economical if you're poor and judgment proof.

Thanks for the info. Sucks to pay $500 to the DMV for the “privilege” of self insuring. On the plus side, it is less than a year’s worth of insurance premium. No idea why you are referencing poor and judgment proof — what exactly is the judgment-worthy faux pas here? Btw wealthy people (not that I fall into that category either) have the least need for insurance, since they can comfortably pay out of pocket for any damages or losses.

No, wealthy people need insurance to protect their assets in case they cause and accident that makes someone a paraplegic or similar. PP meant a legal judgment that someone with no assets can't pay anyway.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In VA you can register your car then file an uninsured driver affidavit with the DMV and pay $500 fee to drive legally. Pretty economical if you're poor and judgment proof.

Thanks for the info. Sucks to pay $500 to the DMV for the “privilege” of self insuring. On the plus side, it is less than a year’s worth of insurance premium. No idea why you are referencing poor and judgment proof — what exactly is the judgment-worthy faux pas here? Btw wealthy people (not that I fall into that category either) have the least need for insurance, since they can comfortably pay out of pocket for any damages or losses.

No, wealthy people need insurance to protect their assets in case they cause and accident that makes someone a paraplegic or similar. PP meant a legal judgment that someone with no assets can't pay anyway.

^^Wouldn't be able to pay, so they won't get sued.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In VA you can register your car then file an uninsured driver affidavit with the DMV and pay $500 fee to drive legally. Pretty economical if you're poor and judgment proof.

Thanks for the info. Sucks to pay $500 to the DMV for the “privilege” of self insuring. On the plus side, it is less than a year’s worth of insurance premium. No idea why you are referencing poor and judgment proof — what exactly is the judgment-worthy faux pas here? Btw wealthy people (not that I fall into that category either) have the least need for insurance, since they can comfortably pay out of pocket for any damages or losses.

There's no way wealthy people "self insure" unless they are loaded up with DUIs and glove box of unpaid tickets. Nearly any sort of car accident can be $50k+ while car insurance is $1-2k a year. It only makes sense to go willfully uninsured if you can tell PI lawyers to go ahead and sue cause I have jack.