Motorists in California are now starting to be afraid that auto insurance will soon become a thing for the privileged few who can afford it. As both car insurance premium rates and unemployment rates go in the same upward direction, it’s only a matter of time until drivers run the risk of driving without being insured.
According to reports, the state of California may be facing problems regarding unemployment. In the San Joaquin Valley in central California where a huge number of former employees were retrenched, high unemployment may result to more car owners driving in the state’s public roads without auto insurance because they don’t have enough to pay for it. In Fresno County, the percentage of unemployed citizens last September reached 14.1%; a lot higher when compared to 9.4% last year.
To save the day, the California Highway Patrol and the Department of Insurance are working hand in hand to educate low-income motorists about getting a low-cost car insurance program. Low-cost insurance in California offers basic liability coverage as mandated by state law. The Department of Insurance believes that only in making more drivers understand low-cost auto insurance will they lessen the number of motorists who prefer to not be insured at all simply because they afford it. A report by the Insurance Research Council released earlier this year announced that the impending increase unemployment across the country can cause a whopping increase in the number of uninsured drivers.
According to Department of Insurance state associate deputy commissioner Darrell Ng, the recent statistics from 2007 reveal that about 18% of Californians did not have vehicle insurance. Reports from the Department who that the 2007’s 18% estimate was highest in the past ten years, as it was only back in 1997 that the percentage of uninsured California drivers exceed 15%. Now, insurance experts are afraid that the numbers will go increase even more with the increasing number of job losses across California.
Commissioner Darrell Ng is set to help California Highway Patrol officials in San Joaquin Valley and Fresno in promoting the California Low Cost Automobile Insurance Program. The said program assists low-income motorists in purchasing insurance that satisfies their legal obligation.
Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner said in an interview that day after day around one million uninsured motorists drive around the roads of California. According to Poizner, with the rate of how things are going, driving in California can be very risky – it’s not worth the severe financial risk of getting involved in accident. Poizner also adds that low-cost car insurance give little room for excuses on whether to be insured or not.
