Why is it Necessary?

“I can’t wait to be 17 so that I could start driving!” Such are the words spoken by countless teenagers over the years all of which are so very excited to “hit the roads” or “start rolling” which simply means to start driving. It has just become a part of our culture. Actually,times are becoming very different, so much so that the perception is no longer that the cool thing to be doing at the age of 17 or 18 is driving whilst the non-drivers are seen as the average.Instead, the “uncool” thing is to not be driving and as a result, non-drivers are often seen as “losers”. This seemingly simple modern day stigma somehow manages to raise a number of questions including; why is it necessary for youngsters to be branded based on driving a vehicle or not? Why is it necessary for young drivers’ car insurance coverage to be so much higher? Why is it necessary for car insurance coverage period? Couldn’t it be a personal choice? This article is not intended to address social issues and as such would not necessarily speak to the first question. However, the other questions would definitely be spoken to.

Let us start with why it is necessary for car insurance coverage? Well, as we all should know, it is mandated by the law that any and every vehicle driving on the roads of Trinidad and Tobago must be insured. In other words, it is illegal to not have insurance in our country and as such you must. Simple…and that’s the only reason why it is necessary for car insurance coverage. Wrong!!! This is merely one reason for car insurance to be viewed as a necessity.

It is often said that we Trinidadians forget things quickly. However, I am almost certain that the flooding and landslides that occurred in Diego Martin on Saturday August 11th 2012 would not be forgotten (at least not by many). Such is referred to as a natural calamity. Natural
calamities are unpredictable in that there is no telling when they may occur, how severe they may be and in what form they may take. Fortunately, for those victims of the Diego Martin floods, once their insurance policies included flood coverage and granted that they were up to date on their premium, they would not have to pay to repair the damages. Instead, the insurance company would absorb the cost of repairing the vehicle and/or settle depending on the severity of the damage.

What about accidental damage costs? The occurrence of an accident is far more likely than that of a natural calamity. However, just as a natural calamity, the severity of damages could range from very minor such as a fender bender, to very major for instance the complete wreck or totalling of one’s vehicle. Either way, you can very easily and suddenly be expected to cover the damages of both yours and someone else’s vehicle. However, a car insurance policy would have the ability to keep you protected from such financial emergencies caused by accidental damages.

Does an accident only result in the damaging of your vehicle? What about personal injury? Serious accidents can end up injuring you as well as other occupants in the vehicle.Many times medical expenses can run into tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars.Unfortunately, these expenses can even be on going and long term and very well possess the capacity of crippling your financial future. This is why it is so important and should be seen as necessary to insure your vehicle; since your insurance policy would have the ability to protect against these risks. However, if you are extremely wealthy and believe that in the event of such occurrences you would be well able as well as willing to fork out cash regardless of how much it may be in order to save your life or the life of a loved one then, insurance may very well be a burden as oppose to a necessity.

For a continuation on this topic check out article 2 which will be out on Friday 26th October, 2012.