All cars should be insured

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

Opinion

Car insurance needs to be compulsory; if you are not insured, you face a fine of $500 minimum.

Imagine you are driving a vehicle worth $40,000. Some idiot doesn’t stop at a Stop sign and runs into you. Repairing the damage is evaluated at $10,000, but the driver who caused the crash has no insurance. Appearing in court, the judge says they have no money, “so they will pay it off at $10 per week”.

That means the aggrieved vehicle owner loses his no-claims bonus, pays the excess charge — $400-$500 — and is without a vehicle for two-four weeks.

It also means the defendant walks away, paying $10 per week for the next 20 years.

All that because they didn’t have third-party car insurance, costing about $200 per annum.

Compulsory car insurance would also allow insurance companies to collect from a much larger revenue base and ultimately reduce everyone’s premiums.

Mike Mulrooney