In theory, the two types of insurance are different and so insuring vehicles probably can be made mandatory. The reason? It’s your decision whether to buy a vehicle. You could walk, ride a bicycle or use public transport. If you choose to drive, then you have to carry insurance. But whether you fall ill is not under your control. People are what they are, so forcing everyone to buy insurance just for living does start to look more like a tax. We will see what the Supreme Court says. But the world is already changing. Take Wisconsin as an example. A newly elected Republican is co-sponsoring the Consumer Choice Auto Insurance Act. This would repeal the recent increases in the minimum liability requirements. It would still be mandatory to carry some insurance. Just less of it. The justification is that the insurers would then reduce the premium rates and so make life slightly more affordable. An alternative explanation is that even the newly elected State Rep did not feel able to justify repealing the mandatory insurance altogether.

In other states, the law-makers are reviewing the minimum amounts for the mandatory coverage. They are all proposing further increases. Taking account of inflation over the years, these amounts have been devalued by about 700%. All the costs of medical treatment and repairs have been increasing and are no longer covered by these minimum amounts. The whole point of mandatory minimums is being undermined by the continuing failure to make a real increase. Except, of course, this would force a rise in the car insurance rates and would be very bad politics during a recession. Pushing up costs on what most people consider a necessity will inspire anger. No elected politician voting for this would be safe during the next election.

With everyone focussing on budget deficits both at state and federal levels, anything that pushes up the cost of living hits the poor and middle class at a time when they are most vulnerable. Since tax increases are politically unacceptable, the only way of reducing the deficit is to reduce both discretionary and entitlement spending. This will affect the poor even more directly yet, as everyone hunts for those elusive cheap auto insurance policies, they could have less to spend on keeping their vehicles on the road.

Consideration 1: Easy to repair

Instead of choosing an expensive foreign model with fussy repair requirements, choose a classic model that is easy to repair. As an added benefit, these models are generally less expensive, requiring lower auto insurance limits. Also, since many of these models tend to have aggressive speed capabilities, they are higher risk.

Consideration 2: Safety measures

The less risk you offer an insurer, the less costly your insurance policy will be. One of the risks that an insurer takes on when insuring you is the risk of bodily injury. Airbags, anti-lock brakes, automatic seatbelts and daytime running lights are all relatively standard safety measures that will reduce your insurance expenses. Side airbags, rearview cameras and other electronic notification measures are newer methods of ensuring safety that an insurance company will look kindly on.

Consideration 3: Anti-theft and recovery measures

A car with a car alarm or locking steering wheel reduces the risk that your car will be stolen, which means your insurance company is less likely to have to pay for the theft of your car. A service like OnStar can increase the chances that your vehicle will be recovered if it does happen to be stolen.

The Next Step

Once you have done your research, test drove some possible car choices and narrowed down your options to a vehicle that is cheaper to insure, it is time to get your cheap auto insurance quote. When you do, don’t just get the quote from one company. Instead, compare the auto insurance quotes of multiple insurance companies so that you know you get the cheapest coverage possible. Make sure you think about any discounts you might be entitled to and that those are factored into the quote.

Don’t Scrimp Just to Save

One final note about making sure that you secure that cheap auto insurance quote; it is important that you don’t choose a super low limit and super high deductible in order to save money on your monthly auto insurance premium. While it might sound smart to choose a high deductible, if you actually have an insurable incident, that high deductible could stand between you and getting your car back on the road. And the same goes for high limits – if you don’t insure your car for what it is worth and opt for bodily injury liability limits that could actually pay real costs for a possible injury, the difference is going to come out of your pocket, whether you can afford it or not.

Now, as if there wasn’t enough to worry about, those activist judges have started to get at us partiers. Those Brits used to have something with the idea of their homes as castles. High walls to keep out the local sheriff, his deputies and any passing members of the DEA. So, what’s the problem? Well, let’s suppose you are passing around the cans or pouring into glasses. Everyone is getting gently mellow. Are you going to let them all drive home? What happens if one or more of your guests is involved in an accident on the way home?

Decades ago, states decided that bartenders should start to care about whether their drunken customers drove home. Across the nation, the Dram Shop Acts made any bartender liable if he or she had served obviously intoxicated customers, knowing they were going to drive. But there was no mass movement to extend this principle to the home where you give the booze away. Lawmakers said it was reasonable to make a commercial organization liable – bars can insure against this liability. What people do in their own homes is their private business. Well, that was then. Now bars across the US are feeling the pinch. It’s cheaper for people to buy their booze in Wal-Mart or Target, and drink at home. So the courts are extending the principles of the Dram Shop Acts to you as social hosts. Courts are holding you negligent if you let an obviously drunken guest drive away from your door.

In some states, lawmakers are offering some degree of protection to social hosts, but the trend is spreading fast. So, if you are planning a feast with alcohol flowing, you should build in a period for sobering up before letting folk attempt to drive home. Plenty of black coffee should be on offer. If that’s not working, call for cabs to take your guests home. Why? Because the policies coming from the usual car insurance quotes don’t cover you when third parties have an accident. It’s possible your homeowners policy has some coverage, but check it out. Assume the worst. Assume you have no insurance against this risk. If one of your guests does get into an accident and only has cheap car insurance, the victims will come after you for damages. Now that’s a real sobering thought. So, before you get all generous with the Christmas spirit this year, think about everyone else on the road and have a safe New Year without claims against you and your family.