Wisconsin Mandatory Insurance Law June 1, 2010
Hello Wisconsin, we are joining 48 other states on June 1, 2010. On that day, Wisconsin becomes a mandatory car insurance state. So what does that mean? For those of you that don’t have insurance, you have to get it before you drive a car. The ticket price in many other states for driving without insurance is $500. Given Wisconsin’s love of taxes and fees, I assume Wisconsin will similarly have a pretty hefty fine waiting for those caught driving without car insurance. The #1 question I get at BAM Insurance is this. Will my car insurance rates go down now that insurance will finally be mandatory? As I peer into my imperfect crystal ball and attempt to predict the future, here is my answer. I suspect that there will be very little, if any, impact on car insurance rates at first. After that, my crystal ball believes that rates will begin to rise some time in the next 6 to 18 months as a result of the new mandate. Why, you ask? I could be wrong, of course, but I believe that the newly insured drivers will cause insurance companies to pay more money out in “new” claims than they will be able to collect from the “new” insurance premiums generated from these same drivers. This will force insurance companies to raise rates on everyone else to help cover the new, mandate induced, costs. Remember, there are only 2 states that don’t currently have mandatory car insurance laws. If making insurance mandatory causes insurance prices go down, how do you explain the fact that Wisconsin currently has some of the cheapest insurance rates in the United States? I am making the assumption that by adopting the same mandate as all the other states, Wisconsin will similarly experience the same higher car insurance rates. This is one of those times where I truly hope I am wrong.
Are you reading this hoping to hear that rates will actually go down because of the new mandate? If you aren’t already a BAM client, you don’t have to wait to get lower car insurance rates. Click on the yellow “Auto & Home Quote” ribbon. Most people pleasantly discover that not only can they get a lower price than they are currently paying, they often get better coverage. It only takes a few minutes. Get a quote today.
