Two months ago, Richard was in an uninsured at-fault car accident. As part of his court fine, he was required to write (no joke) a two page paper on "why it is important to have car insurance." He was dreading it, but I jumped at the opportunity. The one condition? I get to blog it. Enjoy.
Why it is Important to have Car Insurance; or
Fate is a Cruel Mistress
Two months ago, on my 35th birthday, I was in a rear-end collision that left my car undrivable. As fortune would have it, I had let my car insurance lapse for two weeks in one of those Russian Roulette "I'll get around to renewing it tomorrow" moves that so often backfire miserably. Yes, it was stupid. The damage was assessed at over $5,000. I had only just begun to think about how on Earth I would find the money to pay for the repair when a week later, for unrelated reasons, I was laid off from my job. Happy 35th birthday to me!
The state of Texas requires car insurance for this very reason--when bad things happen (and sometimes all at once) it's important for all parties involved to have a safety net. Within the span of two weeks, I found myself carless, up to my ears in debt, lacking health insurance for my three children (yes I have three kids and yes, it's important to have health insurance, but that is another essay), and mooching off my girlfriend's car to drive to job interviews. I needed a loan to pay for my car to secure a job to get the money to repay the loan--which no one would give me without a job. If I had just paid my car insurance on time (this is where you get to say "we told you so") I would not be in this confounded Catch-22. I would be living the good life and saving up money to purchase a house in Maui with my lovely girlfriend.
Please understand that I am not trying to be flippant or underplay my own personal responsibility for my predicament. I feel horribly about the car I hit, although it was an accident and no one was injured. I feel ridiculous that I am 35 years old and allowed myself to get sucked into such an irresponsible financial mess. I took the first job I was offered in order to get back on my feet, even though it means working help desk support eight hours a day, a task for which I am criminally overqualified. If anyone is the poster child for why it is important to have car insurance, it is me and my Nissan Pathfinder (which I am considering trading down for a more fuel efficient model, if we are ever reunited again). Also, my girlfriend really wants her car back.
Thank you for taking the time to read my essay. I haven't written an essay since grade school, but as you can see, this is a topic I feel rather passionately about. The moral of the story: always renew your car insurance in a timely manner (early is even better!) and for Pete's sake, watch where you're going.
And in case you were wondering... for my 36th birthday, I plan on staying in bed.
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