Health Insurance vs. Car Insurance mandates

I’ve seen a number tweets recently about the difference between mandating health insurance and car insurance. Rhetorical or not, I’ll share a few talking points as to why this is an apples and oranges comparison. I’m not going to go into politics or beliefs. If you choose to leave a comment or ask a question please play nice.



1. Federal vs. State
This is the biggest difference in the two. The federal government is about to mandate that all Americans have health coverage. Currently, the mandate to have car insurance is handed down by state governments. In fact, it may surprise you to find out, most states don’t require car insurance at all. For more on that read my previous post.


2. Choice
When the federal government mandates that all Americans must have health insurance, they are basically saying this. In order for you to be considered a law abiding citizen you must have health coverage. Unlike, the states’ auto insurance mandate; only people who choose to own and operate cars are required to be financially responsible for them.

3. Liability/Negligence
The reason states require car insurance is to protect the public from a dangerous activity. According to the CDC, in 2006, the number one cause of death for people under age 44 is unintentional injury. Motor vehicle accidents are either the leading cause, or second leading cause of unintentional injury in every age category! By mandating car insurance states are protecting their citizens from an inevitable financial catastrophe caused by a chosen activity. If we’re going to allow you to do 70 mph with 2,000 lbs of steal and fiberglass, we want to be sure that in the LIKELY event that you do cause an accident, you’ll be able to pay for the damage you cause to the other person. A vast majority of states do not require you to provide medical coverage for yourself, even though driving is about the most dangerous activity you can participate in. Medical coverage for yourself is not required in most car insurance policies, because if your injuries are caused by you, you don’t sue yourself to recover from them. If they are caused by somebody else then you do sue them. See also negligence.


Even if car insurance wasn’t a requirement a vast majority of Americans would still purchase it. Just as a vast majority of Americans currently have health insurance. Insurance, both car and health, is designed to protect you from a financial catastrophe. If you didn’t have car insurance you would have to pay out of pocket for all the damage caused by you in a car accident. To both repair your own car and the other persons’ as well. Most people have no idea how much it costs to indemnify the other party after an accident because that’s what your insurance company takes care of for you. They also foot the bill for your legal defense after an accident as well.


If you’ve been at fault in a car accident in the past 5 years, call your insurance company and ask them how much they’ve paid out in the claims. I’m sure the numbers will shock you.


If you have questions on what any of your insurance is doing for you, please contact me. Leave a comment or ask a question, but remember no politics!