If you mention health insurance, the word mandate suddenly becomes a major swear word to the majority of Republican voters. Despite the majority decision of the Supreme Court in rejecting the challenge to the mandate, the Republican Governors continue in their rejection of the law. They are doing their best to slow down the implementation which is due to come into effect in 2014 with the majority refusing to set up and run their own exchanges. This places the entire responsibility on the federal government to see the implementation through. It also gives the Governors someone to blame if it all goes wrong. Yet for all this fire and brimstone, there's no problem with the mandate as it applies to auto insurance. Why is this?
To understand, we have to travel back in time to the days when politicians talked in the language of financial responsibility. This is exactly the same debate now about the deficit. We all agree our great nation should be able to pay its way and not be in debt. The only question is how to balance the books. The Democrats argue the wealthy should pay more tax. The Republicans are looking for reductions in the spending on entitlements. With the fiscal cliff looming, it's to be hoped there can be a compromise to avoid the risk of tipping us back into the recession. But sixty and seventy years ago, this was exactly the debate about individuals and their wish to drive. It's simple to catch the flavor of the argument. If anyone chooses to drive, they should always be able to pay if they cause loss or damage to anyone else. It would not fit the spirit of our nation if people could duck their financial responsibility to make good on the damage they cause. So Car insurance was made mandatory and minimum amounts were set for liability for medical expenses and damage to property.
Come forward to present times and nothing has changed. No one forces you to drive but, if that's what you decide to do, you must carry the minimum insurance. The only change comes in the real value of the minimum amounts required. States have always been cautious about the idea of index-linking liabilities. If they had adopted this way back then, the minimum amounts would be about ten times their current values. But over time, inflation has chipped away at the value. Now politicians are reluctant to agree any increase because this could be seen as a tax increase on drivers. This is an extraordinary shift in language from seeing the mandate as simply a question of financial responsibility to seeing premiums paid to a private insurance company as a tax. Well no matter what you call it, you have to pay and that means shopping around to get the best value. Ask for car insurance quotes from all the leading insurers in your state. Then go through those insurance quotes carefully to find the best cover at the most affordable premium rate.