As a licensed motorist in my state I am required to obtain and pay for car insurance on a regular basis. I suppose the payment for such services is the first of the pitfalls of car insurance. As you may have already experienced, car insurance can be quite expensive. Believe me, with the accidents my children have had, I know.

Another problem is that of privacy. Once you give your insurer your name and personal information, they often turn around and sell it to others. You probably get telemarketers calling repeatedly and your mailbox is full of junk mail and special offers.

If you’re a good driver and have never had an accident, you might expect some benefit, right? It doesn’t happen. Problem #3: Everybody continues to pay for insurance even if they’ve been driving for 30 or 40 years without a claim. It really isn’t fair, but probably won’t change.

Can you imagine how much profit the insurance companies made off these individuals? It’s staggering. Of course, other drivers who had numerous or severe accidents eroded that profit for the insurance companies.

Another pitfall of this industry is the recording of guilt or not guilt. Let’s face it, only the people in the accidents really know what happened. The police can come out and invesitgate, but they weren’t there to know. The insurance company will update it’s records and that will haunt you the rest of your life.

Maybe you’ve avoided accidents and premium increases but did you consider hiding from your agent? Maybe you’re lucky, but some agents can be an issue. We’ve all heard the jokes about insurance agents. They’re very eager to sell more insurance, get more customers, increase your coverage, etc. Professionals exist, but if you get one who isn’t, good luck.

If you’re unfortunate enough to be in an accident (or perhaps you’re just pulled over for speeding or rolling through a stop sign), you’re always asked for the insurance card. If you’re like most of us, you’re digging through the piles of paper and junk that’s stuffed in your glove compartment just to find it. If you happen to have an impatient officer, the delay may result in a ticket rather than a warning. What’s meant to be a good thing (the insurance card) can often become yet another problem of insurance.

Finally, the uninsured motorist: probably the biggest problem of all in the insurance business. It’s impossible to know who he is until he’s the one you’re in an accident with. There may be reasons why he doesn’t have insurance (maybe he simply can’t afford it with all the increased costs of goods these days), but the fact is it’s the law. Unfortunately, if you have a deductible or damages to pay for, you’ll probably be the one having to pay for them.