Faced with rising prices, the French are looking for savings. And 27% say they are even ready to drive without paying car insurance. An extremely risky bet, according to the latest data from the non-road insurance barometer.
Not sure about saving money? That is a choice 11% of the French say they are ready to do so, according to a study by the insurer Leocare. And in the face of runaway inflation, this figure could rise in the coming months.
Almost 23,000 victims
However, giving up insurance often is a losing bet. Because in the event of a technical problem, the bill can be (very) high. According to the latest edition of the non-insurance road barometer, unveiled on Tuesday by The Parisian, 22,983 people were the victims of an accident caused by an uninsured driver in 2021.
This is 26.8% less than in 2019. But the comparison is partial, with the two-year period 2020 and 2021 marked by Covid and the consequent restrictions on circulation. In total, the amount of damage suffered has been reached 118.4 million euros. An amount that the drivers at fault will have to pay out of their own pocket.
Because it is a legal obligation: in France all drivers are required to take out at least one motor vehicle liability insurance, also called civil liability guarantee. Failing to compensate the damage suffered by the person responsible for the accident, the latter is responsible for the compensation of the damage caused to others.
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A bill of 93,840 euros
Failure to comply will result in a fixed penalty of 750 euros. See up to 3750 euros in case of relapse. But not only. If you suffer an accident and are not insured, the victims will be compensated by the guarantee fund, fed by the deductibles of the insured drivers.
“This fund will exercise recourse to obtain reimbursement from the driver responsible for the sums paid to the victim”, warns its general manager Julien Rencki in the columns of the Parisian. In case of woundthe bill can quickly add up to “hundreds of thousands or even millions of euros”.
Illustration featuring this couple who had decided to stop paying car insurance. Shortly after they hit a motorcyclist. Conclusion: multiple fractures. And an invoice to 93,840 euros. “They will have to repay this sum to our organization at the rate of 340 euros per month during 23 ex “, Continues Julien Rencki.
By comparison, liability insurance costs on average 480 euros per year, according to comparison site Lesfurets.com. Something to think about twice rather than once before giving up on insurance. Even in times of high inflation.
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