Why I’ll Never Be Without Collision Insurance Again

By: Katie Shank

Back in college, I stretched every dollar I made at my part-time job as far as it would go. In addition to buying used textbooks, asking for a student discount at every place I frequented, and driving an older car, I was determined to stretch my meager college-student budget as far as possible. Looking for additional ways to cut costs one day while driving to work, my attention shifted to my car. Of course, I couldn’t do anything to lower gas prices, but what about that pesky—and expensive—insurance policy? I mean, was it all really necessary?

My youthful mind decided at that moment a great way to reduce my vehicle-related expenses would be to remove the collision insurance policy from my vehicle. “What could possibly go wrong?” I thought. I drove to class and to work, and back home every day. I’d never so much as been in a fender bender after years of paying to insure myself against just that. Initially, this decision did save me some money. But in the long run? Well …

A few short months later, I was leaving my job at an Italian restaurant on a busy road in a suburb outside Chicago. At the time, there were three lanes of traffic whizzing past in each direction and at all hours, a trend that only intensified during rush hour. It was during this very hour I made my way down the busy street like so many times before. However, when I looked down to change the radio station, a huge white van ahead of me slammed on its brakes due to traffic, and I didn’t have enough time or space to stop. To say we collided was an understatement. While I was physically unscathed, the same could not be said for my beloved first car. It was completely totaled, and since I had decided to forego my Collision Insurance policy just before this occurred, there was no coverage for my severely damaged vehicle. In short, I was on my own for this one. And I mean, I was literally on my own because I no longer had a car. Waiting to be picked up from the accident scene by a family member, I considered how it wasn’t just the loss of the vehicle; it was a loss of my relative freedom and ability to go where I wanted. And since I had shared the car with my sister, it impacted her too. This was a loss for both of us.