Nearly every state, including Maine, has a legal requirement to buy car insurance if you’re going to drive a vehicle on the road. The two states that don’t — Virginia and New Hampshire — have laws that essentially make it required, though technically it’s not mandatory.
For example, Virginia requires you to pay $500 a year to be able to legally go without car insurance, while New Hampshire requires proof that you have the financial assets to pay for any damage you would cause, equivalent to other state’s minimum liability coverage.
Legal requirements aside, it can be too costly not to have car insurance. Serious accidents and deaths happen every day and without car insurance, you could be responsible for hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of injury expenses if you cause it.
Car insurance can also protect your financial investment in your vehicle. Many new vehicles cost at least $30,000, whether financed or not. If you spend the money one time but your uninsured vehicle gets totaled, you’ll have to spend that money again if you want a new car. But if you have car insurance you’ll get most, if not all, of that $30,000 back.