The cost of car insurance can be a real burden for most folks. Some have argued about the wisdom in making it mandatory by law. But is staying without this policy a smart decision? Let's take a deeper look…

1. You can do without this policy and still stay law-abiding provided you own a car or drive one. But things do happen that makes it necessary for you to be "free to drive" even if you opt to NOT drive always — Things like emergencies that could involve life.

2. If you choose to "call their bluff" and drive without it you can get away with it for some time. But bear in mind that you could land yourself in a serious mess when you get caught.

In mild cases such people get to pay hefty fines along with a suspension/revocation of their registration or license. For those who get the worse deal, they spend some time behind bars.

3. Adequate coverage will help you recover if your car is stolen, totaled or damaged. You'll be the one to benefit in this situation — NOT the law enforcement agent.

4. In the event of liability claims, the uninsured motorist's assets are liable. This means that a person could lose entire life's savings and investment in the wake of one crazy suit. A good auto insurance policy shields you from such.

It's certainly NOT smart to be without an auto insurance policy. However, you can take some steps to reduce what you spend…

1. Each state has a mandatory minimum. This is your best bet if your car is old (It's Kelly Blue Book value won't make paying for collision and comprehensive coverage worthwhile).

If you car is still new, don't go with this. Get comprehensive and collision coverage. Take a step further even and also get coverage from uninsured motorists. This will do you a world of good. However, drop the liability part to the barest minimum.

Dropping or reducing the liability part of your policy doesn't mean exposing yourself to liability claims. Go for an umbrella policy. It gives you far better liability coverage for a lot less.

2. Finally, take some time out to do thorough comparison shopping. This way you'll get auto insurance coverage for a lot less…

All you'll have to do is fill a simple questionnaire at each site. For this, you'll get five or more quotes from different A rated insurers. Do this over and over again with different insurers until you find a deal that gives you the right coverage at an affordable rate.