In many cases, the decision of whether or not the person will need to purchase short term car insurance is determined by state law. For example in many states it is illegal to drive without some form of car insurance or proof of financial responsibility. These states require every licensed driver to purchase affordable car insurance to increase the chances that both parties will be able to have their vehicle repaired or replaced in the event of an accident and lessens the chances that a lawsuit will have to be filed for the responsible party to take care of their obligations after an accident.
Most responsible drivers consider their car insurance policies to be a necessary expense to ensure that they are covered financially in the case of an accident or natural event that causes damage to their car. Many people will never need to make a claim against their car insurance policy, but for the people that must make a claim, car insurance can save them from a financial disaster. Even accidents that occur at low speeds can cause damage totaling thousands of dollars that must be paid before the car can be driven again.
Whether a person considers short term car insurance to be an investment or an expense depends on how much they are paying as the insurance premium, the value of the car that they are insuring, and the amount of risk they would be assuming if they did not obtain the car insurance policy. If is difficult to determine the value of car insurance when the person has never had to make a claim against the policy, but many people have found that it would have been extremely difficult for them to come up with the cost of repairing or replacing the car without the short term car insurance policy.