There are many good reasons to carry auto insurance. With newer cars you want to protect your investment in case of an accident or a disaster that damages the car. And if your vehicle is financed, the originator of your car loan may require a certain level of insurance until the car is paid off.

Another reason to carry at least a minimum of auto insurance is all states require every car on the road to be covered by bodily injury and property damage insurance. These requirements help ensure all drivers can pay for damages or injury caused by the vehicle they are driving. Each state does have it’s own specific requirements for minimum auto insurance, so do be certain you understand the requirements in your state.

Minimum auto insurance laws have always come with a fine or other penalty. Say you get pulled over for speeding, the police officer who pulled you over will ask for proof of insurance, among other things, during the traffic stop. If you can’t produce proof of insurance in the form of your insurance card you will likely get a citation for lack of insurance on top of any other moving violations you get charged with during the stop. This minimum level of auto insurance now comes with even more incentive to make sure your car is insured in many cities and towns across the United States.

A growing number of municipalities have added another layer to this process. If you can’t prove you are carrying auto insurance on the car you are driving, not only do you get a ticket for lack of insurance but your car is towed to the local pound as well. This requires you to not only pay the towing and impounding fees, but also produce proof of insurance to even get your car back. The idea behind the new law is to get uninsured cars off the roads and to provide additional municipal income.

The number of cities imposing no-insurance tow laws increases every day. Even if your city or town doesn’t have this regulation on the books, if you were to be pulled over in a jurisdiction that does without auto insurance, or even proof of insurance, your car could be towed until you can prove you have insurance on the car. This can cost you greatly in time and money.

It’s also worth keeping in mind cities with these policies can even target your uninsured vehicle by running the car’s license plate to see if the auto has insurance coverage or not.

The lesson? Make sure you have at least the minimum level of auto insurance on any car you drive.