When all is said and done, the most compelling reason to buy automobile liability insurance is that in many states it's illegal to drive without it. The reason for this is that while you might not care whether you're covered in the event of an accident, the person in the other car does.
Car insurance is in many ways analogous to homeowner's insurance.
Like homeowners insurance, if there is a lienholder on your car, it will require that you take out a property policy for protection of its security interests. In both cases you must take a good look at the policy to see what is covered and what is excluded. And both types base your premium on an analysis of your riskiness as a covered person and the value of the property involved. On the other hand there are important differences from a homeowners policy. For example, there is also a distinct medical coverage that you must get to cover injuries to you and your passengers incurred in an accident, up to a set limit per person.