Mattawa to hold car insurance expo

MATTAWA — The Mattawa Police Department will be hosting a car insurance expo on Saturday, April 13 from 5 to 8 p.m. The event will be held at Wahluke High School in the commons area.

The car insurance expo is for both uninsured and insured motorists. Multiple car insurance companies will be present. Attendees will have the opportunity to compare prices and sign up for insurance during the event.

“My overall goal is for people to walk out with insurance,” said Mattawa Police Officer Maybeline Pantaleon. “Insurance companies are bringing their laptops so they can issue insurance that day.”

Attendees should bring their vehicle information, driver’s license and the driver’s license information of others who will be on the insurance policy. Those with valid Mexican driver’s licenses will also be able to obtain insurance.

“I’ve had people ask, ‘Can I still obtain an insurance policy even with a valid Mexico license?’” Pantaleon said. “One of the gals coming stated, ‘Yes, you can.’ It’s not all about giving tickets. It’s about helping other people.”

Between January of 2017 and February of 2019, the Mattawa Police Department issued 408 tickets. One hundred forty-two of those tickets were for a failure to provide proof of insurance.

“That’s 34 percent,” said Pantaleon.

These numbers do not take into account the number of warnings that uninsured drivers have received.

The car insurance expo is the second community event to be held Mattawa to help citizens obtain the tools they need to drive legally. Pantaleon previously organized a driver’s licensing event.

“People were getting pulled over who didn’t have any type of ID on them,” Pantaleon said. “We were able to bring the Department of Licensing here. We had 500 people come.”

The car insurance expo will be held on Saturday, April 13 from 5 to 8 p.m. The event will be at Wahluke High School, 505 N. Boundary Rd., in Mattawa, in the commons area. For more information, call the Mattawa Police Department at (509) 932-4112.