Are Timing Belt Covers necessary?

[skylimey]

Hi,

I've been driving around in my latest SVX for a while now, but one of my wife's mechanics noticed the timing belt covers aren't on (I knew that), and told her that without the covers, in the rain(!) the belts could come off.

So now she's worried I'm going to crash and burn in the next rain storm, and demand I check with people that really know. Since the people here are the ones that know, I'd appreciate knowing if it's ok to drive around without a timing belt cover.

Thanks
Martin