Another scenario I always give my students is this:
You are crusing along in good VFR conditions under an overcast. Conditions worsen, however and the descending clouds are pushing you closer to the ground than you would like. You pick an airport to divert to and listen to the weather, vis. 10SM and 800 ft. overcast. The airport is class E (or D, or C), which means you are required to be 500 ft below the clouds (300 ft AGL!). Time to call Flight Service or ATC to request a special VFR clearance into the airport. Now you can cruise just under the deck to your diversion point and not worry about winged missles emerging from the cloud layer.