Recession Marked by Bump in Uninsured Motorists

Across the nation, chances are roughly one in seven that a driver is uninsured, according to an Uninsured Motorists study conducted by the Insurance Research Council (IRC).

Nine insurers contributed data to the study, representing approximately 50 percent of the private passenger auto insurance market in the U.S.

The estimated percentage of uninsured motorists declined four straight years before rising to 14.3 percent in 2008 and dropping to 13.8 percent in 2009. The economic downturn is thought to be a major factor in the brief increase.

The magnitude of the uninsured motorist problem varies from state to state. In 2009, the five states with the highest uninsured driver estimates were Mississippi (28 percent), New Mexico (26 percent), Tennessee (24 percent), Oklahoma (24 percent), and Florida (24 percent). The five states with the lowest uninsured driver estimates were Massachusetts (4.5 percent), Maine (4.5 percent), New York (5 percent), Pennsylvania (7 percent), and Vermont (7 percent).

Source: The Insurance Research Council