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Facts + Statistics: Uninsured motorists
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Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage reimburses policyholders in an accident involving an uninsured, underinsured or hit-and-run driver. Twenty states and the District of Columbia have mandatory requirements for uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage. More than half of the states have passed laws and begun to develop and implement online auto insurance verification systems to identify uninsured motorists.
In 2019, 12.6 percent of motorists, or about one in eight drivers, were uninsured, according to a 2021 study by the Insurance Research Council (IRC). The percentage was at a nine-year high of 13.1 percent in 2017 but fell to 12.6 percent in 2018 and 2019. Mississippi had the highest percentage of uninsured motorists in 2019, 29.4 percent, followed by Michigan (25.5 percent), Tennessee (23.7 percent), New Mexico (21.8 percent) and Washington (21.7 percent). New Jersey had the lowest, 3.1 percent, followed by Massachusetts (3.5 percent), New York (4.1 percent), Maine (4.9 percent) and Wyoming (5.8 percent). The IRC measures the number of uninsured motorists based on insurance claims, using a ratio of insurance claims made by people who were injured by uninsured drivers relative to the claims made by people who were injured by insured drivers. Twenty-one states and the District of Columbia had uninsured motorist rates in 2019 greater than the countrywide rate (12.6 percent) while 29 states had rates below the countrywide rate.
Estimated Percentage Of Uninsured Motorists, 1992-2019 (1)
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(1) Percentage of uninsured drivers, as measured by the ratio of uninsured motorists (UM) claims to bodily injury (BI) claim frequencies.
Source: Insurance Research Council.
Top 10 Highest And Lowest States By Estimated Percentage Of Uninsured Motorists, 2019 (1)
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(1) Percentage of uninsured drivers, as measured by the ratio of uninsured motorists (UM) claims to bodily injury (BI) claim frequencies.
Source: Insurance Research Council.
Estimated Percentage Of Uninsured Motorists By State, 2019 (1)
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(1) Percentage of uninsured drivers, as measured by the ratio of uninsured motorists (UM) claims to bodily injury (BI) claims frequencies.
(2) Rank calculated from unrounded data.
(3) In Florida, compulsory auto laws apply to personal injury protection (PIP) and physical damage, but not to third party bodily injury coverage.
Source: Insurance Research Council.
Automobile Financial Responsibility Limits By State
(As of October 25, 2022)
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(1) The first two numbers refer to bodily injury (BI) liability limits and the third number to property damage (PD) liability. For example, 20/40/10 means coverage up to $40,000 for all persons injured in an accident, subject to a limit of $20,000 for one individual, and $10,000 coverage for property damage.
(2) Low-cost policy limits for low-income drivers in the California Automobile Assigned Risk Plan are 10/20/3.
(3) Instead of policy limits, policyholders can satisfy the requirement with a combined single limit policy. Amounts vary by state.
(4) In addition, policyholders must carry coverage for medical payments.
(5) Basic policy (optional) limits are 10/10/5. Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage not available under the basic policy but uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage is required under the standard policy. Special Automobile Insurance Policy available for certain drivers which only covers emergency treatment and a $10,000 death benefit.
(6) In addition, policyholders must have 50/100 for wrongful death coverage.
(7) Compulsory to buy insurance or pay an uninsured motorists vehicle (UMV) fee to the state department of motor vehicles.
Note: State laws regarding mandatory requirements for uninsured and underinsured motorists vary. State departments of insurance should be consulted to determine whether these coverages are compulsory.
Source: Excerpted from Automobile Financial Responsibility Laws and Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist and Umbrella Coverage Requirements, property of American Property Casualty Insurers Association; state departments of insurance.