100+ Uninsured Motorists Statistics

No one likes to see blue and red lights in their rearview mirror. It gets worse, still, when your car insurance goes up for each ticket you receive. For some, it might be worth considering driving without insurance. But how many people are considered uninsured motorists in each state?

This page will provide key statistics around uninsured motorists, particularly things like state requirements for insurance coverage, penalties for driving without insurance, and how many people do it anyway.

Uninsured Motorist Rates By State

The table below provides estimated percentage of uninsured motorists by state:

Highest Number States

Several states have very high numbers of uninsured motorists including Washington D.C., New Mexico, and Mississippi all of which have rates between 20% and 30% of their population.

• 2%: Washington D.C. has the highest rates of uninsured motorists, at 25.2% of drivers.
• 9%: New Mexico has the second highest rate of uninsured motorists, at 24.9% of drivers.
• 2%: Mississippi is ranked third for uninsured motorists, at 22.2%.
• 9%: Tennessee comes in fourth for the highest rates of uninsured motorists at 20.9% of drivers.
• 6%: Michigan is in fifth place for the highest rates of uninsured drivers, at 19.6%.
• 7%: Kentucky has the sixth highest levels of uninsured drivers, with 18.7% of their population driving without insurance.
• 1%: Georgia is seventh across the US for uninsured drivers, at 18.1%.
• 1%: Delaware is in eighth place, tied with Georgia for the percentage of uninsured motorists at 18.1%.
• 5%: Colorado is ninth among the top ten states for uninsured drivers, at 17.5%.
• 1%: Ohio has the tenth highest rate of uninsured drivers at 17.1%.

Lowest Number States

• 9%: Wyoming has the lowest rate of uninsured drivers at only 5.9%.
• 2%: Maine is tied for second place with only 6.2% of drivers considered uninsured motorists.
• 2%: Idaho is the third lowest in terms of uninsured motorists, at only 6.2% of drivers.
• 3%: Utah has the fourth lowest percentage of uninsured motorists at 7.3%.
• 8%: New Hampshire is in 5th place as the fifth lowest percentage of uninsured motorists, at 7.8%.
• 8%: Nebraska ties with New Hampshire for 5th and 6th place with only 5.7% of drivers without insurance.
• 9%: North Dakota has the sixth lowest percentage of uninsured motorists at 7.9%.
• 8%: Kansas has the seventh lowest number of uninsured drivers at only 8%.
• 8%: South Dakota is in 9th place with only 8% of drivers on the road without proper insurance.
• 7%: Minnesota comes in 10th place with only 8.7% of drivers considered uninsured.

National Uninsured Motorist Rates By Year

When you look at the national average for uninsured motorist rates by year, there was a steady decline for several years leading up to the pandemic after which there was a steep increase of 19% which remained relatively stable during the pandemic and immediately after.

• 11.6%: 11.6% of drivers in 2017 were considered uninsured motorists.
• 11.5%: 11.5% of drivers in 2018 were considered uninsured motorists.
• 11.1%: 11.1% of drivers in 2019 did not have insurance.
• 13.9%: 13.9% of drivers in 2020 at the start of the pandemic did not have insurance.
• 14.2%: 14.2% of drivers in 2021 were considered uninsured motorists.
• 14%: 14.0% of drivers in 2022 were considered uninsured motorists.

Penalties For Driving Without Insurance

If you are caught driving without insurance, most of the time you will receive a ticket and have your license suspended. how long your license is suspended is contingent upon the state. Some states will reinstate your license with a small fee after you show proof of insurance but the circumstances that lead to you being caught driving without insurance will also affect what other penalties you incur.

Penalties for driving without insurance can include:

• Tickets
• Fees
• License suspension
• Reinstatement fees for licensed
• Registration suspension
• Reinstatement fees for registration
• Vehicle impoundment
• SR-22 requirements
• Increased insurance costs
• Jail time

For many states, especially if you are in an accident, you will have your license and registration revoked. In most cases you can have it reinstated once you show proof of insurance but some states will impound your vehicle, sometimes up to 30 days.

In many states driving without insurance is considered a misdemeanor but if you are involved in an accident and you don’t have insurance it can lead to jail time anywhere between a few weeks and a few months. Subsequent offenses can result in much higher prison sentences.

Legal fines can range between $150 and $5,000 for your first offense but if you are in an accident it can cost significantly more especially if you are responsible for property damage or personal injury to the other drivers.

• Massachusetts suspends your driver’s license for 60 days if you are caught without insurance.
• Wisconsin suspends your driver’s license and registration until you file an SR_22 and prove that you have minimum insurance requirements.
• California will revoke your license if you are involved in a car accident but they do not revoke your license automatically if you are an uninsured motorist at a routine traffic stop; instead you will still receive a citation and have to get insurance within the given time frame.
• New Jersey will impound your car and revoke registration if you do not submit proof of insurance within 24 hours of receiving a citation as an uninsured motorist.
• Delaware has the highest fines for a first offense starting at $1,500.
• Connecticut has the highest jail time with up to 5 years.
• Alabama has the highest reinstatement fee for a first offense at $200 for registration reinstatement.
• Florida has the highest penalty for license and registration suspension for a first offense, up to 3 years.

The penalties change based on which offense it is and where the offense takes place. The table below breaks down the average penalties for each state for a first offense:

Let’s look at some examples from one state to the next for additional penalties compared to the first offense.

Arizona

In the state of Arizona, uninsured motorists risk having their license suspended as well as suspension on their license plates and registrations for up to a year. Reinstatement comes at a hefty fee plus fines.

During any traffic stop or if you are involved in a car accident you will have to provide proof of insurance. If you don’t have insurance, you might get a ticket for not having insurance proof with you but if you don’t have any insurance, then there could be additional fines or penalties.

The table below breaks down the potential fines and penalties in the state of Arizona based on first, second, and third offenses.

*SR-22 is a requirement as part of a court order that creates an immediate, one-time expense from your insurance provider to file the document. After that you’ll have to file every year to prove that you have coverage which could come at an additional cost or an increased premium. Bear in mind that some insurance providers will not offer coverage if this is a requirement.

Kentucky

The table below breaks down the potential fines and penalties in the state of Kentucky based on first, second, and third offenses.

Oregon

Oregon requires drivers to have uninsured motorist coverage for bodily injury as part of all car insurance policies.  if you are pulled over at a checkpoint or if you get in a car accident, you’ll have to provide proof of insurance and failure to do so can give you a traffic violation. Oregon requires one of the following:

• Current insurance card
• Current liability insurance binder
• Or a signed letter from your insurance provider verifying coverage

The table below breaks down the potential fines and penalties in the state of Oregon based on first, second, and third offenses.

Texas

Texas delineates in terms of penalties, fines, and additional risks between those who are caught without insurance at a regular traffic stop versus those who are caught because of involvement in a car accident. Involvement in a car accident comes with significantly more severe penalties.

The table below breaks down the potential fines and penalties in the state of Texas based on first, second, and third offenses.

**If you caused an accident which resulted in serious injuries to others or death, you can face fines of $4,000 maximum and up to one year in jail

State Policies To Lower The Rate Of Uninsured Motorists

Several states are attempting to incorporate policies that lower the rate of uninsured motorists.

“No Pay, No Play” Laws

Several states are implementing policies called “No pay, no play” which mean if you are an uninsured motorist, you have a limit on how much you can sue another driver for noneconomic damages, like pain and suffering or emotional anguish. The idea behind these policies is that only drivers who pay into legal requirements for insurance are able to benefit from certain compensation afforded through insurance.

States that have implemented these policies include:

1. Alaska
2. California
3. Indiana
4. Iowa
5. Kansas
6. Louisiana
7. Michigan
8. Missouri
9. New Jersey
10. North Dakota
11. Oregon

Insurance Verification Systems

Other state policies to lower the rate of uninsured motorists include Insurance verification systems which require car insurance companies to notify state transportation departments or the DMV in each state when a car insurance policy is canceled or lapses. This, in theory, makes it easier for officers to identify drivers on the road who do not have proper insurance.

States that have implemented these policies include:

1. Alabama
2. Connecticut
3. Georgia
4. Louisiana
5. Idaho
6. Ohio
7. Mississippi
8. Montana
9. Nevada
10. Oklahoma
11. South Carolina
12. Tennessee
13. Rhode Island
14. Texas
15. West Virginia
16. Wyoming
17. Utah

Texas has very high fines especially if you are involved in a car accident and you don’t have insurance. They have also implemented insurance verification systems and yet they remain on the list of the top 10 highest rates of uninsured motorists per state.

None of the states with the “no pay, no play” laws are on the top 10 for lowest percentage of uninsured motorists, and only a few like Utah and Idaho which have insurance verification systems are on the list for the top 10 states with the lowest percentage.

Uninsured Motorist Requirements By State

Several states have changed policies to require Uninsured Motorist (UM) coverage. This is part of your insurance policy which pays for injuries and damage to you, your passengers, and your vehicle in the event that you get into a car accident with another driver who does not have insurance.

There are two main types of coverage for uninsured motorists or underinsured motorists:

• Bodily injury
• Property damage

Each state has different minimum requirements, some requiring Uninsured Motorist (UM) coverage as well which applies to situations where you are involved in a car accident with someone who does not have insurance.

• South Dakota: South Dakota only requires, for example, that drivers have bodily injury coverage for uninsured motorists.
• New Hampshire and Virginia: New Hampshire and Virginia require uninsured motorist coverage if you purchase any car insurance policy.
• Rhode Island: Rhode Island requires uninsured motorist coverage if you have a liability coverage limit that is more than the state minimum.
• New Jersey: New Jersey requires uninsured motorist coverage if you have a standard auto insurance policy but not a basic policy.
• Washington D.C.: Washington DC requires uninsured motorist coverage for bodily injury and property damage.
• Virginia: In Virginia, it is a requirement that drivers have UM coverage as part of their regular policies or pay a fee to the DMV.
• $136: The average annual cost of UM is $136.
• $90: Underinsured motorist coverage only for bodily injury costs an average of $90 per year.
• $36: Uninsured motorist coverage specifically for property damage costs an average of $36 per year.
• $46: Underinsured motorist coverage for property damage costs an average of $46 per year.

UM Insurance Requirements By State

Bodily Injury (BI) and Property Damage (PD) refer to basic coverage that apply to injuries sustained by other people if you get into an accident (not yourself) and the damage inflicted on other vehicles or property (not your car).

Personal Injury Protection (PIP) applies to your injuries, damages, or lost wages. UM and UIM cover damages if another driver is uninsured or underinsured.

The table below provides information on the insurance requirements for each state: