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 2015, 13.0 percent of motorists, or about one in eight drivers, was uninsured, according to a 2017 study (latest data available) by the Insurance Research Council (IRC). The percentage has been rising since it hit a record low of 12.3 in 2010. Florida had the highest percentage of uninsured motorists, 26.7 percent, and Maine had the lowest, 4.5 percent. 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.











Estimated Percentage Of Uninsured Motorists, 1992-2015 (1) Year Percent Year Percent Year Percent 1992 15.6% 2000 13.4% 2008 14.3% 1993 16.0 2001 14.2 2009 13.8 1994 15.1 2002 14.5 2010 12.3 1995 14.2 2003 14.9 2011 12.3 1996 13.8 2004 14.6 2012 12.6 1997 13.2 2005 14.6 2013 12.7 1998 13.0 2006 14.3 2014 13.0 1999 12.8 2007 13.8 2015 13.0 (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. View Archived Tables











Top 10 Highest And Lowest States By Estimated Percentage Of Uninsured Motorists, 2015 (1) Highest Lowest Rank State Percent uninsured Rank State Percent uninsured 1 Florida 26.7% 1 Maine 4.5% 2 Mississippi 23.7 2 New York 6.1 3 New Mexico 20.8 3 Massachusetts 6.2 4 Michigan 20.3 4 North Carolina 6.5 5 Tennessee 20.0 5 Vermont 6.8 6 Alabama 18.4 6 Nebraska 6.8 7 Washington 17.4 7 North Dakota 6.8 8 Indiana 16.7 8 Kansas 7.2 9 Arkansas 16.6 9 Pennsylvania 7.6 10 D.C. 15.6 10 South Dakota 7.7 (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. View Archived Tables











Estimated Percentage Of Uninsured Motorists By State, 2015 (1) State Uninsured Rank (2) State Uninsured Rank (2) Alabama 18.4% 6 Montana 9.9% 33 Alaska 15.4 11 Nebraska 6.8 46 Arizona 12.0 24 Nevada 10.6 29 Arkansas 16.6 9 New Hampshire 9.9 35 California 15.2 12 New Jersey 14.9 14 Colorado 13.3 19 New Mexico 20.8 3 Connecticut 9.4 36 New York 6.1 50 Delaware 11.4 28 North Carolina 6.5 48 D.C. 15.6 10 North Dakota 6.8 45 Florida (3) 26.7 1 Ohio 12.4 22 Georgia 12.0 25 Oklahoma 10.5 31 Hawaii 10.6 30 Oregon 12.7 21 Idaho 8.2 40 Pennsylvania 7.6 43 Illinois 13.7 18 Rhode Island 15.2 13 Indiana 16.7 8 South Carolina 9.4 37 Iowa 8.7 38 South Dakota 7.7 42 Kansas 7.2 44 Tennessee 20.0 5 Kentucky 11.5 26 Texas 14.1 16 Louisiana 13.0 20 Utah 8.2 39 Maine 4.5 51 Vermont 6.8 47 Maryland 12.4 23 Virginia 9.9 34 Massachusetts 6.2 49 Washington 17.4 7 Michigan 20.3 4 West Virginia 10.1 32 Minnesota 11.5 27 Wisconsin 14.3 15 Mississippi 23.7 2 Wyoming 7.8 41 Missouri 14.0 17 (1) Percentage of uninsured drivers, as measured by the ratio of uninsured motorists (UM) claims to bodily injury (BI) claim 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. View Archived Tables