The Insurance Research Council (IRC) predicts that nearly one in six drivers will be uninsured by next year, an increase of 3 million uninsured drivers compared to five years ago. Some experts say that higher rates of uninsured drivers correlate with higher rates of unemployment and increased stress on budgets.
According to IRC’s vice president, David Corum, the percentage of uninsured motorists increases three-quarters of a percentage point for every one percent increase in unemployment. Insurance companies warn against cutting car insurance to cut costs, because an auto accident could financially ruin an uninsured driver if there is damage to property or injury to others involved with the car accident.
According to IRC, the average payment on claims involving a driver without insurance is around $11,000. Some states will take license plates or impound vehicles of a motorist who drives without insurance. Some even jail those who do not comply with the law.
Several states have reached rates of uninsured drivers as high as quarter of the population. However, as of 2007, Massachusetts had the lowest of uninsured drivers, with about one percent.
Road hazard: uninsured driver rates climb, Associated Press, February 6, 2009
Contact our Massachusetts car accident attorneys if you have been involved in an accident.