National Financial Crisis May Grow The Number Of Non-Insured Drivers To Record Levels

Approximately 17% of drivers across the United States may be driving without insurance by 2010, these figures were compiled from research done by the Insurance Research Council.

Although the estimated amount of uninsured drivers went down nationally from 14.9% in 2003 to 13.8% in 2007, this recession is expected to elevate the amount of non-insured drivers.

A recently published study, “Uninsured Motorists, 2008 Edition,” configures the amount of non-insured motorist across the country and by state from 2005 to 2007. The Insurance Research Council calculates the population of non-insured drivers by examining the ratio between injury claims made by non-insured motorists and insured motorists.

The research show recently obtained stats by state for bodily injury liability claims and non-insured drivers claim frequency and the ratio between bodily injury claims and non-insured drivers.

The severity of the non-insured driver situation differed greatly from state to state. In 2007, the biggest five non-insured motorist estimates by state were New Mexico 29%, Mississippi 28%, Alabama 26%, Oklahoma 24%, and Florida 23%. The five states with the lowest estimates of non-insured motorists were Massachusetts 1%, Maine 4&, North Dakota 5%, New York 5%, and Vermont 6%.

The data also showed a large correlation unemployed and the percent of non-insured drivers. The research shows if the unemployment rate increased to 1% it will correlate to an increase in the non-insured driver rate to more than 3/4 of 1%. Based on the projected unemployment rate figures, the percentage of non-insured drivers is expected to increase from 13.8% in 2007 to 16.1% in 2010.

“An increase in the number of uninsured motorists is an unfortunate consequence of the economic downturn and illustrates how virtually everyone is affected by recent economic developments,” said the Senior Vice President of the Insurance Research Council Elizabeth A. Sprinkel. “Responsible drivers who purchase insurance end up paying for injuries caused by uninsured drivers.”

The Insurance Research Council research studied data obtained from nine insurance companies, representing approximately 50% of the private passenger vehicle insurance market nationally.
With all this happening it will be hard to get discount auto insurance because as non-insured motorist claims grow the premiums for current insureds will also go up. Your best chance to get inexpensive auto insurance is to try to get as many free insurance quotes as possible and compare rates between companies.


Source: Insurance