A study of U.S. auto insurance penetration shows the percentage of active drivers who are uninsured has risen since the Covid pandemic.

Drivers without car insurance gradually increased since 2020 to 15% in both 2022 and 2023, or one in seven drivers, according to the Insurance Research Council, which didn’t include 2024 numbers in its most recent research. Before the pandemic, the rate hovered around 12%.

The increase in uninsured drivers comes despite the fact that most states require liability coverage to pay for other motorists’ injuries and vehicle damage. 

The percentage of drivers with no auto insurance varies by state, with Maine at about 6% and Mississippi at an eye-popping 28%.

When underinsured drivers are added the equation, the combined share amounts to one in three drivers, the council reported. 

The council defines underinsured as drivers carrying liability insurance who are found at fault in a crash resulting in injuries whose costs exceed their policy limits. It calculates that 18% of U.S. drivers were underinsured in 2023, up from about 11% in 2017.

Underinsured driver percentages ranged from about 5% in Washington, D.C., to a whopping 50% in Colorado.

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