Hi, I’m Lauren Fix, longtime automotive journalist and a member of the Society of Automotive Engineers. Welcome back to “Quick Fix,” where I answer car-related questions you submit to me.
Today’s question comes from Bob in California:
Hi Lauren,
What is the current rate of uninsured motorists? I live in California, and it seems like 1 out every 6 drivers has no insurance. That has to have an enormous impact on insurance costs.
Furthermore, it doesn’t seem like in CA they are impounding these cars or attempting to get people to pony up for insurance.
What are your thoughts?
You are correct, Bob: California has a significant issue with uninsured drivers.
According to estimates from the California Department of Motor Vehicles and the Insurance Information Institute, approximately 17% of California drivers are uninsured as of 2025. This translates to roughly 4.7 million uninsured motorists out of the state’s 27.65 million licensed drivers.
So your estimate that “1 out of every 6 drivers” lack insurance is spot-on.
It’s a big mess, and it’s hitting insured drivers hard, inflating premiums and leaving responsible drivers to foot the bill for others’ negligence. California’s new 2025 liability minimums are a step toward better protection, but they’re also pushing premiums up, which could ironically increase the uninsured rate as low-income drivers get priced out. It’s a tough cycle to break.
Fines and impoundment are on the books, but they’re not aggressively enforced enough to deter the sheer volume of uninsured drivers.
Impounding vehicles sounds effective, but it’s costly for authorities and politically sensitive, especially in poor communities. Electronic verification systems could help, but they’re only as good as the follow-through — random checks or sting operations might catch more violators.
What can you do to protect yourself as a law-abiding California driver? Uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage, or UM/UIM, is a must. I’d recommend boosting your UM/UIM limits to at least $100,000/$300,000 or higher if affordable, as medical and repair costs can skyrocket.
To solve this problem, California needs a multipronged approach: tougher enforcement, more impoundments, stricter DMV checks, better access to affordable insurance, and public campaigns to stress the risks of driving uninsured.
Until then, insured drivers like you are stuck subsidizing the system. It’s frustrating, but arming yourself with solid coverage and staying vocal about enforcement gaps can make a difference.
And unfortunately, it’s not just a problem in California. Across the U.S., about 14% of drivers — roughly 1 in 7 — are uninsured, with states like Washington, D.C. (25%) and New Mexico (25%) leading the pack, driving up premiums for everyone else. Check your state’s uninsured motorist rate and consider adding UM/UIM coverage to protect yourself on the road.
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