If you are injured in an auto accident, there is a one-in-seven chance that the at-fault driver is uninsured, according to a recent Insurance Research Council (IRC) study. The estimated percentage of uninsured motorists increased nationally from 12.7 percent in 1999 to 14.6 percent in 2004. However, the magnitude of the uninsured motorists problem varied widely from state to state.

The study, which is called, "Uninsured Motorists, 2006 Edition," examines uninsured driving trends by state from 1999 to 2004 by analyzing data collected from 11 insurers. According to its findings, the study found that Mississippi (26 percent), Alabama (25 percent), California (25 percent), New Mexico (24 percent), and Arizona (22 percent) have the highest rates of uninsured drivers. The five states with the lowest uninsured driver estimates were Maine (four percent), Vermont (six percent), Massachusetts (six percent), New York (seven percent), and Nebraska (eight percent).

IRC estimated the uninsured driver population by using a ratio of insurance claims made by individuals who were injured by uninsured drivers against claims made by individuals who were injured by insured drivers. It also includes statistics on uninsured motorists claim frequency, bodily injury claim frequency, and the ratio of uninsured motorists to bodily injury claim frequencies. The study can be found at www.ircweb.org.