Updated October 3, 2026. This is a living page. When new official data is released, I revise the numbers and add a dated note to the update log at the bottom.

I review auto policies every week. The most common gap I find isn't a high deductible or a missing rental car. It's no uninsured motorist coverage. Every number below comes from an official or industry-standard source, linked, with the year it covers.

Florida Doesn't Require Bodily Injury Liability

Most Florida drivers are only required to carry $10,000 of personal injury protection and $10,000 of property damage. That means the driver who hits you may have nothing to pay for your injuries.

How Many Florida Drivers Have No Insurance

The best official estimate comes from the Insurance Research Council (IRC). Its study Uninsured and Underinsured Motorists: 2017 to 2023, published in February 2025, put the uninsured share of Florida motorists at 20.6 percent in 2023. That is about one in five drivers and the seventh highest rate in the country. The national figure was 15.4 percent. See the state data at Triple-I.

Florida had 17,137,725 licensed drivers in 2024, according to the Federal Highway Administration. Apply the IRC rate to that number and you get roughly 3.5 million drivers with no insurance. That is my arithmetic, not an official count. No agency keeps a registry of uninsured drivers, so every figure like this is an estimate. The IRC builds its rates from insurer claims data, by comparing how often uninsured motorist claims are paid against bodily injury claims.

The IRC also measures underinsured drivers, the ones whose limits are too low to cover the injuries they cause. Nationally, 18.0 percent of drivers were underinsured in 2023. Add the two and 33.4 percent, one in three drivers, were uninsured or underinsured. That combined rate rose 10 percentage points from 2017. The IRC ranks Florida relatively high on both measures. It also found that, nationally, nearly one in five injury accidents involved losses above the at-fault driver's coverage limits. See the Triple-I summary of the report.

"But I Have Health Insurance"

I hear this all the time. Health insurance pays the hospital. Uninsured motorist coverage pays you.

What Really Happens Without UM

Someone runs a red light and puts you in the hospital. They have no bodily injury coverage. You can sue them, but there's usually nothing to collect. Your $10,000 of PIP is gone almost immediately. The rest is on you.

The Roads You Are Driving On

The Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles 2024 crash report counted 381,423 crashes. They killed 3,098 people. They caused 14,026 incapacitating injuries and another 232,400 other injuries. Pedestrians accounted for 678 of the deaths.

The same report counted 97,999 hit-and-run crashes, about one in four crashes in the state. Hit-and-run crashes killed 242 people. In any one of those crashes the other driver might have no insurance, or might be gone. Either way, you need coverage that pays you.

Why So Many Drivers Skip It: Florida Costs More

I understand why drivers cut coverage. Florida is the most expensive state for auto insurance in the latest National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) data. In 2023 the average Florida driver spent $1,864.63 per insured vehicle, the highest of any state and about 45 percent above the countrywide average of $1,281.92. That was an 18.9 percent jump from 2022. The NAIC's combined average premium tells the same story: $1,993.81 in Florida against $1,438.60 nationally, again the highest. Source: the NAIC 2022/2023 Auto Insurance Database Report.

Auto is not the only bill. The NAIC's homeowners report for 2023 data, published in July 2026, shows the average Florida homeowners policy at $2,779. That is the third highest in the country, behind Louisiana and Texas, and 60 percent above the $1,737 countrywide average. Condo unit owners pay the most of any state: $1,146 against $658 nationally. Renters are close to the national average, $186 against $173.

Closer to home, Florida's Office of Insurance Regulation reports average homeowners premiums with wind coverage of $3,457 in Sarasota County, $3,181 in Manatee, $3,525 in Hillsborough and $4,063 in Pinellas, as of March 31, 2026. See the OIR Property Insurance Stability Report.

Put those bills together and some households start cutting. Skipping auto coverage, or buying the lowest limits, is the easy cut, because Florida doesn't require bodily injury liability and the minimum is cheap. I can't point you to a survey that proves why each driver goes without. The pressure is plain, and the IRC's combined uninsured and underinsured rate rose 10 points between 2017 and 2023.

One fact for balance. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that national auto insurance prices fell 5.1 percent over the 12 months ending August 2026, in its Consumer Price Index. That is relief. It doesn't change the risk on the road. The one in five drivers with no coverage are still out there.

"I Have an Umbrella Policy"

Good. That protects you when you hurt someone else. Most umbrella policies don't cover you when someone else hurts you. I see people with $1 million protecting strangers and almost nothing protecting themselves.

This Matters Most for Retirees

A crash at 75 or 80 isn't the same as a crash at 35. Recovery takes longer, and the medical and care needs last longer too. Medicare doesn't cover long-term custodial care.

It Costs Less Than You Think to Fix

Uninsured motorist coverage can be scoped to fit your budget. Non-stacked UM at moderate limits is often a reasonable add. Adjusting other parts of the policy can often offset most of the cost.

Check Your Declarations Page Today

Look for "Uninsured Motorists" on your auto declarations page. If it says "Not purchased" or "Rejected," you have the gap. You may have signed a rejection form years ago without anyone explaining it.

If you want a second set of eyes on your auto policy, send me your declarations page. I'll tell you straight whether you're covered where it counts.

Dennis Hendrickson
Hendrickson Insurance

Have Dennis Review Your Auto Policy

Sources and Dates

Update Log