One in seven at-fault drivers in auto accidents is uninsured,according to a recent report by the Insurance Research Council.

The study, “Uninsured Motorists, 2006 Edition,” analyzed trendsfrom 1999 to 2004 in the percentage of uninsured drivers by state.IRC collected data from 11 large property-casualty insurers, whichit says represents about 58 percent of the private passenger autoinsurance market in the U.S. The report estimated the number ofuninsured drivers by the ratio of insurance claims made byindividuals injured by uninsured drivers to claims made byindividuals injured by drivers who were insured.

The report indicates that the estimated percentage of uninsuredmotorists increased nationally from 12.7 percent in 1999 to 14.6percent in 2004, yet the scale of the problem varies from state tostate. The five states with the highest uninsured driver estimatesin 2004 were Mississippi (26 percent), Alabama (25 percent),California (25 percent), New Mexico (24 percent), and Arizona (22percent). The five states with the lowest uninsured driverestimates were Maine (four percent), Vermont (six percent),Massachusetts (six percent), New York (seven percent), and Nebraska(eight percent).