Tenn. Uncertain How to Fix State’s Uninsured Driver Problem

An estimated 925,133 motorists in Tennessee — more than one in five licensed drivers — do not have insurance, according to a 2006 study by the Insurance Research Council, and at least one lawmaker thinks that’s unfair to other drivers.

Tennessee had the nation’s sixth-highest percentage of uninsured drivers at 21.2 percent. Alabama ranked second, with 24.8 percent of drivers without insurance, according to the council. The nationwide figure was 14.6 percent.

“Uninsured motorists have been a problem for a very long time,” said Carolyn Gorman, a vice president at the Insurance Information Institute. “The problem is caused by people who think they can’t afford insurance or they just don’t want to spend the money on it. It puts us all at risk.”

Tennessee law requires drivers to have liability insurance of at least $60,000. The state also allows drivers to deposit $60,000 with the state insurance commissioner instead of purchasing insurance.

But enforcement of the law is inconsistent and typically comes after a driver is stopped or causes an accident, said state Rep. Gary Moore, D-Joelton, who pushed unsuccessfully during 2006 to strengthen the enforcement.

“How are we going to address it? I’ll be honest, I don’t exactly know,” Moore said. “But we need something that’s going to have a positive impact and really require people to have insurance.”

Tennessee doesn’t keep track of how many crashes involve uninsured motorists, but officers wrote 17,131 citations in 2006 for people who weren’t able to show proof of insurance when stopped. That represents a little less than 4 percent of the 442,358 tickets written in the state during 2006.

In court, if drivers can show proof that they have insurance, charges often are dropped at the judge’s discretion, Moore said.

“Once they get over that immediate hurdle (showing proof of insurance), they quit paying it and it lapses again,” the suburban Nashville legislator said. “Within a month, that driver is back on the roads without insurance.”

Chattanooga City Court Judge Sherry Paty said judges have leeway on how to handle motorists cited for driving without insurance. She said she practices some leniency if drivers have purchased insurance after getting a ticket, or if they don’t have proof but do have a current policy, she said.

“As long as it was in effect at the time of the stop, generally I will dismiss the citation if they bring in proof,” Paty said. “But if they didn’t have insurance, but they get it, I will usually dismiss the citation but assess court costs.”

Paty said the problem of uninsured motorists is growing. “There are more people that come into court (and) have let it lapse,” Paty said. “There are a lot of people who just drive without insurance until they get caught.”

Moore said he was in accidents with uninsured motorists three times in a year. In every crash, the at-fault driver left him paying for repairs through his uninsured motorists policy. “My rates went through the roof after my accidents,” Moore said. “I’m being penalized for those people who don’t have insurance, and guess what? They keep driving.”

In 2002, Tennessee began mandating that drivers carry an insurance card.

But Moore said the current law is insufficient. Other states, Georgia and North Carolina, for example, do a better job tracking the uninsured, he said.

Georgia has a computerized network linked with insurance providers. The state notifies drivers when their policies lapse. If the policy goes unpaid, the car’s registration is suspended, according to Keith Thomas, the state’s information technology section manager for the Department of Revenue.

“North Carolina’s system seems to work the best, but it involves a lot of manpower,” Gorman said. North Carolina requires drivers to show proof of insurance when their license tags are renewed. The state verifies the policy is valid shortly afterward. If the policy is not valid, the state gives drivers 30 days to obtain valid insurance. If that doesn’t happen, a state trooper confiscates the motorist’s tag. It’s held for 30 days, and the driver has to pay $125 to get it back, according to Chrissy Pearson, a North Carolina Department of Insurance spokeswoman.

Moore said he faced an uphill battle when he tried to pass legislation modeled after Georgia’s in 2006. He was beleaguered by questions on how Tennessee would pay for the required database, which would cost $7 million, according to the Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury.

Moore now says he supports North Carolina’s approach. “I think the way we should go is to require it when you renew your registration,” said Moore, adding he plans to introduce the legislation this year.

But Sen. Tim Burchett, R-Knoxville, who is on the Commerce, Labor and Agriculture Committee that would take up the proposal, said the legislation is unlikely to pass. “It’s hard to enforce, and it would take a police officer going out to pick up the license plates,” he said. “That’s expensive. In a year like this, with all the budget cuts, you have to wonder if that’s the best use of our resources.”

Uninsured motorist coverage pays for damage when at-fault drivers are not insured. The uninsured motorist protection is relatively inexpensive, with a cost about equal to 10 percent of the overall annual premium.

The high number of uninsured motorists on the road makes it imperative for insured motorists to add uninsured motorist coverage to their policies, a Chattanooga attorney said.

“You’ve got to have it,” said Jay Kennamer with the McMahan Law Firm. “If you get into a crash with someone who doesn’t have insurance, it’s not likely they have any other assets you could get. They are bankruptcy material even if you get a judgment against them.”