Almost 25% of drivers in the nation’s capital are on the road without insurance, that’s third worst in the country, according to a study by U.S. News and World Report.
Elsewhere in the D.C. region, it’s still not great, but not quite as bad as in the District.
Rachael Brennan, the study’s author, said Maryland ranked 14th in the country when compared against other states. About 17% of Maryland drivers are on the road without insurance.
Virginia is in the middle of the pack at 23rd in the country with just under 13% of drivers uninsured, Brennan said.
Brennan said that the reason so many drivers go without insurance is because of money. While the cost of car insurance in D.C. is average, “the cost of living in D.C. is significantly higher, especially the cost of housing in D.C. is 148% higher than the national average.”
When people can’t afford all of their expenses, Brennan said “car insurance is an easy one to let lapse.”
Even as the number of uninsured drivers is high, there are things drivers who do pay their insurance bills can do to protect themselves. Brennan recommended getting more than just the required minimum uninsured motorist coverage on your insurance policy.
The District requires drivers have $25,000 of uninsured motorist bodily injury per person and $50,000 per accident. But Brennan said that’s not enough coverage.
“If you’re in a serious accident, you could blow through $25,000 worth of medical expenses within the first half an hour in a hospital, unfortunately. So uninsured motor coverage is definitely a valuable thing to have,” she said.
If you’re involved in an accident with an uninsured driver, she suggested working with your insurance company because they might be able to help file a lawsuit against the uninsured driver to get your bills paid.
So which state has the smallest percentage of uninsured drivers? According to U.S. News, it’s Maine with just over 5% of its drivers on the road without coverage.
The U.S. News study used data the Insurance Information Institute collected from 2022 to 2023.
Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here.
© 2026 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.
