Mississippi has the highest rate of uninsured drivers

Mississippi has the highest rate of uninsured drivers in the country. That’s why lawmakers are revisiting a policy they scrapped nearly a decade ago.

Justin Glowacki with the Roy Howard Community Journalism Center spoke with lawmakers behind the bill and residents who say the issue affects them firsthand.

National data from the Insurance Research Council shows roughly one in four Mississippi drivers is uninsured.

For Gulfport resident Margie Jefferson, that number is a problem. “They don’t have insurance, and they done hit somebody, and we can’t get nothing from it.”

Mississippi law requires drivers to carry liability insurance, but the state does not require proof of coverage when registering or renewing a vehicle.

In most other states, that’s not the case. “Because in Louisiana, you know, if you don’t have insurance, they take your tags. I don’t understand it over here.”

Lawmakers say that’s what they’re trying to change. House Bill 676 would bring back a requirement repealed in 2015. It would require drivers to show proof of insurance before registering or renewing a vehicle.

Representative Jeffrey Hulum of Gulfport introduced the bill. “What it’s going to do is put more oversight on this process.”

Supporters say the change would move insurance enforcement earlier in the process.

Residents like Shelley Singh say requiring insurance earlier could help reduce uninsured driving, even if it doesn’t solve every problem.

“I do think that if you make stuff mandatory like that, that that would help to ensure that everybody is covered because we have a lot of hit and runs and stuff like that, and, you know, if that happens, it puts a lot of people in a bad place.”

Hulum says there are some concerns. “When they get the insurance, they’re going to cancel it right after they get it.”

But the bill is meant to start the conversation, not be a final solution. “This bill is just a roadmap to get us started, get the conversation back going.”