Money Matters - Traffic Deaths Are Falling. The Insurance Risk After a Crash Is Rising.

Traffic deaths in the United States are moving in the right direction. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that 36,640 people died in traffic crashes in 2025, down 6.7 percent from 2024. NHTSA says the fatality rate fell to 1.10 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles traveled, the second-lowest rate in its recorded history.

The latest complete injury data is less encouraging. An estimated 2.42 million people were injured in motor vehicle traffic crashes in 2024, down just 0.8 percent from the year before, a change NHTSA found was not statistically significant. Police-reported crashes also increased slightly, from 6.14 million to 6.18 million.

For crash survivors, those numbers raise a different question: How much insurance is actually available when someone gets hurt?

Missouri attorney Douglas R. Horn has focused his legal practice on personal injury cases involving motor vehicle collisions since 1991.

"When someone is seriously injured, the costs begin immediately," Horn says. "Emergency care and ongoing treatment can add up fast. Lost income can make it harder to cover everyday expenses, and vehicle damage can add another significant financial burden. If the at-fault driver has no insurance or only the minimum required by law, the injured person may be left without enough available insurance unless they have protection through their own policy."

One in three drivers is uninsured or underinsured

The Insurance Research Council found that 15.4 percent of U.S. drivers were uninsured in 2023. Another 18 percent were underinsured, meaning their liability limits were not enough to cover the injuries they caused. Together, that represents 33.4 percent of drivers nationwide.

The gap has grown considerably. In 2017, the combined uninsured and underinsured rate was 23 percent, more than 10 percentage points lower than in 2023.

Rates also vary widely by location. IRC found uninsured motorist rates ranging from 5.7 percent in Maine to 28.2 percent in Mississippi. Underinsured rates ranged from 4.6 percent in the District of Columbia to 49.7 percent in Colorado.

"Drivers may be one crash away from finding out the other driver does not have enough insurance," Horn says. "Many people assume the at-fault driver's policy will be enough to cover the loss, but that is not always the case. Drivers should know what protection they have against uninsured and underinsured motorists before a crash happens."

Injury claims are getting more expensive

The cost side of the equation is moving upward. CCC Intelligent Solutions reported that the average third-party bodily injury payment reached approximately $29,900 per injured person by the second quarter of 2025, up 32 percent from the same period in 2021.

State liability minimums vary. Missouri, where Horn practices, requires at least $25,000 in bodily injury liability coverage for one injured person and $50,000 per crash. The state also requires uninsured motorist bodily injury coverage at those limits.

The comparison does not mean every claim will exceed a policy's limits. It does show how an injury can quickly put relatively low liability coverage to the test.

Uninsured motorist coverage generally protects a policyholder when the at-fault driver has no liability insurance. Underinsured motorist coverage can apply when the other driver's limits fall short of the losses from the crash. Requirements and policy terms vary by state.

Horn encourages drivers to look at their own limits before they ever need to use them.

"I always encourage people to ask questions before they need answers," Horn says.

Fewer traffic deaths are meaningful progress. But millions of people are still being hurt on American roads, injury claims are becoming more expensive, and a significant share of drivers have little or insufficient liability protection. For consumers, understanding what their own policy covers may be one of the few parts of that risk they can control.

About Douglas R. Horn

Douglas R. Horn is an attorney with The Horn Law Firm in Missouri. Since 1991, his practice has focused on plaintiff personal injury law, including cases involving motor vehicle collisions. He has also worked on highway safety and driver protection initiatives.