NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Accidents do happen, and when they happen with an uninsured motorist, you'd better be ready.
The chances are about 14 in 100 that if an insured driver is injured in an auto accident, an uninsured driver caused the crash, according to the Malvern, Pa.-based Insurance Research Council. This is down from 16 percent in 1989.
You can buy uninsured motorist insurance and in some states it's mandatory. If you are involved in an accident with an uninsured driver and you don't have this kind of coverage, your options are limited.
Jayna Neagle, spokeswoman for the New York-based Insurance Information Institute, said you can go the legal route and sue the other driver, but be advised you'll be going after the assets of someone who doesn't have auto insurance. That's hardly a winning proposition and it is unlikely your insurance carrier will pick up the tab for your court case. They usually provide coverage if you're the one being sued.
"You should always call your agent," she said. "There may be some coverage you don't know about."
Although it is rare, Neagle said arbitration is a possibility, where you work out a schedule of payments with the offending driver and everybody stays out of court.
Average deductible for uninsured motorist coverage? About $250, Neagle said.
Dave Hurst, a spokesman for Bloomington, Ill.-based State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co., which insures about 20 percent of the automobiles in the country, said drivers can also buy under-insured driver coverage for cases when the other driver has some insurance coverage, but not enough.
Hurst said under-insured driver coverage is usually not required, but in some states it is sold as part of package with uninsured driver coverage.
What to do
If you get into an accident, contact your insurance agent, whether the other driver is insured or not. After calling police and seeing to any injured, you should:
- Try and protect the accident scene.
- Make notes. Write down the names and addresses of all drivers and passengers involved in the accident. Also, get the make and model of each car involved, and take down the driver's license number and insurance identification. Take down the names and badge numbers of police officers or other emergency personnel.
- Call your insurance agent as soon as you can—even if you are far from home and it was somebody else's fault.
- Keep records of the expenses your incur as a result of the accident.
- Keep copies of all the paper work.
Stating the case
Liability coverage is mandatory in 45 states and the District of Columbia and Alabama's compulsory insurance law is effective June 1. Penalties for failing to comply range from fines of up to $1,000, license suspensions and, in a few states, jail time.
The IRC study found the five states with the highest uninsured driver estimates were Colorado at 34 percent, Mississippi at 29 percent, Alabama at 28 percent, New Mexico at 27 percent and California at 26 percent. Colorado differs in that bodily injury claims are subject to a $2,500 monetary threshold and the uninsured motorist claims are not. In other states, the thresholds are the same.
At the other end of the scale, the five states with the lowest uninsured driver estimates were Maine and North Carolina, tied at 5 percent each, South Dakota at 6 percent, and Nebraska and Massachusetts, each with 7 percent.
The study found trends varied widely between and within states. The uninsured driver ratio for Mississippi was nearly six times as high as the ratio for Maine. Within states, the IRC found the frequency of uninsured motorist claims to be much higher in large cities than in rural areas. 
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