One in four drivers lacks insurance

Oct. 18--MOTORISTS BEWARE -- the latest national survey shows one in four Oklahomans drive without insurance.

Oklahoma's rate in a survey released in January by the national Insurance Research Council is 24 percent -- the fourth-worst in the nation.

That's a huge increase from Oklahoma's

"Thirty percent of the people who walk through my (office) door don't have liability insurance," said longtime Farmer's Insurance Group agent Ken Frazier of Muskogee.

Not having liability coverage could mean financial ruin for those in an accident that results in injury, death or extreme property damage.

Jennifer Hollingshead of Muskogee was hit by a driver arrested on complaints of driving under the influence, no insurance and no valid driver's license on Oct. 3.

Muskogee County/City Detention Facility records show that driver, Billy Gene Haworth, of Muskogee bonded out the same day on bonds of $5,000, $642 and $642.

Haworth said Oct. 9 that he has insurance but did not have his insurance card with him.

Meanwhile Hollingshead said her car did not sustain a lot of damage and she was not injured, and that she had not been notified Friday that Haworth has insurance.

Hollingshead said she was pretty mad at the time of the accident and has been angry while dealing with the aftermath on a daily basis.

She works at an insurance agency.

"I know there are so many people who don't have insurance -- I have been pretty upset. I'm glad he got arrested."

Haworth hit two cars on Oct. 3 during the same accident, according to a police report.

The other driver hit suffered more vehicle damage than she did, Hollingshead said. That driver, James Houston Johnson, could not be reached for comment.

Shemea Danielle Crowder, 21 and pregnant, was walking or running across South 32nd Street in front of McDonald's toward Homeland when she was hit by a vehicle. It was about 250 feet south of the curbing on West Okmulgee Avenue, a police report said.

The report said Crowder ran in front of the vehicle driven by Melton Ray Brooks of Muskogee, who was cited for no insurance.

That was the only citation issued, police said.

Brooks refused comment.

Crowder was hospitalized at least two days after the collision and re-entered the hospital Oct. 9, saying she had blacked out twice in that week.

"People coming in needing liability insurance usually need to buy a vehicle tag, and they have to have the insurance to do that," Frazier said.

Because of a downturn in the economy, insurance experts predicted in January that by 2010 up to 16 percent of drivers nationwide would be driving without insurance. That would be a jump from 13.8 percent in 2007.

The predicted jump in the uninsured is already here, Frazier said.

Most of those he's seeing needing insurance haven't been carrying it for various reasons, including:

--Have too many accident and/or tickets on their record, so their rates went up.

--Economic problems prompted them to sell their vehicle, and they didn't have one for a period of time.

--Out of work and had to let insurance lapse because they couldn't afford to pay it.

Frazier also has noted a trend since the downturn in the economy for families to scale back the number of vehicles they have.

"I'm seeing families who had two to four vehicles scaling back to one or two," he said.

The Insurance Research Council's latest study shows for every 1 percent increase in unemployment, the percentage of uninsured motorists increases three-quarters of a percent.

That means Oklahoma's rate already could have dipped more than fourth worst in the nation.

In August 2008, Oklahoma's unemployment rate was 3.9 percent. The Oklahoma Employment Security Commission announced in September that the state's unemployment rate increased to 6.8 percent in August, up from 6.6 percent in July and 6.4 percent in June.

The average payment on accident claims involving an uninsured driver is about $11,000, according to the most recent Insurance Research Council.

Some drivers are carrying too little liability insurance to cut costs, the IRC said.

Reach Donna Hales at 684-2923 or dhales@muskogeephoenix.com

Oklahoma law

According to the Oklahoma Liability Insurance Law, there is compulsory liability insurance required in Oklahoma. All Oklahoma drivers and/or vehicle owners are required by law to carry the minimum limits of liability, referred to as 25/50/25, which stands for:

--$25,000 for injury or death of one person (Liability Bodily Injury).

--$50,000 for injury or death of two or more persons (Liability Bodily Injury).

--$25,000 for property damage (Liability Property Damage).

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