Nearly one-third of Generation Z drivers surveyed by TransUnion say they have recently owned or driven an uninsured vehicle, revealing how frequently some young Americans are taking one of the biggest financial risks on the road.
Approximately 30 percent of Gen Z respondents — the generation generally defined as those born between 1997 and 2012 — reported owning or driving an uninsured vehicle at some point during the previous six months, according to research TransUnion released Tuesday.
Affordability was an important reason, but it wasn’t the only one.
Among Gen Z respondents who reported going uninsured, 28 percent said they simply decided not to renew their insurance. Another 26 percent said they couldn’t afford to pay for it, while 22 percent said they failed to make a payment on time.
Twenty percent said their insurer dropped them, and 4 percent cited another reason.
“We know affordability is a big challenge for Gen Z, and that certainly helps explain their lapses in coverage,” TransUnion senior director of strategic planning Patrick Foy said in the release accompanying the findings.
“However, we don’t think that’s the whole story as more indicated that they simply chose not to renew their coverage than were unable to pay.”
That distinction is significant because young drivers are confronting a car market in which virtually every component of ownership can become expensive.
Gasoline was averaging approximately $4.07 per gallon nationally at the time of publication, according to AAA. Insurance can add hundreds of dollars every month, particularly for younger drivers whom insurers generally consider more expensive to cover.
Forbes Advisor reported that, as of Aug. 3, the median premium among drivers who changed insurers was $267 per month. That works out to $3,204 annually.
For an 18-year-old driver, the median monthly premium can reach approximately $565 — or $6,780 over a full year.
Those figures help explain why consumers aren’t necessarily remaining loyal to a particular insurer.
LexisNexis found that more than 47 percent of auto insurance policies were “shopped” at least once between 2024 and 2025, a record level. Consumers increasingly appear willing to compare companies and potentially switch when they believe another insurer can provide a better price or experience.
Shopping around for cheaper insurance, however, is very different from allowing coverage to lapse altogether.
Driving uninsured can expose a motorist to substantial financial consequences after an accident. State requirements vary, but most states require drivers to carry minimum levels of auto liability insurance. Depending on the jurisdiction, driving without required coverage can result in fines, license or registration consequences and other penalties.
The financial exposure can be considerably greater if an uninsured driver causes a serious collision.
Without liability coverage, costs associated with injuries and property damage can potentially fall directly on the driver. A decision intended to eliminate a monthly bill can therefore create a much larger financial problem if something goes wrong.
The TransUnion findings also suggest that lapses cannot be explained exclusively by drivers deliberately attempting to save money. Some respondents forgot payments, while others said their insurance companies dropped them.
Still, the combined numbers reveal a substantial gap between recognizing insurance as part of vehicle ownership and consistently maintaining it.
For young Americans already dealing with car payments, fuel, repairs and insurance premiums that can reach several thousand dollars per year, the temptation to eliminate another recurring expense is understandable.
The problem is that insurance is the expense designed for the moment when the cost of driving suddenly becomes much larger.
For nearly three in 10 Gen Z drivers surveyed, that protection has recently been absent.
