IStock Photo 1502202 © Shaun Lowe

It was lucky for Tony Soprano that he and his family were rich. Based on the calculations of insure.com, a website that provides auto insurance information to consumers, insuring the family’s four luxury cars—Tony’s 2003 Cadillac Escalade ESV, Carmella’s 2005 Porsche Cayenne, Meadow’s 2007 Lexus IS250, and AJ’s 2007 BMW M3—would cost $8,064.20 a year in premiums.

That sum is far beyond the typical auto insurance premium, but even inexpensive cars come with insurance premiums that most consumers find burdensome. This is likely the reason why states with the lowest per capita incomes have the largest numbers of uninsured cars on the road. Tennessee, for example, ranks 36th in per capita income, and in that state the odds a driver is uninsured are 1 in 4.76. In Alabama, which ranks 41st in per capita income, the odds a driver is uninsured are 1 in 4. In Mississippi, which has the lowest per capita income of all 50 states, the odds a driver is uninsured are 1 in 3.85.

Economic downturns also cause drivers to purchase less insurance. Findings by the Insurance Research Council show a direct correlation between unemployment and uninsured drivers.

To encourage uninsured drivers to buy insurance, the state of California started a low-cost car insurance program in 2007. Under the program, a family of four that earns less than $53,000 can get an annual policy for under $400. The Sopranos’ home state of New Jersey, which requires all drivers to be insured, also has a low-cost insurance program. The so-called dollar-a-day program covers emergency treatment as well as treatment of brain and spinal cord injuries up to $250,000. It also provides a $10,000 death benefit. There is no provision for property-damage or bodily-injury liability coverage.

It is still unclear whether these low-cost auto insurance programs will be beneficial in the long run. Case in point: the story of Leslie Garcia, who endured broken ribs, a hurt neck—and just a week later, a miscarriage—in a crash with an uninsured driver, only to discover how little coverage a low-cost plan provided.

Other programs shift the burden to the already-insured, offering additional coverage, often required by the state, if an accident involves an uninsured driver. That, however, just adds to the odds that those drivers with higher incomes will be covered by insurance. It’s good news for those like Tony Soprano who can afford the extra coverage—but bad news for the millions of honest drivers who are scraping to get by. 1 in 11.11 New Jersey drivers—and 1 in 6.85 drivers nationwide—have no auto insurance coverage at all.