CHARLESTON — Americans are desperately seeking ways to cut their spending in these tumultuous economic times, even if it means driving without car insurance.

The number of uninsured motorists nationwide has doubled in the past year, said Sam Belden, vice president of online agency Insurance.com.

The number of West Virginia drivers whose licenses are suspended each year because of lack of insurance has remained fairly consistent, and it's a nagging problem, said Steve Dale, deputy commissioner of the Division of Motor Vehicles.

The DMV annually suspends between 7,000 and 9,000 licenses of motorists caught driving with no insurance coverage. Each of them poses a risk on the road, Dale said.

"West Virginia is in the middle of the pack as far as the uninsured percentages go," Dale said. "There are states which have higher uninsured rates and states with lower, but DMV would like to do more. It doesn't really matter what the percentage is if you are the one that meets the driver that is uninsured."

Belden, at Insurance.com, said data shows that 20 percent, or one in five motorists, are not covered this year compared to 10 percent last year.

Insurance.com is the largest online auto insurance broker, which gets rates from 15 different companies for consumers.

"Money is a little tight with people, and they decide if they need to skip on something, they'll let their insurance lapse," Belden said.

"It's directly attributable to the economy," he added. "And it's exacerbated by premiums also rising over the past year. When people are squeezed the most, the insurance rates are also going up."

Belden said insurance premiums have increased by 6 or 7 percent this year.

The Insurance Research Council, a group funded by the insurance industry, is expected to release a study next month showing that several hundred thousand drivers dropped their insurance in 2008, partly because of the economy and jobless rate. About 40 percent of callers who followed up on online applications this year let their policies lapse, up from 10 percent a couple of years ago.

David Corum, vice president of the council, said the study shows that a single percentage point increase in unemployment is associated with a half-point increase in uninsured drivers.

The council's most recent data, from June 2006, reported that West Virginia had an uninsured motorist rate of 10 percent. The national average that year was around 15 percent.

States with the highest uninsured rates include Mississippi, 26 percent; Alabama, 25 percent; and California, 25 percent.

Though West Virginia may be in the middle of the pack, it's nothing but bad news for someone involved in a crash with an uninsured driver.

A person must sue an uninsured motorist to recover costs, though carrying uninsured-motorist coverage can help. West Virginia is one of about 20 states that require a policyholder to buy coverage for uninsured and underinsured drivers.

This mandate, however, adds roughly 7 to 9 percent to an auto premium, according to insurance companies State Farm and Allstate.

Despite the hike in rates and the stumbling economy, Belden said policyholders should never let their coverage lapse.

Drivers who let their policies lapse usually must pay up to a 50 percent surcharge for a new policy.

Belden said drivers should talk to their agents about various payment options suited for their income.

"If you pay once every three months, the amount may look absurd," Belden said. "You can move to monthly payments to even it out.

"If it gets too desperate, some insurance companies take partial payments at a time.

"If all else fails, maybe you're with the wrong company. There's a lot of rate variation between the insurance companies out there."

The West Virginia DMV tracks uninsured motorists through citations and accident reports from police departments. The DMV then suspends the driver's license and license plate for a minimum of 30 days. It also receives policy cancellation notices from insurance companies.

Dale said there's room for improvement in detecting uninsured drivers.

"We have been looking at systems that electronically link the DMV vehicle database (containing vehicle identification numbers, plate numbers, names of owners) with insurance company databases," he said. "What these systems do is try to match VIN numbers with policies to see if there is a policy effect."

Through such a system, the DMV could verify current insurance information when an owner registers or renews a license plate. The system could also be accessed by law enforcement at any time, Dale said.