Yup, it is a problem, and doesn't seem to be getting any better. My son was hit by a driver who actually had insurance, but was the cheapest, fly-by-night insurance available, that refused to admit fault (even though the police report was crystal clear), and used every trick in the book to delay paying anything. We had to pay the deductible ($500) and let our insurance fight the good fight. Took more than 2 years, but eventually we were reimbursed. More often than not, that never happens.
Hard times? B--ls--t. Part of the cost of owning/driving a vehicle is the cost of insurance, no different than the car payment or the price of gas. If you can't afford at least the minimum insurance, then you can't afford the car. Period. That's life, bucko; suck it up.
For every "hard times" story, there are 10 stories of those same people taking advantage of the system and costing the rest of us our hard earned money. Sorry, I have exactly 0 sympathy for them. I just got finished buying new license plates for my motorhome; they "walked off" during the night; the plate AND the newly installed renewal sticker.:M