Uninsured Motorist (UM) Coverage (2024)

Uninsured motorist (UM) coverage pays for repairs and medical bills if you get hit by someone driving without auto insurance. Auto insurance is required, but not every driver on the road carries it. So, to secure protection from uninsured drivers, many may wonder, “Should I buy more than the minimum auto insurance”?

If you get hit by a driver without insurance, you may have to pay out-of-pocket expenses like medical and repair bills if you don’t carry uninsured motorist coverage. Read on to learn more about the importance of uninsured motorist coverage.

Understanding Uninsured Motorist Coverage

Uninsured motorist coverage pays for medical bills and vehicle damage if you’re in an accident with a driver who doesn’t have liability auto insurance or if you’re involved in a hit-and-run and don’t know the person who hit you.

Take a look at the table below to see the percentage of drivers by state who don’t have auto insurance:

Percent of Uninsured Motorists by State

State	Percent of Uninsured Motorists
Alabama	18%
Alaska	15%
Arizona	12%
Arkansas	17%
California	15%
Colorado	13%
Connecticut	9%
Delaware	11%
District of Columbia	16%
Florida	27%
Georgia	12%
Hawaii	11%
Idaho	8%
Illinois	14%
Indiana	17%
Iowa	9%
Kansas	7%
Kentucky	12%
Louisiana	13%
Maine	5%
Maryland	12%
Massachusetts	6%
Michigan	20%
Minnesota	12%
Mississippi	24%
Missouri	14%
Montana	10%
Nebraska	7%
Nevada	11%
New Hampshire	10%
New Jersey	15%
New Mexico	21%
New York	6%
North Carolina	7%
North Dakota	7%
Ohio	12%
Oklahoma	11%
Oregon	13%
Pennsylvania	8%
Rhode Island	15%
South Carolina	9%
South Dakota	8%
Tennessee	20%
Texas	14%
Utah	8%
Vermont	7%
Virginia	10%
Washington	17%
West Virginia	10%
Wisconsin	14%
Wyoming	8%

Uninsured motorist coverage pays for:

• Medical bills
• Lost wages
• Pain and suffering compensation
• Funeral expenses
• Car damage in certain states

Many states require all drivers to carry uninsured motorist coverage, which insurers often bundle with underinsured motorist insurance. Underinsured motorist insurance is similar to uninsured motorists. It will cover you in these situations when the driver has insurance but not enough to cover the damage they caused fully.

For example, suppose your medical bills total $30,000, and the driver who hit you has only $15,000 in bodily injury insurance coverage. In that case, an underinsured motorist policy will kick in and cover the remaining costs.

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Uninsured Motorist vs. Underinsured Motorist Coverage

Every insurance company has its own policies regarding uninsured motorist coverage.

Here are the four types of coverage often grouped together under uninsured motorist insurance:

• Uninsured motorist bodily injury (UM): UM covers you when you’re in an accident, and the driver at fault doesn’t have any car insurance. 
• Uninsured motorist property damage (UMPD): UMPD covers damage to your vehicle if someone without insurance hits it. Many states require this insurance type.
• Underinsured motorist bodily injury (UIM): UIM covers you when another driver with inadequate insurance hits you and doesn’t carry enough liability insurance to cover your medical bills, lost wages, etc. 
• Underinsured motorist property damage (UIMPD): UIMPD covers damage to your vehicle in the same situation.

By adding all of these coverages to your policy, you are better protected if a driver with inadequate auto insurance hits you.

Uninsured Motorist Coverage Requirements

The minimum auto insurance required in each state varies. If your state requires uninsured motorist coverage, you must purchase the minimum amount to drive legally. Usually, these amounts are the same as your liability coverage.

Every state has different requirements for how much coverage drivers need.

Uninsured Motorist Coverage Limits

Uninsured motorist coverage usually gets expressed as two numbers, such as 100/300. 

This means that if you get into an accident, you are covered for the following amounts:

• $100,000 bodily injury coverage per person
• $300,000 bodily injury coverage per accident

If you have this 100/300 policy and two passengers are injured in an accident caused by someone else, your maximum payout is $300,000. If this still isn’t enough to cover expenses, your health insurance will usually kick in to help.

State Laws for Uninsured Motorist Coverage

As mentioned above, many states require drivers to have uninsured motorist coverage in addition to liability insurance. 

The following states require some amount of uninsured motorist coverage:

• Connecticut
• Illinois
• Kansas
• Maine
• Maryland
• Massachusetts
• Minnesota
• Missouri
• Nebraska
• New Hampshire
• New York
• North Carolina
• North Dakota
• Oregon
• South Carolina
• South Dakota
• Vermont
• Virginia
• Washington, D.C.
• West Virginia
• Wisconsin

If you live in one of these states, your insurance agent will help you to adjust your car insurance so you are properly covered.

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Determining Whether Uninsured Motorist Coverage Is Necessary

If your state doesn’t require you to have uninsured motorist coverage, it is still a smart move to add it to your insurance policy. There are a few things to consider when deciding if it’s right for you.

Consider Whether Health Insurance Covers Bodily Injuries

Some health insurance plans will cover drivers and passengers who have sustained injuries from a car accident. You might not need bodily injury coverage if you have a good health insurance plan. However, it’s worth it most of the time.

Uninsured motorist covers more than just medical bills, such as lost wages and money for pain and suffering. Do you need medical payment coverage on auto insurance? Health insurance doesn’t usually cover these expenses. However, if you have a high-deductible health insurance policy, getting uninsured motorist coverage could be worth it.

Consider Whether My Current Auto Insurance Policy Covers Vehicle Damage

Collision insurance often covers damage to your car when another driver hits you. Collision insurance covers the majority of car accidents, not only those involving uninsured drivers.

So if you have collision insurance, you may not need to add uninsured motorists.

Check if Your State Has Many Uninsured Drivers

According to recent studies by the Insurance Research Council, approximately one in eight drivers is uninsured, though this varies a lot by state.

Mississippi has the highest rate of uninsured drivers at almost 30%, while New Jersey only has 3% of uninsured drivers on the road. Finding cheap car insurance in New Jersey can be hard, as the monthly minimum liability costs are higher.

Hit-And-Run Accidents May Not be Covered by Uninsured Motorist Insurance

Depending on your state, uninsured motorist insurance may or may not cover damages if you’re the victim of a hit-and-run accident. A hit-and-run car accident is where the at-fault driver leaves the scene without exchanging contact information or insurance.

This can happen between two vehicles when a vehicle hits a piece of property and if a vehicle hits a pedestrian.

The following states don’t allow UMPD coverage for hit-and-run accidents:

• California
• Colorado
• Georgia
• Illinois
• Louisiana
• Ohio

In these states, you must add collision insurance to protect your vehicle.

Understanding the Payout from an Uninsured Motorist Claim

Uninsured motorist claims work a little differently than collision insurance or a comprehensive claim for auto insurance. The UM amount you can claim gets reduced by the money you get from the other driver’s liability insurance.

Here is a step-by-step example:

• Let’s say you have $100,000 of UM coverage, and you only receive $50,000 from the at-fault driver’s liability insurance — but your medical bills are $300,000.
• Your UM coverage will likely pay $50,000 ($100,000 minus $50,000 from the at-fault driver), meaning you’re still responsible for $200,000 in medical bills.
• Most people won’t get the full UM payout of $100,000 plus the driver’s liability coverage of $50,000.
• In this situation, you might only receive $100,000 from insurance instead of the $150,000 you expected.

Some states, like Connecticut, don’t allow insurers to deduct the payout based on the at-fault driver’s insurance amount. So using the example above, you would get $150,000 in insurance instead of $100,000.

Other states, like Georgia, offer drivers a choice to add UM coverage to at-fault liability limits. There are many options for cheap car insurance in Georgia. 

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How to File an Uninsured Motorist Coverage Claim

You should immediately contact your insurance company to file a claim if you get hit by another driver who doesn’t have any or enough car insurance.

If you get rear-ended by a driver who doesn’t have adequate insurance, you’ll need to file an uninsured motorist claim with your own insurance company. Similarly, if you’re a pedestrian hit by a driver without proper insurance, you must also file a claim with your insurer — plus the driver’s insurance.

Here are the 10 safest states for pedestrians in the U.S. Living in one of these areas could decrease your risk of filing a claim as a pedestrian. 

Another common situation where you would need to file a UMPB claim is if your vehicle is parked and you discover it has been hit or damaged but have no idea who caused it. You would file a claim under your UMPD coverage in this hit-and-run scenario. If you don’t have this coverage, you can also file a claim under your collision insurance.

Why Uninsured Motorist Coverage Is Worth It

Even if uninsured motorist insurance isn’t a requirement in your state, it’s still worth considering. One in eight drivers takes to the road without adequate car insurance. If you get hit by one of these drivers, you may have serious out-of-pocket medical expenses.

Uninsured motorist coverage helps pay for these expenses caused by another driver. Generally, the cost of uninsured motorist coverage is low, and adding it could save you lots of money.

Talk to your insurance representative to ensure you have full protection against uninsured drivers. An insurance agent can also tell you if the law requires uninsured motorist coverage.

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