Compare Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist (UM/UIM) Coverage: Rates, Discounts, & Requirements [2023]

Wondering what is uninsured motorist insurance coverage? Uninsured insurance is often sold in conjunction with underinsured motorist insurance coverage. These car insurance coverages protect you if the driver who crashes into you is either illegally driving without insurance or doesn’t have enough insurance to pay your accident bills. In some states, you may be required to carry one or both of these coverages to drive legally, while uninsured or underinsured coverages may be optional in other states. 

Continue reading to learn more about uninsured/underinsured motorist coverages, when you need to carry these insurance coverages, and other important information. 

Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Coverage Explained 

Uninsured motorist insurance will pay your accident bills if the driver who hits you doesn’t have liability auto insurance coverage. Liability auto insurance is required in most states and pays for other drivers’ accident bills if you cause an accident. So if the driver who damaged your vehicle doesn’t have the required insurance, uninsured motorist insurance will cover your bills. 

Underinsured motorist insurance works the same way as uninsured motorist insurance. However, underinsured motorist insurance doesn’t cover you when drivers are uninsured but rather when drivers don’t have enough insurance coverage to pay for your accident bills. So if a driver caused $10,000 worth of damages to your car, but their auto insurance will only pay up the limit of $5,000, underinsured motorist insurance will pay the rest. 

Variations of Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Insurance 

There are several different types of uninsured and underinsured motorist coverages. There are two types of coverage for both uninsured and underinsured motorist insurance: property damage insurance and bodily injury insurance. The property damage coverage will pay for your vehicle repairs, whereas bodily injury coverage will pay for your medical bills. 

In most cases, the property damage and bodily injury components of uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage are sold together, but they may also sometimes be sold separately. 

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Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Insurance Requirements 

While you may be able to choose whether you get uninsured or underinsured motorist insurance, you may also have to purchase these coverages to drive legally. Read on to learn more about the limits of uninsured and underinsured policies, when you need to carry them, and when you should get them. 

Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Coverage Limits 

When purchasing uninsured or underinsured insurance, you will likely see their limits expressed as numbers. There are usually two numbers for bodily injury coverage and one number for property damage coverage. For example, you may see 50/100/20 listed on the policy you buy for uninsured or underinsured motorist insurance. 

This means that insurance will cover up to $50,000 for injuries to one person and $100,000 total for all injuries. The last number usually refers to the property damage coverage, so 20 means insurance will cover up to $20,000 for property damage. If your accident costs exceed the limits of your insurance, you will have to pay the remainder out of pocket. 

Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Requirements By State

What uninsured motorists insurance you need to drive legally will vary from state to state. You may have to carry uninsured and underinsured motorist insurance in some states, while in others, you may need to carry neither or just one of these coverages. To see what the requirements for these coverages are in your state.

According to the Insurance Information Institute (III), 20 states and the District of Columbia have a mandatory requirement for this type of coverage. As you can see from the table above, you don’t have to carry uninsured or underinsured motorist insurance in some states unless you wish to. You may have to carry one of these coverages or both in other states. 

Should I get uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage? 

If you aren’t required to get these coverages, you may wonder if you should spend the extra money to purchase these coverages. When choosing whether to carry uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage, you should consider the following: 

• Your health insurance. If you have good health insurance, you probably don’t need to get bodily injury coverage for uninsured or underinsured motorist insurance unless you want coverage for pain and suffering after an accident. 
• Your car insurance. If you have good collision insurance, you can probably skip out on carrying uninsured or underinsured motorist coverages if they aren’t required in your state. 
• Your state’s number of uninsured or underinsured drivers. We recommend looking at how many uninsured drivers and underinsured drivers there are in your state before deciding whether you should skip out on these coverages. 

If you already have good health and car insurance, you may not need to carry uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage if your state doesn’t require them. Suppose you are worried about the cost of carrying these insurance coverages. In that case, the best thing you can do is shop around for quotes and see if you can get cheaper insurance rates from a different auto insurance company in your area. 

Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Claims and Payouts

We’ve covered how to make claims and what amount of payout you can expect to receive from your claim. However, read on if you have uninsured or underinsured motorist insurance and need to file a car insurance claim. 

How do I make an uninsured/underinsured claim? 

If the other driver caused the accident and either doesn’t have any insurance or doesn’t have enough insurance to cover your accident costs, you need to contact your insurance company to make a claim. Generally, you can either call the insurance company or file a claim online. 

You will need to ensure that you have all the relevant accident information, such as photos of the damages, the other driver’s information, and when and where the accident happened. Your insurance company will guide you through what information is needed when you make the claim. 

How do uninsured/underinsured payouts work? 

Like any insurance coverage, uninsured and underinsured will pay you for damages up to the policy limits. The insurance company will also consider the payout you got from the other driver’s insurance if you make a claim on your underinsured motorist coverage.

So if you got $10,000 from the other driver’s insurance but have $20,000 worth of damages, underinsured coverage will pay the remaining $10,000 as long as your policy limit is $10,000 or more. Likewise, if your car is hit by an uninsured driver in a parking lot or similar situation and has $5,000 worth of damages, uninsured motorist coverage will pay that amount as long as your limit is equal to or more than the damages. If you believe that the insurance company offered you a low payout, you can contest the amount of car insurance payout by providing solid evidence. 

Examples of Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Accident Claims 

If you aren’t sure whether you should claim an accident or not, reach out to your insurance company to see what your insurance policy covers. However, the examples below should help you understand common claims. 

• You are rear-ended in traffic by another driver without insurance. Because the other driver doesn’t have insurance and is at fault for the accident, you should make a claim under your uninsured motorist coverage. 
• Your parked car is hit in a parking lot by a driver who doesn’t have enough insurance to pay for your vehicle repairs. In this case, you should file a claim under your underinsured motorist coverage. 

Basically, if you weren’t at fault for the accident, but the other driver doesn’t have insurance or doesn’t have enough insurance, you would file a claim with your insurance company. 

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Are hit-and-runs covered? 

Hit-and-runs, where another driver crashes into you and then drives off without giving insurance information, will usually be covered under uninsured motorist coverage. However, the truth about uninsured motorist coverage and hit-and-runs is that whether you are covered will also depend upon your personal insurance company and what state you live in. 

Not all states cover hit-and-runs under uninsured motorist coverage. In these cases, it is wise to carry collision insurance to pay for any damages that might occur from a hit-and-run. 

The Final Word on Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Coverage 

In some states, you may choose whether you want to carry uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage. Uninsured will help pay your bills if the driver who hit you doesn’t have insurance, and underinsured will help pay your bills if the driver who hit you doesn’t have enough insurance to pay your bills. 

If you want to find uninsured or underinsured motorist insurance today, use our free quote comparison tool. It will help you find the best auto insurance rates in your area for uninsured or underinsured motorist insurance.

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