What Is Uninsured Motorist Insurance Coverage?

Uninsured motorist coverage pays your costs after a crash caused by a driver who has no insurance or too little insurance, or whose insurer refuses to pay. Your own insurance company processes the claim the same way you'd file any other claim. Two coverage types exist. They aren't always sold together, and not every state requires both:

1. Uninsured motorist bodily injury (UMBI): Pays your medical bills, lost wages and pain and suffering when an uninsured driver hurts you or your passengers. UMBI covers hospital stays and doctor visits up to your policy limits. UMBI also replaces lost income during your recovery.
2. Uninsured motorist property damage (UMPD): Pays to repair or replace your car when an uninsured driver damages it. UMPD covers collision repair and total loss replacement for your vehicle, similar to collision coverage but only for incidents involving an uninsured driver. Not available in every state.

What UM covers:

• Your medical bills and your passengers' medical bills
• Lost wages while you recover
• Car damage in states that offer UMPD

What UM does NOT cover: 

• Items inside your car that get damaged, these are covered by your home or renters policy
• Legal fees from the accident
• Costs above your policy limits

How UM differs from similar coverages: 

• Bodily injury liability pays for injuries you cause to others. UMBI pays for injuries others cause to you when the at-fault driver can't pay. UMBI covers you and your passengers, not drivers you injure.
• Collision coverage pays for damage to your car after any crash regardless of fault. UMPD only pays when an uninsured driver damages your car. If you already carry collision coverage, you may not need UMPD because collision covers the same crash. UMPD can offer a lower deductible in some cases.
• Personal injury protection pays your medical bills and lost wages after a crash no matter who caused it. UM only pays when another driver caused the crash and can't cover your costs. In no-fault states like Florida, Michigan and New York, PIP pays first and UMBI covers what's left once PIP limits are exhausted or for pain and suffering.

After a crash, call your insurer right away. Most policies require you to report within 24 to 72 hours. Check your policy for the exact deadline. Missing it can give your insurer grounds to deny your claim.

You file through your own policy. Once reported, your insurer assigns a claims adjuster who reviews the incident and medical records and negotiates a settlement. You don't have to chase the at-fault driver.

Here's what that looks like in practice: a driver rear-ends you at a stoplight. You have $45,000 in medical bills. The other driver's insurance only covers $30,000. You file a UM claim with your own insurer for the remaining $15,000. Without UM coverage, you pay that $15,000 out of pocket. If your insurer disputes the $15,000, arbitration can resolve the disagreement, a process that runs three to six months in most cases. Underinsured driver claims like this are more common than pure uninsured claims. The Insurance Research Council found that one in six drivers nationally was underinsured in 2023.

Drivers with strong health insurance and solid savings have the most flexibility. Health insurance covers medical bills but doesn't cover lost wages or pain and suffering. If you can absorb those gaps out of pocket, UM is still worth carrying at under $100 per year for most drivers. Drivers without good health coverage or with limited savings have no good alternative without UM. An uninsured driver who totals your car and injures you leaves you with medical bills health insurance won't cover, car repair costs you pay out of pocket and income you can't replace.

Start by answering these questions about your own situation:

• Do you have an emergency fund covering at least six months of expenses?
• What are your health insurance deductible and out-of-pocket maximums?
• How much do you rely on your car for daily life or income?

On car damage specifically: if you already carry collision coverage, collision pays for your car repairs regardless of whether the other driver is insured. In that case you may not need UMPD. If you only have liability coverage, UMPD is the only way to protect your car when an uninsured driver hits it.

Where you live changes how urgent UM coverage is. Mississippi's uninsured driver rate is 28.2%, nearly five times Maine's rate of 5.7%, per the Insurance Information Institute using Insurance Research Council data. Several states near the top, including Missouri at 20.7% and Washington D.C. at 23.1%, require auto insurance but still have some of the highest uninsured rates in the country. A law requiring coverage doesn't guarantee drivers carry it.

Uninsured driver rates for all 51 jurisdictions:

For drivers in the top 10 states, where more than one in five drivers on the road has no insurance, UM coverage protects you from paying out of pocket after a crash that isn't your fault.

UM coverage averages $9 per month to add to a policy, per MoneyGeek's rate analysis. Monthly costs range from $4 in low-risk states to over $20 in high-risk states.

Three factors move the price most:

• Your state. Drivers in Mississippi, New Mexico and Florida pay more because the share of uninsured drivers on the road is higher. Drivers in Maine, North Dakota and Iowa pay less.
• Your limits. Matching your UM limits to your liability limits costs more than carrying minimum UM limits. At 25/50 limits, UMBI runs $33 to $76 per year. At 100/300 limits, it runs $86 to $134 per year, per InsuredBetter's 2026 rate data.
• UMBI vs. UMPD. Adding UMPD on top of UMBI raises the cost but protects your car when an uninsured driver hits it. Typical UMPD limit options are $25,000 or $50,000.

Your driving record and credit score also affect the UM premium, as do vehicle type and age. Compare quotes from GEICO, Progressive and State Farm with and without UM included. At $9 per month on average, the difference is small, and you'll see exactly what UM adds to your bill.

One in three drivers is either uninsured or underinsured, per Insurance Research Council data. The IRC's 2023 report found 15.4% of drivers nationally had no insurance at all. Mississippi leads at 28.2%, followed by New Mexico at 24.1% and Florida at 20.6%. Roughly one in six drivers carries only state minimum liability, which leaves them underinsured for crashes where medical bills and lost wages run into tens of thousands of dollars. If one of those drivers causes a serious crash and can't pay your bills, UM coverage pays what they can't.

For most drivers, UM costs less than $100 per year. If you live in Mississippi, New Mexico or Florida, carrying UM is close to a given. If you live in Maine, Utah or Idaho, the math is closer, but at under $10 per month, skipping it is hard to justify.

Next Steps

1. Check whether your state requires UM coverage using our state minimum car insurance requirements guide. Twenty states require UM bodily injury coverage, and several also require UMPD with minimum limits of 25/50.
2. Get quotes with and without UM included and compare the monthly cost difference directly.
3. Set your UM limits to match your liability limits. If you carry 100/300 bodily injury, carry 100/300 UM so you have equal protection on both sides of an accident.
4. If you already carry collision coverage, you may not need UMPD. Collision covers your car after any crash regardless of whether the other driver is insured.