how uninsured motorist coverage works
most state laws mandate that motorists carry some level of automobile liability insurance coverage and these requirements vary from state to state new hampshire is the only u s state that does not require a minimum amount of auto insurance coverage and virginia lets drivers opt out for a fee 2despite these laws about one in every seven u s drivers on the road does not have auto insurance according to the insurance research council 3 the organization s most recent report on this subject released in 20213 found that washington d c had the highest proportion of uninsured drivers at 25 2 followed by new mexico and mississippi the state with the lowest percentage of uninsured motorists was wyoming with 5 9 because of the risk posed by a potential collision with an uninsured driver about half of states plus washington d c require that auto insurance policies include uninsured motorist coverage 1 several other states require it in certain situations such as if you choose a liability limit higher than the state minimum 4if you re involved in an accident and the other driver is at fault but doesn t have insurance your uninsured motorist coverage can cover the resulting vehicle repairs or medical bills a hit and run driver would also be considered an uninsured motorist so um coverage can also help pay for repairs after this type of accident however if you don t have uninsured motorist coverage you may not receive any payments even if the other person is at fault or it was a hit and run there are two types of uninsured motorist coverage uninsured motorist bodily injury covers medical bills related to a crash while uninsured motorist property damage pays for damage to your car 5 in some states only um bodily injury coverage is available 6uninsured motorist vs underinsured motorist coveragesome drivers have auto insurance but their policy limits may not be enough to cover the full cost of a claim if there s an accident while most states require drivers to have minimum levels of at least liability coverage a driver hoping to save on their car insurance might opt for the lowest mandatory amounts which could lead to financial consequences for other drivers if they re involved in an accident it s important to be aware of this distinction since uninsured motorist coverage is not the same as underinsured motorist coverage uim which would cover a situation where the at fault driver has some insurance but not enough to fully cover your damages 7 some states that require um coverage also require uim coverage but not all of them check with your state s department of motor vehicles if you re unsure some states and insurers allow you to stack or combine coverage limits for um uim bodily injury coverage when you have multiple vehicles listed on the same policy for example if you have two vehicles on a policy and each has a 30 000 um coverage limit you can stack them to create a limit of 60 000 after an accident 8