Uninsured Motorist Coverage: Why You Actually Need This (2025)

So here’s my uninsured motorist story, and I really wish I didn’t have one.

December 2021. I’m stopped at a red light on Powell Boulevard—anyone from Portland knows that road, it’s a mess—and some guy in a beat-up Silverado just… doesn’t stop. Rear-ends me going probably 30 mph. Totaled my Camry. That poor car. I’d had it since 2016 and it was paid off and I loved it and now it was crumpled up on the side of Powell with fluids leaking everywhere.

I’m fine, mostly. Whiplash that took months of physical therapy. But the car was done.

So I get the guy’s information, call the police, do everything right. His insurance card is in the glovebox, great, let’s file this claim. Except—and you probably see where this is going—when I called his insurance company, his policy had lapsed two months earlier. He just… hadn’t renewed it. Or couldn’t afford to. Or whatever. Point is, he was driving around with no valid insurance and now my car was totaled because of it.

This is where uninsured motorist coverage saved my ass.

What uninsured motorist coverage actually is

UM coverage (that’s what the industry calls it, UM) is coverage on YOUR policy that pays when someone without insurance hits you. Or when someone without ENOUGH insurance hits you—that’s underinsured motorist coverage, UIM, slightly different but usually sold together.

So the guy who hit me had no insurance. His liability coverage—which would normally pay for my damage—didn’t exist. Without full coverage, I would have been completely screwed. I could have sued him personally but the guy clearly didn’t have money (hence the expired insurance situation) so good luck collecting anything.

Instead, I filed a claim under my own UM coverage. My insurance paid for my totaled car. My insurance paid for my medical bills. My insurance covered my rental car while I was figuring out what to do. I still had to pay my deductible, which felt deeply unfair given that none of this was my fault, but at least I wasn’t out tens of thousands of dollars.

How many people are actually driving without insurance

Here’s the thing though—this isn’t some rare situation. According to the Insurance Information Institute, about 14% of drivers are uninsured. That’s roughly 1 in 7 people on the road. Just… no insurance. Driving around anyway.

And it’s gotten worse. In 2019 that number was around 11%. So we’ve gone from 1 in 9 to 1 in 7 in just a few years. I assume it’s because insurance has gotten so expensive that more people just can’t afford it, but whatever the reason, there are more uninsured drivers out there now than there were five years ago.

Certain states are way worse. New Mexico, Mississippi, and Tennessee have uninsured rates above 20%. Some estimates put it even higher. And this is just the people driving with NO insurance—it doesn’t count people with insurance that’s totally inadequate for the damage they might cause.

That’s where underinsured motorist coverage comes in. Someone might have insurance, but they might only have state minimum coverage. Which, depending on the state, could be laughably low. California’s minimum is $15,000 per person for bodily injury. You know how fast medical bills hit $15,000? One ambulance ride and an ER visit and you’re there. If someone with minimum coverage puts you in the hospital for a week, their insurance runs out almost immediately and then what?

UIM coverage picks up the rest. It’s the gap between what the other driver’s insurance pays and what your actual damages are.

UMBI vs UMPD (sorry about the acronyms)

So UM coverage actually comes in two flavors and I hate that I have to explain this but insurance is nothing if not needlessly complicated.

UMBI is Uninsured Motorist Bodily Injury. This pays for your medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering—basically any physical harm to you and your passengers when an uninsured or underinsured driver hits you.

UMPD is Uninsured Motorist Property Damage. This pays for damage to your car.

Some states bundle these together. Some states let you buy them separately. Some states require one but not the other. It’s a mess. This is why I tell everyone to actually read their policy because you might THINK you have UM coverage but you only have UMBI and not UMPD, which means if an uninsured driver hits you, your medical bills are covered but your car damage isn’t.

Oregon, where I live, doesn’t even require UMPD. We require UMBI but property damage coverage for uninsured drivers is optional. So when that guy totaled my Camry, I was only okay because I had specifically chosen to add UMPD to my policy. If I’d just gone with the state requirements and nothing else, I would have been out the value of my car.

This still makes me angry when I think about it. The state requirements should protect people! But they don’t always!

Which states require UM coverage

About 20 states plus DC require some form of uninsured motorist coverage. The rest make it optional—which means a lot of people don’t have it because they didn’t realize they needed it or they were trying to save money on premiums.

States that require it include Connecticut, Illinois, Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oregon (UMBI only like I said), South Carolina, South Dakota, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and DC.

If you live somewhere else, UM coverage is probably optional. Which means if you don’t specifically ask for it or check the box or whatever, you might not have it. And you won’t find out until someone without insurance smashes into you and you’re stuck with the bill.

How much does it cost though

Real talk: not that much. That’s what kills me about this. UM coverage is one of the cheaper things you can add to your policy.

The median cost for UMBI coverage is around $50-60 per year. UMPD is even less—like $30-40 per year. So for less than $100 a year total, you’re protecting yourself against the 1 in 7 drivers out there with no insurance.

Some insurers include UM coverage standard and you have to opt OUT if you don’t want it. Others make you opt in. Either way, check your policy. Make sure you actually have it. Make sure you have BOTH the bodily injury and property damage versions.

I had a friend who thought she had UM coverage because she’d never actively removed it. Turns out her insurer didn’t include it automatically and she’d been driving around for three years without it. She got lucky and never needed it but that could have gone very differently.

What UM coverage doesn’t cover

So this is important—UM coverage isn’t a replacement for your own collision and comprehensive coverage. It ONLY kicks in when an uninsured or underinsured driver is at fault.

If you cause an accident yourself, UM doesn’t help. If you hit a deer, UM doesn’t help. If someone steals your car, UM doesn’t help. Those situations are covered by your collision and comprehensive coverage, not your UM coverage.

UM is specifically for when another driver is at fault AND that driver doesn’t have enough insurance (or any insurance) to cover what they owe you.

Also—and this is the annoying part—you usually still have to pay a deductible when you file a UM claim. Even though it wasn’t your fault. Even though some jerk without insurance ruined your day. I paid $500 to file my UM claim after getting rear-ended by a guy who shouldn’t have been on the road. Did that feel fair? No. Did I get it back from the guy who hit me? Also no, because again, he had no money. That’s just how it works.

Hit and run situations

Here’s another thing UM coverage helps with—hit and runs. If someone hits you and drives off and you can’t identify them, your UM coverage typically applies. Because as far as your insurance is concerned, an unidentified driver is basically the same as an uninsured driver. You can’t file a claim with someone’s insurance if you don’t know who they are.

Hit and run crashes have been increasing. Someone clips you in a parking lot and doesn’t leave a note. Someone sideswipes you and takes off. Someone rear-ends you at a light and just… drives away.

Point is, if you can’t identify the other driver, UM coverage is usually your only option.

How to actually get this coverage

Call your insurance company. Or log into your account online. Find your policy declarations page. Look for Uninsured Motorist or UM/UIM coverage. Check whether you have both bodily injury AND property damage coverage.

If you don’t have it, add it. If you’re not sure how much you need, I’d recommend getting UM limits that match your liability limits. So if you have 100/300/100 liability coverage (that’s $100k per person, $300k per accident, $100k property damage), get 100/300/100 UM coverage too.

Some states let you “stack” UM coverage if you have multiple vehicles on your policy. It basically multiplies your coverage limits by the number of vehicles. So if you have $100k UMBI and two cars on your policy, stacking might give you $200k in coverage. Not all states allow this and some insurers make it weirdly complicated but it’s worth asking about.

Look I just really want you to get this coverage

I know I sound like a broken record but this coverage is cheap and important and I have PERSONAL EXPERIENCE with why it matters. That accident in 2021 could have financially wrecked me. I had whiplash for months. My car was totaled. If I hadn’t had UM coverage with both UMBI and UMPD, I would have been stuck with medical bills I couldn’t afford and no car.

Instead I was… fine. I mean, not fine, my neck hurt for four months and I really liked that Camry. But financially I was okay. I got a payout for my car. I got my medical bills covered. I didn’t have to sue anyone or go into debt.

All because I paid like $80 a year for UM coverage that I never thought I’d actually need.

Comprehensive (the chicken) just jumped on the windowsill. She’s not supposed to do that but honestly after writing all this I don’t have the energy to go chase her. Get uninsured motorist coverage. Check your policy. Make sure you have BOTH parts. Future you will thank present you when some idiot without insurance ruins your whole day.