Uninsured/underinsured motorist
Updated for plan year 2026
In plain terms
Uninsured motorist (UM) and underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage pays for your injuries (and in some states your property damage) when the driver who hit you has no insurance or too little to cover your losses. It effectively borrows the liability limits the other driver should have carried and applies them to you.
A plain example
An uninsured driver hits you and causes $80,000 in medical bills. Without UM you chase an individual who can't pay; with $100,000 of UM coverage, your own policy pays the $80,000.
Why it matters
A large share of drivers carry little or no insurance, so the odds of needing UM are real, and it is cheap because it rarely pays out. Matching it to your liability limits closes the gap the other driver leaves.
A common point of confusion
People think their health insurance makes UM unnecessary. Health insurance won't pay lost wages or pain-and-suffering, and it may seek repayment from any settlement; UM fills those gaps.