Uninsured motorist claims: when your own policy becomes the only policy.

UM vs UIM, in one sentence each

• UM: at-fault driver has zero applicable liability coverage. Your insurer pays up to your UM limit.
• UIM: at-fault driver has coverage, but it is exhausted before your damages are. Your UIM limit fills the gap (mechanics vary by state, see below).
• Hit-and-run: treated as UM in most states. Some states require physical contact to trigger coverage.

Two UIM models

Read your declarations page and the UIM endorsement. The model can flip the practical value of your coverage in half.

UM claim deadlines are different

The statute of limitations against the at-fault driver does not control the UM claim. UM claims are contract claims against your own insurer, and the policy typically requires written notice within a defined window and suit within the state's contract-claim limitations period (often longer than the tort period). Missing the consent-to-settle clause is the most common UM error: many policies require your UM insurer's written consent before you accept the tortfeasor's policy-limits offer, or the UM claim is waived.

Stacking rules

Stacking means combining UM limits across multiple insured vehicles on the same policy (or, in some states, across separate policies in the same household). Florida and Pennsylvania allow stacking by default unless waived in writing. Most states prohibit stacking or require an affirmative election with a premium increase. Check your declarations page for an anti-stacking endorsement.

What to do in the first 30 days

1. Notify your own insurer in writing of a potential UM/UIM claim, even if you do not yet know the at-fault driver's coverage.
2. Request the tortfeasor's declarations page; in most states the insurer must disclose the limit on request.
3. Preserve evidence as you would in any third-party claim — photos, witnesses, EDR data.
4. Do not accept the at-fault policy-limits offer without your UM insurer's written consent.