Guide to uninsured motorist coverage: Here’s what you need to know

Connecticut, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oregon, South Carolina, South Dakota, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin require coverage. New Hampshire does not require auto insurance, but if you buy a policy, as most residents do, it must include uninsured motorist coverage. In most other states, coverage must be offered to all policyholders.

Mandatory: District of Columbia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia and West Virginia.

Optional: Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, Nevada, Ohio and Utah.

Uninsured motorist bodily injury coverage is usually sold in amounts that mirror the liability insurance you bought. For example, if you purchased a policy with $50,000 per person bodily injury liability coverage, up to $100,000 per accident, you would buy UM coverage in the same amounts.

If you buy less than what you carry as liability coverage, an insurer typically will require you to sign a waiver noting that you were offered the higher amount. Liability insurance is mandatory in all states except New Hampshire, and each state sets its minimum liability requirements.

Probably. In no-fault states such as Florida, motorists must buy personal injury protection (PIP) to ensure that all drivers have access to emergency treatment, regardless of who is to blame for the accident. But the limits on that personal injury coverage are usually very low.

To determine if you need UM coverage when you already have health insurance coverage, you’ll need to get answers from your health insurer on some issues, such as:

• Will my health insurance policy cover injuries from an auto accident? If yes, are all medical expenses covered or are there exclusions for certain medical treatments?
• If my car insurance policy’s medical coverage has a deductible, will my health insurance policy pay it? You want to know if your health policy will cover your PIP deductible or if your health insurer will cover the portion of medical expenses your PIP doesn’t cover.
• Is my auto medical coverage or health insurance policy primary after an auto accident? In general, your car insurance medical coverages are primary and your health insurance policy is secondary coverage if you carry both and are injured in a car accident.
• Can my health insurance company ask for reimbursement for medical bills they covered? If your auto insurance provider and health insurer pay out claims for medical expenses that resulted from an auto accident. In that case, it’s possible they could ask for reimbursement if both insurers paid out overlapping payments for the same medical treatments. Ask your insurer about their process to determine if reimbursement would be required.
• Will my health insurance policy cover passengers injured in my vehicle? It’s doubtful that health insurance would cover passengers unless they are members of your family already on your health policy. If you want medical coverage for passengers, you need medical payments coverage or PIP as part of your auto insurance policy.

Remember, you’d need UM coverage if you want the right to claim lost wages and pain suffering if hit by an uninsured motorist.

Uninsured motorist bodily injury coverage will pay for your injuries up to your policy limits in case of a hit-and-run or miss-and-run (where a driver is forced to swerve and has an accident). But uninsured motorist property damage (UMPD) does not pay for damage to your car.

To make a property damage claim under your UMPD coverage, you need an identified at-fault driver so your insurance company can confirm that he or she does not have liability insurance.

If you have collision insurance, on the other hand, you are covered for property damage from hit-and-run and miss-and-run accidents.

“Stacked” coverage increases the limits on your uninsured motorist bodily injury coverage if you have multiple cars. Your UM limits typically cannot be higher than those on your liability coverage, but if you have two cars and stack your limits, your coverage is effectively doubled. It is cheaper to get more protection against uninsured motorists without buying higher liability limits for yourself. Stacking will increase your premium, but not by as much as higher liability limits would. Not all states allow stacked coverage.