Published 2026-09-20 · Last updated 2026-09-20.
What it means
Uninsured motorist (UM) cover pays for your losses when the at-fault driver has no insurance. Underinsured motorist (UIM) cover is its sibling: it pays when the at-fault driver has insurance, but not enough to cover your losses, up to your own UIM limits. UM is usually split into bodily injury (UMBI) — your medical costs and related losses — and, in some states and policies, property damage (UMPD) — damage to your car.
The key contrast is with collision. Collision pays for your car regardless of fault, minus your deductible, but it does not pay your medical bills or lost income. UM bodily injury can pay those personal losses, stepping into the role the at-fault driver's liability cover would have played if it had existed. That is why dropping collision and keeping UM, or keeping collision and dropping UM, are different decisions with different gaps — check both, not just one.
If hit by an uninsured driver
Stay safe first, then document. Call emergency services if anyone is injured, move to safety if you can, and exchange whatever information the other driver will give — or record the plate number if they will not cooperate or if they flee. Photograph the damage, the scene, and any road markings, and collect witness names and phone numbers. Call the police, especially if the other driver is uninsured, uncooperative, or has fled; a police report gives your insurer a third-party account.
Then notify your own insurer promptly and say you believe the other driver is uninsured. Your insurer will explain whether your claim goes under UM, collision, or both, and what documents it needs. Do not agree a private cash settlement at the roadside and do not admit fault in writing before you have spoken to your insurer. Keep every receipt, medical record, and repair estimate, because a UM claim, like any claim, is decided on documents.
Texas requirement note (general)
Whatever your state, the practical check is the same: look at your declarations page and confirm whether UM/UIM is listed, with what limits, before you need it. After a crash is the worst time to discover it was never selected.