By Joshua A. Estes. Board Certified, Personal Injury Trial Law — Texas Board of Legal Specialization.
If the driver who hit you had no insurance, or had a policy too small to cover what happened, the policy that answers is usually your own. It is called uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage — UM/UIM — and it is coverage you bought on your own auto policy that steps into the place of the at-fault driver. Two things about it surprise almost everyone: a great many Texans are carrying it without knowing they are, and once you make a claim on it, your own insurance company becomes the party on the other side of your claim. Both facts are worth understanding before you need them.
What UM and UIM actually cover
They are two halves of the same idea, and most Texas policies carry them together.
Uninsured motorist (UM) applies when the at-fault driver had no liability insurance at all — and, in most policies, when the driver is never identified, which is why this is the coverage that answers in a hit and run.
Underinsured motorist (UIM) applies to the far more common situation: the other driver had insurance, but not enough. A policy written at state minimum limits can be consumed by an ambulance ride and one night in a hospital, and when that policy is exhausted, the injured person is left looking at the rest of the bills. UIM is what covers the gap between the at-fault driver’s available limits and the actual harm, up to your own limits.
Neither one is a favor from your insurer. It is coverage you paid a premium for, and its entire purpose is the situation you are now in.
You may already have it and not know
Texas insurers must offer uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage, and it is written into the policy unless the customer rejects it in writing. Most people do not remember making that choice at all, which means the honest first step in any crash with an uninsured driver is not a legal question — it is going and looking.
Pull the declarations page of your auto policy — the summary page, not the booklet — and look for a line reading “uninsured/underinsured motorist,” “UM/UIM,” or “UM.” If there is a limit next to it, you have the coverage. Also worth checking: policies covering other vehicles in your household, and whether you were a passenger in a vehicle whose own policy may apply.
UM/UIM is not PIP, and it is not your health insurance
These get confused constantly, and they do different jobs.
Personal injury protection (PIP) is a smaller, no-fault benefit on many Texas policies that pays certain medical expenses and a portion of lost income regardless of who caused the crash. It pays early and it pays fast, and it runs out.
Health insurance pays your medical providers, and often has a right to be reimbursed later out of an injury recovery.
UM/UIM is different from both: it addresses the whole harm the at-fault driver caused, in the way a liability claim against that driver would have, if that driver had been insured.
The part that changes everything: your insurer becomes the other side
This is the piece of UM/UIM that catches people off guard, and it is worth saying plainly.
For years your insurance company has been the entity you pay, the one that fixed the windshield, the one whose app you have on your phone. The moment you make a UM/UIM claim, that same company is evaluating a claim it would have to pay. It is a contract claim, and the company is entitled to investigate it, to disagree about how badly you were hurt, and to dispute whether the other driver was at fault at all.
None of that makes them villains. It makes them a counterparty. The practical consequences:
- Recorded statements are still recorded statements. Your policy requires cooperation with your own insurer, which is real and different from the other driver’s carrier. But cooperation is not the same as answering anything asked, however it is asked. Know which of the two you are talking to.
- You still have to prove the case. A UM/UIM claim is not a form you file. You have to establish that the other driver was at fault and what the harm actually was — the same proof a claim against that driver would have needed.
- The documentation habits are identical. Records, bills, wage proof, photographs, witness names.
Two paperwork traps that end otherwise good claims
Notice. Auto policies require prompt notice of a crash and cooperation. In hit-and-run situations they commonly also require prompt reporting to law enforcement. Late notice is a defense a carrier may raise, and it is entirely avoidable.
Consent to settle. This one is quiet and expensive. Many policies require the insured to obtain the UM/UIM carrier’s consent before settling with, or releasing, the at-fault driver. Accepting the other driver’s limits and signing their release without that consent can compromise the UIM claim.
There is also a Texas-specific wrinkle worth knowing before anyone expects a UIM check to arrive like a PIP payment: under Texas law, UIM benefits generally are not owed until the insured establishes the other driver’s liability and the amount of damages.
Where this leaves you
Look at your declarations page today, before you need it. If there is a UM/UIM line, that is the coverage standing between an uninsured driver and your own medical bills. If there is not, that is a conversation with your agent worth having this week — the premium for it is generally modest compared with what it covers.
And if you are in it already, with an uninsured driver and a policy you cannot decode, that is a reasonable thing to bring to a car accident lawyer and read together. In Texas contingent-fee practice that conversation costs nothing, including when the answer is that you can handle it yourself.
Common questions
What happens if the driver who hit me has no insurance in Texas? Your own uninsured motorist coverage is usually what applies. Check the declarations page of your auto policy for a UM or UM/UIM line.
Do I have uninsured motorist coverage? Many Texans do without realizing it, because the coverage goes on the policy unless it was rejected in writing. The declarations page answers it in one line.
What is the difference between UM and UIM? UM applies when the at-fault driver had no liability coverage, and in most policies when the driver is unidentified. UIM applies when the driver had coverage but not enough for the harm caused.
Will my premium go up if I file a UM/UIM claim? That depends on your carrier and state rating rules — a question for your agent. It is also the coverage you have been paying for.
Can I settle with the other driver’s insurance and still make a UIM claim? Be careful. Many policies require your UIM carrier’s consent before you settle with or release the at-fault driver. Get the policy language checked before signing anything.
What if I was partly at fault? Texas uses modified comparative fault: you can generally still recover if you were not more than half at fault, reduced by your percentage. Every case turns on its facts.
This article is general information about Texas law, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Deadlines in injury cases are strict and fact-specific. Talk to a lawyer about your own situation.
The Estes Law Firm, P.C. · 716 S. Union St, Richmond, Texas 77469 · (281) 238-5400 · Responsible attorney: William F. Estes.