Uninsured Motorist Coverage Explained for Seniors
It pays for your injuries and damage when the other driver has no insurance or not enough of it, and it works regardless of your age.
It covers what the other driver's insurance should have covered
Uninsured motorist coverage steps in when the driver who hit you doesn't carry liability insurance, or carries less than your state requires. Underinsured motorist coverage is the companion to it, and it pays when the other driver has insurance but not enough to cover what you lost. Together they protect you from a driver who can't pay, not from your own mistakes behind the wheel.
Your age doesn't change what the coverage does. What changes is how much you may lean on it. If you drive less than you used to, or drive mostly on familiar roads, you might think the odds of meeting an uninsured driver are lower. They aren't tied to your own driving. They're tied to how many drivers on the road near you carry no insurance or too little, and that's the same risk for every driver in your state.
Your state decides how much of this you already have
Some states require drivers to carry uninsured motorist coverage. Others make insurers offer it and let the driver decline it in writing. If you've had the same policy for years, you may have signed that decline a long time ago without remembering it.
This is worth checking on your current policy, not assuming from memory. Look at your declarations page for a line that says uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage, and see whether it shows a dollar limit or the word "rejected" or "waived."
If you find it was waived, you can ask your insurer to add it back. If you're not sure what your state requires or allows, your insurer or agent can tell you, since this is one of the few parts of a policy that genuinely varies by where you live.
What medical costs do to this calculation
Uninsured motorist coverage usually splits into two parts, one for injuries to you and your passengers and one for damage to your car. The injury portion matters more as medical costs rise with age, because recovery from an injury that happens at seventy costs more and takes longer than the same injury at thirty.
Your health insurance and Medicare will cover some of this regardless, but they don't cover lost income, pain and suffering, or long-term care needs the way a liability settlement would. Uninsured motorist coverage is what stands in for that settlement when the driver who caused the crash has nothing to pay it with.
If you've increased your health coverage over the years but haven't looked at your uninsured motorist limits in just as long, the two may no longer match what a serious injury would actually cost you.
Questions people ask about this
does uninsured motorist coverage go up as you get older?
Not because of age directly. Insurers price this coverage mainly on where you live and how much coverage you choose, not on the policyholder's age. If your overall premium changed, ask your insurer which part of the policy drove that change.
does uninsured motorist coverage pay if a hit and run driver can't be found?
Yes, in most states, a hit and run is treated the same as being hit by an uninsured driver, since there's no insurance to collect from either way. Confirm this applies in your state, since a few handle hit and run claims differently.
do I need uninsured motorist coverage if I have good health insurance?
Health insurance pays medical bills, but it won't cover lost income, pain and suffering, or damage to your car. Uninsured motorist coverage fills in those gaps that health insurance was never designed to cover.
can my own insurer refuse to pay an uninsured motorist claim?
An insurer can dispute the value of a claim, the same way it might with any other claim, but it can't deny coverage that's written into your policy. If a claim is denied or reduced, you can ask the insurer for its reasoning in writing.
does uninsured motorist coverage apply if I'm a passenger in someone else's car?
Generally yes, your own uninsured motorist coverage can follow you as a passenger in another person's car, not just when you're driving your own. Confirm this with your insurer, since the exact terms are written into your specific policy.
See what it would cost to raise or add this coverage before you renew.
Pull out your current declarations page this week and find the line for uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage. Check whether it shows a dollar limit or the word waived. If it's waived, call your insurer and ask what it would cost to add it back. If it shows a limit, ask how that limit compares to what a serious injury claim typically settles for in your state. Have your policy number ready when you call, since that speeds up the conversation considerably.
