Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage in Texas

Almost every guide to Texas auto insurance describes uninsured motorist coverage as something you can "add." That's backwards, and the difference matters. Under Texas law the coverage is on your policy unless you took it off — in writing, with your signature. If you don't have it today, at some point you rejected it, quite possibly in a stack of paperwork at the moment you were focused on the price.

The same is true of personal injury protection. Both are default-on, opt-out coverages, and both exist for the same situation: the accident wasn't your fault and the other driver can't cover it.

Here's what we'll cover: what the statute actually requires, what uninsured/underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) coverage pays for, the deductible that's fixed at $250, why "underinsured" is the more common problem than "uninsured," the hit-and-run rule that catches people out, how PIP differs from medical payments coverage, and how to check in two minutes what's on your own policy.

The default is on — you had to reject it in writing

Texas Insurance Code Section 1952.101(b) is written as a prohibition on the insurer, not an option for you. An insurer "may not deliver or issue for delivery in this state an automobile liability insurance policy... unless the insurer provides uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage in the policy or supplemental to the policy."

The only way it comes off is subsection (c): "The coverage required by this subchapter does not apply if any insured named in the insurance policy rejects the coverage in writing."

Personal injury protection works identically. Section 1952.152(a) uses the same "may not deliver or issue for delivery" construction, and 1952.152(b) the same written-rejection exit.

The Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) states the practical version: "Insurance companies must offer uninsured motorist coverage when you buy auto insurance. If you don't want it, you have to turn it down in writing." And on PIP: "All auto policies in Texas include PIP coverage. If you don't want it, you must tell the company in writing."

There's a second half of the statute worth knowing, because it explains why the coverage doesn't quietly come back. Under both sections, once you've rejected the coverage, the insurer isn't required to provide it on a renewal or reinstated policy — or on a policy issued by an affiliated insurer — "unless the named insured requests in writing" the coverage. A rejection signed years ago follows the policy forward. Turning the coverage back on is an affirmative request you have to make.

What UM/UIM actually pays for

This is where it separates from collision coverage, and the list is broader than most people assume. TDI's:

Uninsured/underinsured coverage pays for: "Car repairs and to replace the property in your car." "A rental car if you need it." "You and your passenger's medical bills." "Pain and suffering costs." "Diminished value if your car is worth less after the accident."

Collision coverage pays to fix the car. It does not pay for injuries, and it does not pay for the loss in resale value a repaired car carries afterwards. UM/UIM is standing in for the at-fault driver's liability policy, so it reaches what that policy would have reached.

The deductible is fixed, and it's low. Insurance Code Section 1952.105(b): "Subject to a deductible amount of $250, coverage for property damage must be offered to an insured in the amounts desired by the insured." TDI puts the comparison plainly: "The deductible for uninsured/underinsured coverage is $250. The deductible if you use your collision is likely much higher."

That is a real, checkable difference on the same repair — which is why, in an accident caused by an uninsured driver, which coverage you claim under is a decision rather than a formality. Section 1952.107 addresses it directly: "An insured who has collision coverage and uninsured or underinsured property damage liability coverage may recover under the coverage the insured chooses."

"Underinsured" is the more common problem

The word people focus on is uninsured. The one that's more likely to matter is underinsured, because the Texas minimum is low relative to what a modern collision costs.

Transportation Code Section 601.072(a-1) sets the minimum liability amounts a Texas driver must carry: "$30,000 for bodily injury to or death of one person in one collision," "$60,000 for bodily injury to or death of two or more persons in one collision," and "$25,000 for damage to or destruction of property of others in one collision." A driver carrying exactly that is fully legal — and $25,000 of property damage coverage does not replace many new vehicles.

Section 1952.103 defines an underinsured motor vehicle as one where the liability limits "were originally lower than, or have been reduced by payment of claims arising from the same accident to, an amount less than the limit of liability stated in the underinsured coverage of the insured's policy." Note the second clause: a policy with adequate limits on paper can become underinsured during the claim itself, once other people injured in the same accident are paid first.

Section 1952.106 sets out how UIM then pays — "all amounts that the insured is legally entitled to recover as damages from owners or operators of underinsured motor vehicles because of bodily injury or property damage, not to exceed the limit specified in the insurance policy, and reduced by the amount recovered or recoverable from the insurer of the underinsured motor vehicle." It fills the gap between what the other policy covers and what your UIM limit is; it doesn't stack on top.

One more definition worth knowing: under Section 1952.102(a), "uninsured motor vehicle" also includes an insured vehicle where the liability insurer "is unable because of insolvency to make payment" within its limits. A carrier failing is treated the same as no carrier at all.

How much you can carry

Section 1952.105(a): limits for bodily injury "must be offered to an insured in the amounts desired by the insured, but not in amounts greater than the limits of liability specified in the bodily injury liability provisions of the insured's policy." Property damage limits work the same way under (b), and under (c) neither can be offered below the Chapter 601 minimums.

So your UM/UIM limits are capped by your own liability limits. If you carry state-minimum liability, you cannot buy large UM/UIM — raising one requires raising the other. TDI notes the usual mechanics: "You can usually add more uninsured/underinsured coverage in $5,000 increments. A rule of thumb is to add at least enough property damage coverage to replace your vehicle."

Hit-and-run: two rules that decide the claim

TDI is clear that UM/UIM is the hit-and-run coverage: it "also pays if you're in a hit-and-run accident and the other driver can't be found to pay for damages."

But two conditions sit on that, and both are easy to fall foul of in the confusion after a wreck.

Report it to police. TDI, in the auto guide's claims checklist: "Call the police if you were hit by a driver who left the scene. Your uninsured motorist coverage won't pay for a hit-and-run accident if you didn't report it to police."

There must have been contact. Section 1952.104 requires policy forms providing this coverage to "require that, for the insured to recover under the uninsured motorist coverage if the owner or operator of any motor vehicle that causes bodily injury or property damage to the insured is unknown, actual physical contact must have occurred between the motor vehicle owned or operated by the unknown person and the person or property of the insured."

That is the physical-contact rule, and it is what defeats most phantom vehicle claims. If an unidentified driver runs you off the road without touching your car, the physical-contact requirement is a genuine obstacle to a UM claim. It's a known gap in the coverage rather than an insurer's invention.

Section 1952.104 also caps aggregation — regardless of the number of people insured, policies, vehicles, or claims, the total liability to any one person for a single occurrence can't exceed the stated limit — and requires exclusion of damages "resulting from the intentional acts of the insured."

PIP, and how it differs from medical payments

Personal injury protection is the second default-on coverage, and it does something no other part of the policy does: it pays regardless of who caused the accident.

Section 1952.151 defines what it covers — "all reasonable expenses" arising from an accident and incurred "not later than the third anniversary of the date of the accident," for necessary medical, surgical, x-ray, dental, ambulance, hospital, nursing, or funeral services; replacement of lost income for an income producer; and, for someone who wasn't earning at the time, "reimbursement of necessary and reasonable expenses incurred for essential services ordinarily performed by the injured person for care and maintenance of the family or family household."

Who it covers is broader than the driver: the named insured, members of the insured's household, and "any authorized operator or passenger of the named insured's motor vehicle, including a guest occupant."

Section 1952.155(a) is the fault point — benefits are payable without regard to "the fault or nonfault of the named insured or recipient in causing or contributing to the collision." Section 1952.156(a) is the timing: benefits are due "periodically as claims for those benefits arise, but not later than the 30th day after the date the insurer receives satisfactory proof of a claim," and the policy may require original proof of loss within a window of "not less than six months after the date of an accident."

The statutory floor is modest. Section 1952.153: the subchapter "does not require an insurer to provide personal injury protection coverage in an amount that exceeds $2,500 for all benefits, in the aggregate, for each person." Higher amounts are commonly available — Section 1952.161 preserves an insurer's ability to provide "benefits broader than the minimum benefits described by this subchapter, subject to the rules prescribed by the commissioner" — but $2,500 is what the law compels, and it does not go far against a hospital bill.

Against medical payments coverage, TDI draws the line this way: "Medical payments coverage pays your and your passengers' medical bills. It also pays if you're hurt while riding in someone else's car or while walking or biking." PIP "is similar to medical payments coverage... But it also pays for things like lost wages and other nonmedical costs." Lost income and household-services reimbursement are the practical difference.

There is one narrowing to be aware of: Section 1952.158 requires an insurer to exclude PIP benefits where the insured's own conduct contributed to the injury and involved intentionally causing injury or certain other conduct specified in the statute.

If you have to use it

A UM/UIM claim is made against your own insurer, which changes the shape of the dispute in a few useful ways.

Section 1952.109 puts the burden where you'd want it: "The insurer has the burden of proof in a dispute as to whether a motor vehicle is uninsured."

Section 1952.110 fixes venue — an action against an insurer relating to this coverage may be brought only in the county tied to the policyholder or beneficiary, rather than wherever the insurer prefers.

Section 1952.108 explains what happens afterwards: an insurer that pays under this coverage "is entitled to the proceeds of any settlement or judgment" to the extent of its payment. That's the mechanism behind TDI's observation that "Your insurance company will try to recover what they paid you from the other driver's insurance. If they get anything back, you might get your deductible reimbursed."

And because it's your own company, TDI's other-driver page notes what you get that a third-party claimant doesn't — a contract, and with it the options that come from one. The step-by-step of making the claim is covered in what to do after a car accident in Texas.

What to do with this

• Pull your Declarations page and look for three line items: uninsured/underinsured motorist (often "UM/UIM", sometimes split into bodily injury and property damage), personal injury protection, and medical payments. Missing means rejected, not unavailable.
• If a line is missing and you want it back, ask in writing. Sections 1952.101(c) and 1952.152(b) mean a past rejection carries forward through renewals and affiliated insurers until you request the coverage.
• Check your UM/UIM limits against your liability limits. Section 1952.105(a) caps the first at the second, so raising UM/UIM may mean raising liability too.
• Compare the $250 UM/UIM property damage deductible against your collision deductible. On an uninsured-driver claim, Section 1952.107 lets you choose which coverage to recover under.
• Call the police at any hit-and-run, every time. TDI is explicit that an unreported hit-and-run can leave UM coverage unavailable.
• Don't assume PIP is enough because it's there. The statutory floor is $2,500 per person in the aggregate.
• Ask what your PIP limit is before you need it, and remember it pays regardless of fault and covers lost income — which health insurance does not.

Key facts

• UM/UIM and PIP are default-on in Texas. An insurer "may not deliver or issue for delivery" an auto liability policy without providing them (Insurance Code Sections 1952.101(b) and 1952.152(a)); they come off only by written rejection.
• A rejection carries forward. After a rejection, the insurer isn't required to provide the coverage on renewal, reinstatement, or through an affiliated insurer unless the named insured requests it in writing.
• UM/UIM pays beyond repairs — TDI lists car repairs, property in the car, a rental car, medical bills for you and your passengers, pain and suffering, and diminished value.
• The property damage deductible is $250 (Section 1952.105(b)), and TDI notes it is typically well below a collision deductible. Where both coverages apply, Section 1952.107 lets the insured choose.
• Texas minimum liability is $30,000 / $60,000 / $25,000 (Transportation Code Section 601.072(a-1)) — which is why underinsured claims are common.
• A policy can become underinsured mid-claim once limits are "reduced by payment of claims arising from the same accident" (Section 1952.103); UIM pays the gap, "reduced by the amount recovered or recoverable" from the other insurer (Section 1952.106).
• An insolvent insurer counts as uninsured (Section 1952.102(a)).
• Your UM/UIM limits can't exceed your own liability limits (Section 1952.105(a)), and can't go below the Chapter 601 minimums (Section 1952.105(c)).
• Hit-and-run has two conditions: report it to police (TDI), and for an unknown driver, "actual physical contact must have occurred" (Section 1952.104(3)).
• PIP pays regardless of fault (Section 1952.155(a)), covers expenses incurred within three years of the accident, includes lost income and household services (Section 1952.151), and is due within 30 days of satisfactory proof (Section 1952.156(a)).
• The required PIP amount is only $2,500 per person in the aggregate (Section 1952.153); insurers may offer more (Section 1952.161).
• On a UM dispute, the insurer carries the burden of proving whether a vehicle is uninsured (Section 1952.109).

Sources: Texas Insurance Code Chapter 1952 — Sections 1952.101, 1952.102, 1952.103, 1952.104, 1952.105, 1952.106, 1952.107, 1952.108, 1952.109, 1952.110, 1952.151, 1952.152, 1952.153, 1952.155, 1952.156, 1952.158, and 1952.161. Texas Transportation Code Section 601.072. Texas Department of Insurance — What is uninsured motorist coverage, and do I really need it?, the Auto insurance guide, Were you in a wreck? Tips for auto insurance claims, and Accident not your fault? Here's how to deal with the other driver's insurance. TDI's Help Line is 800-252-3439. This page is general information, not legal advice; what any policy pays depends on that policy's terms, limits, and exclusions.

Take the next step

The uncomfortable part of this coverage is that you find out whether you have it at the exact moment you need it — standing beside a car that someone else wrecked, with an insurer on the phone that isn't yours. Everything on this page is checkable in two minutes on a document you already have. Three line items on a Declarations page decide whether an uninsured driver is an inconvenience or a bill you carry yourself.

Credify is a licensed insurance agency in Texas, and we compare coverage across multiple licensed Texas carriers in one short form, with no obligation; each insurer remains responsible for its own products. If you want to check what you're carrying, what to do after a car accident in Texas covers the claim from the scene onward, what car insurance is required in Texas sets out the minimums this coverage backstops, how to compare auto insurance in Texas covers comparing on coverage rather than price alone, and how car insurance quotes work in Texas explains why the same coverage prices differently at different companies. 📞 Talk to Credify 24/7.