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Uninsured Motorist Coverage

Uninsured motorist coverage pays your medical bills and vehicle damage when you're hit by a driver with no insurance or insufficient liability limits.

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What Is Uninsured Motorist Coverage Insurance?

Uninsured motorist coverage has two components: bodily injury (UMBI) and property damage (UMPD). UMBI pays your medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering when an at-fault driver has no liability insurance or carries limits below your damages. UMPD pays to repair or replace your vehicle in the same scenario. Pennsylvania law requires every auto insurer to offer both at limits matching your liability coverage, but you can decline either or both in writing.

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Who Needs Uninsured Motorist Coverage Insurance?

Retirees who drive regularly in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, or other high-density Pennsylvania areas where uninsured motorist rates exceed 10 percent should carry UMBI at least matching their liability limits. If you've dropped collision on a paid-off vehicle and still drive it daily, UMPD replaces that property-damage coverage for less cost per year.

Reject UMPD if you carry collision, because collision covers hit-and-run and at-fault driver scenarios UMPD also covers and pays without requiring you to prove the other driver's insurance status.

How Much Does Uninsured Motorist Coverage Insurance Cost?

Your liability limits — UMBI is priced as a percentage of the bodily injury liability limit you select, so higher liability raises UMBI cost even if your own risk profile hasn't changed.
County uninsured motorist rate — Philadelphia and Allegheny counties carry higher uninsured driver rates than rural Pennsylvania counties, raising premiums by 15 to 25 percent for the same coverage.
Whether you carry collision — carriers price UMPD lower when you already carry collision because the overlap reduces their actual payout risk; if you've dropped collision on a paid-off car, UMPD becomes your only property-damage backstop and costs more.

Related Coverage Types

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Collision Coverage→

An older woman in a green shirt and an older man in a denim shirt sit together on white porch steps looking at a tablet, with a parked silver car and greenery behind them.

Comprehensive Coverage→

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Medical Payments Coverage→

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Full Coverage→

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