What Is Pennsylvania Uninsured Motorist Coverage?

While driving to see all the historical (or chocolate-related) sights the Keystone State offers, all drivers must ensure they’re adequately insured, legally and to their own comfort. Legally, adequate car insurance coverage doesn’t include uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage (UM/UIM), but on your personal comfort level, it might.

Compared to the national average of uninsured drivers resting at about 13%, Pennsylvania has a statistically low percentage of uninsured drivers, with only about 6% of the state’s drivers lacking adequate insurance. While maintaining a minimum UM/UIM coverage on your auto insurance policy isn’t required in Pennsylvania, it’s always a good idea to be protected in any worst-case scenario.

Let’s look at what you gain by carrying uninsured motorist coverage and how it works on your auto insurance policy in Pennsylvania.

A Pennsylvania insurance policy that includes uninsured motorist insurance helps to cover the policyholder’s expenses should they be involved in an accident caused by a driver who lacks sufficient coverage. UM coverage can help the policyholder cover medical expenses and the cost of repairs to their vehicle if it’s damaged in an accident with an uninsured driver.

While UM isn’t required by law in Pennsylvania, it’s a valuable coverage option that can prevent policyholders from getting into a tricky financial situation with an uninsured driver.

The applications of Pennsylvania UM coverage get a bit murky, considering the state is neither a no-fault state nor a tort state, but both. Typically, in a tort state, if a policyholder were to get into an accident caused by an insured motorist, the policyholder’s UM coverage would kick in to cover what the uninsured party’s liability coverage would cover if they were insured. 

However, in the Keystone State, it’s up to the policyholder to decide whether to participate in tort or no-fault coverage by selecting either a limited or full tort option on their auto insurance policy. It’s crucial for drivers who select a full tort option on their policies to have UM coverage to protect themselves against uninsured drivers because a full tort policy may only include liability coverage, which extends to other drivers and not the policyholder. 

Drivers who opt into Pennsylvania’s no-fault system by selecting a limited tort option on their car insurance policies may not need UM coverage as much as those with full tort because no-fault coverage automatically extends to the policyholder.

Uninsured motorist coverage in Pennsylvania and many other states is similar to liability coverage, but it protects the policyholder instead of other drivers on the road. Liability coverage and UM are split into two types: bodily injury and property damage. Bodily injury kicks in to help cover medical expenses, while property damage kicks in to help cover the cost of repairs to a vehicle.

With liability coverage, these two coverage types protect the victim in an accident caused by the policyholder. With UM, these two coverages essentially bounce back to the policyholder since an uninsured motorist in Pennsylvania doesn’t have liability coverage to extend to the victim in an accident they cause. 

How much your insurance will kick in to cover depends on the UM limits you set. Whenever you file a claim, you must pay up to your deductible before receiving funds from your insurer. Once you reach your deductible, your insurer will cover the expenses noted by the coverage you have on your policy up to your coverage limits. 

The minimum amount of UM coverage you can have in the Keystone State is $15,000 bodily injury per person, $30,000 bodily injury per accident, and $5,000 property damage coverage, or 15/30/5 UM coverage. You may always choose to raise your policy limits depending on what you’re willing to spend. It’s important to remember that with higher coverage limits come higher premiums. 

An underinsured motorist is considered an uninsured motorist in Pennsylvania, and UM coverage protects against those who are technically underinsured rather than entirely uninsured. You may see your uninsured motorist coverage appear on your policy as UM/UIM, as UIM represents underinsured motorists. An underinsured motorist has some insurance coverage but doesn’t meet the minimum legal requirements. Therefore, in the eyes of the law, they’re uninsured. 

In the state, UIM coverage includes the same protection as UM coverage, as they’re lumped together as one coverage type. You will be eligible for uninsured/underinsured bodily injury (UMBI/UIMBI) and uninsured/underinsured property damage (UMPD/UIMPD) up to your specified policy limits.

UMBI/UIMBI typically covers expenses like:

UMBI/UIMBI may also cover medical expenses for your passengers if they don’t have an auto insurance policy in their name.

The laws that mandate auto insurance in Pennsylvania don’t require drivers to carry UM/UIM coverage, but they require all insurers to offer this coverage. If you don’t want UM/UIM coverage on your policy, you’re required to sign a waiver to indicate your rejection of this coverage.

If you’re hit by an uninsured driver in Pennsylvania, the statute of limitations to file a UM/UIM claim is four years from the date of the accident. It’s always in your best interest to file a claim as soon as possible whenever you’re in an accident to start receiving your benefits sooner. 

In Pennsylvania, drivers aren’t required to carry uninsured motorist coverage. Insurers are required to offer UM coverage, but policyholders may reject it if they choose. Here at Clovered, we recommend carrying at least the minimum amount of UM/UIM coverage to ensure you’re as protected as possible on Pennsylvania’s roads. 

Suppose you’re considering adding UM/UIM coverage to your policy but want to ensure you get the best policy in Pennsylvania with the cheapest rates in the state. In that case, you’ll want to get and compare quotes online from several insurers.

Luckily, we have a free quoting tool right here that you can use to get a free quote in minutes. If you prefer to speak to an agent about your policy, call us at 833-255-4117 or email us at [email protected].