Do I need uninsured motorist coverage in Texas?
What uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage pays in Texas, why insurers have to offer it, and how it fills the gaps a health plan leaves.
- Texas does not require uninsured motorist coverage, but every insurer must offer it, and you have to turn it down in writing.
- It pays for your injuries, your lost wages and, in some forms, your car, when the driver who caused the crash has too little insurance or none.
- Check your declarations page, because a driver carrying only the Texas minimum of 30,000 dollars for one person leaves the rest of the bill to you.
Uninsured motorist coverage pays for your injuries, and in some forms your car, when the driver who caused the crash has no insurance. Underinsured coverage does the same when that driver has a policy but not enough of it. Texas does not require either one, but insurers must offer them, and you have to reject them in writing.
That rule comes from the Texas Department of Insurance. The same agency notes that every Texas policy includes personal injury protection unless you reject that in writing too.
Why uninsured motorist coverage matters in South Texas
Plenty of cars on Texas roads carry no coverage at all, and South Texas is no exception. Say one of those drivers runs a light and hurts you. Without this coverage you are down to your own health plan, your own savings, and a lawsuit against someone who has nothing to take.
The two parts
- Uninsured motorist bodily injury. This one pays medical bills, lost wages and pain and suffering for you and for anyone riding with you.
- Uninsured motorist property damage. This one pays to repair your car, usually after a small deductible, the amount you pay yourself before the coverage starts paying.
Underinsured coverage handles the case we see more often. The other driver carries the Texas minimum of 30,000 dollars for one person's injuries, and your bills run past it. The difference is yours unless you carry this. See what the Texas minimum covers.
How it works with health insurance
Health insurance pays medical bills. It does not replace the paychecks you missed, and it pays you nothing for the months you could not lift your child. Uninsured motorist coverage does both.
It also picks up what your health plan hands back to you. That is the deductible and the coinsurance, the share of each bill you keep paying after the deductible is met. On a bronze Marketplace plan, that share can run high.
What it costs
Next to what it pays for, this is usually a small line on the policy. The amount depends on the limits you pick and on your own record, so it has to be priced on your policy. Of all the coverages we add, it is the one clients thank us for after a crash.
Personal injury protection
Texas also requires insurers to offer personal injury protection, or PIP. PIP pays your medical bills and part of your lost income no matter who was at fault, meaning who the insurer decides caused the crash. There is no deductible and no wait for that decision, so the money arrives in the first weeks, when the bills do.
Check your declarations page
Your declarations page is the summary page of your policy that lists each coverage and its limits. Look for UM and UIM, and look for PIP. If either one reads rejected, that came from a signature you gave at some point, and you can ask to change it.
Pull that page out and read those lines before your next renewal. Call our McAllen office at (956) 687 3334, or use the ZIP form on this page, and we will go through it with you. Se habla español.
Common follow-up questions
Does uninsured motorist cover a hit and run?
Usually yes, as long as the unknown car can be documented. Call the police from the scene and get a report, because that report is what the claim rests on. See how to file the claim.
If I have good health insurance, do I still need it?
Yes. A health plan does not replace lost wages, it pays you nothing for the injury itself, and it still leaves you its own deductible to pay.
Is it required in Texas?
No. Insurers must offer it and you must turn it down in writing. Many people who believe they carry it find the word rejected on their declarations page.
Need a quote?
Enter your ZIP code to get started. Ten questions, about two minutes.
Or call (956) 687 3334, Monday to Friday, 9 AM to 6 PM.
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Gerino Alejos
Licensed insurance agent · License 3128710 · NPN 18243381
Owner of McAllen Insurance Group, an independent agency on North 10th Street in McAllen. Works with clients across Hidalgo, Cameron and Starr counties on Medicare, Marketplace health, life and auto coverage. Se habla español.