What Happens If Someone Without Insurance Hits You in Pennsylvania?

Written by Bob Kelly, Agency Principal at PolicyVisor, with over 20 years of insurance experience

You are sitting at a red light.

Someone rear-ends you.

They get out, apologize, and then you find out they do not have insurance.

Now what?

This is one of those situations where people naturally think:

“They caused the accident. Their insurance should pay.”

Normally, yes.

But if they do not have insurance, there may be no insurance company on the other side of the claim.

That is where your own policy becomes really important.

This Is What Uninsured Motorist Coverage Is For

Pennsylvania offers Uninsured Motorist coverage, usually shown on your policy as UM.

In simple terms, UM coverage is designed to help protect you and other covered people if you are injured by an at-fault driver who does not have insurance.

Pennsylvania law requires insurance companies to offer UM coverage, but you can reject it in writing.

This is one of those coverages I pay a lot of attention to when reviewing a policy.

Liability coverage protects other people if you hurt them.

UM coverage helps protect you if someone without insurance hurts you.

That is a pretty important distinction.

What Does Uninsured Motorist Coverage Pay For?

UM coverage is primarily about bodily injury.

If an uninsured driver causes an accident and you or another covered person is injured, your UM coverage may respond, subject to the terms and limits of your policy.

That can potentially include damages you are legally entitled to recover because of the injury.

Exactly what is recoverable in a particular claim can involve legal questions, so I stay in my lane there.

My job as the insurance agent is to make sure you understand whether the coverage is there and how much you purchased.

What About Damage to Your Car?

This is where people sometimes get confused.

In Pennsylvania, Uninsured Motorist coverage does not cover damage to your vehicle.

That is usually where collision coverage becomes important.

Let’s say an uninsured driver runs a stop sign and hits your car.

If you carry collision coverage, the damage to your vehicle may generally be handled under your own collision coverage, subject to your deductible and the terms of the policy.

Same thing if someone hits your parked car in a parking lot and takes off.

You may have no idea who they are.

If you carry collision coverage, that is generally the coverage I would be looking at for damage to your vehicle.

But Why Should I Have to Pay My Deductible If It Wasn’t My Fault?

I understand this question.

You did nothing wrong.

Someone else caused the accident.

Now you may have to pay your own collision deductible to get your car repaired.

Unfortunately, insurance coverage and fault are two different issues.

If your own collision coverage is paying for the damage, your deductible generally applies.

Your insurance company may later try to recover what it paid from the person responsible. This is called subrogation.

Pennsylvania’s Insurance Department explains that when an insurer pursues the responsible party, the policyholder can request that the deductible be included in that recovery process. Any recovery is then shared proportionately.

That does not mean your deductible is guaranteed to come back.

If the other driver has no insurance, there is a decent chance they may not have a lot of money either.

But it is something that can potentially be pursued.

What If the Other Driver Takes Off?

Hit-and-run accidents are another reason UM coverage matters.

Pennsylvania’s Insurance Department specifically describes UM coverage as applying to bodily injury caused by an at-fault uninsured motorist or a hit-and-run driver.

Again, keep the two pieces separate:

Your injuries: UM coverage may apply.

Damage to your vehicle: Collision coverage may apply if you purchased it.

I think that is the easiest way to understand it.

What If the Other Driver Has Insurance, Just Not Enough?

That is a slightly different situation.

That is where Underinsured Motorist coverage, or UIM, comes in.

Let’s say someone causes an accident and seriously injures you.

They have insurance.

The problem is they only carry a relatively low bodily injury limit, and your damages are much greater than the coverage they purchased.

Their insurance is not nonexistent.

It is just not enough.

That is what UIM coverage is designed to address.

Pennsylvania defines UIM coverage as protection for covered people who are injured by an at-fault driver who does not have enough insurance to pay the claim.

I usually explain it like this:

UM = they don’t have insurance.

UIM = they have insurance, but not enough.

Why I Think UM/UIM Is So Important

When I build an auto policy, I spend a lot of time talking about liability limits.

That is important.

If you cause an accident, I want enough liability coverage there to protect you.

But I also want to look at the other side of it.

What happens when somebody else causes the accident?

You can control the insurance policy you buy.

You cannot control the policy carried by the person driving next to you on I-95, the Blue Route, or Baltimore Pike.

They may have great insurance.

They may have Pennsylvania’s minimum limits.

They may have no insurance at all.

That is why I do not like overlooking UM/UIM coverage just to save a few dollars.

What About Stacking?

This is another Pennsylvania auto insurance option that is worth understanding.

Stacking can increase your available UM/UIM limits based on the number of vehicles insured.

For example, if you insure two vehicles and have $100,000 of stacked UM coverage, you may have access to $200,000 of UM coverage, subject to the policy terms.

Pennsylvania applies stacked UM/UIM coverage unless it is rejected.

People sometimes reject stacking because it lowers the premium.

That may make sense for some people.

But just like I said with deductibles and tort options:

What are you saving, and what are you giving up?

I want to know the answer to both before making that decision.

What If You Don’t Have UM Coverage?

This is where things can get much more complicated.

Remember, UM/UIM is optional in Pennsylvania. You can sign a rejection and remove it from your policy.

If an uninsured driver injures you and you rejected UM coverage, there may not be another insurance policy available to step in for those injuries.

You may still have legal rights against the person who caused the accident, but whether you can recover money from that person is a separate issue.

That is where I would stop giving insurance advice and recommend talking to a Pennsylvania attorney.

I would rather have that conversation with somebody before the accident and show them what UM coverage costs.

Your Medical Coverage May Also Come Into Play

Pennsylvania auto policies also include First Party Benefits for medical expenses.

Those benefits can pay covered medical expenses regardless of who caused the accident, subject to the limits and terms of the policy.

So after an accident with an uninsured driver, there can be several different pieces of your own policy involved.

Your medical benefits may handle certain medical expenses.

Your UM coverage may protect you for bodily injury caused by the uninsured driver.

Your collision coverage may handle damage to your vehicle.

That is why looking at the entire policy matters.

A Cheap Policy Can Look Very Different After an Accident

This is something I see regularly when reviewing insurance.

Someone gets a cheap quote online.

The premium looks great.

Maybe they increased the collision deductible.

Maybe they rejected stacking.

Maybe they lowered the UM/UIM limits.

Maybe they rejected UM/UIM altogether.

None of those decisions necessarily means the policy is wrong.

But they are decisions.

I just want someone to know they made them.

Saving $100 or $200 on an insurance policy feels good today.

Finding out after an accident that you rejected the coverage designed to protect you from an uninsured driver feels very different.

What We Look at at PolicyVisor

When we review someone’s Pennsylvania auto insurance, we look at the whole policy.

That includes:

• Bodily injury liability limits
• Property damage liability
• Uninsured Motorist coverage
• Underinsured Motorist coverage
• Stacked or unstacked UM/UIM
• Full Tort or Limited Tort
• First Party Medical Benefits
• Comprehensive coverage
• Collision coverage
• Deductibles
• Rental reimbursement
• Umbrella eligibility

I am not trying to put every possible coverage on every policy.

That would be easy.

I am trying to figure out where spending a little more money actually gives the client something worthwhile.

UM/UIM is one of those areas where I think the conversation is worth having.

So What Happens If an Uninsured Driver Hits You?

The simple answer is:

Your own insurance may become extremely important.

If you are injured, your Uninsured Motorist coverage may respond if you purchased it.

If your vehicle is damaged and you carry collision coverage, your collision coverage may respond, subject to your deductible.

Your First Party Medical Benefits may also be involved for covered medical expenses.

Exactly how a particular claim is handled depends on the facts of the accident and the terms of your policy.

But the time to find out whether you have these coverages is not after the accident.

It is before.

Want Us to Review Your Policy?

PolicyVisor is an independent insurance agency serving clients throughout Pennsylvania, including Springfield, Delaware County, and the greater Philadelphia area.

If you send us your declarations page, we can show you exactly what UM and UIM coverage you currently have, whether it is stacked, and what your physical damage deductibles look like.

We can also compare the cost of different options.

Sometimes better protection costs more.

Sometimes the difference is surprisingly small.

And if what you already have makes sense, we will tell you that too.

Disclaimer

This article is for general informational and educational purposes only and is not intended as individualized insurance or legal advice. The handling of an uninsured or underinsured motorist claim depends on the facts of the accident, applicable Pennsylvania law, and the specific terms, conditions, exclusions, endorsements, and limits of the insurance policy involved. Nothing on this website binds, modifies, extends, or guarantees insurance coverage or determines liability or damages in a particular claim. Please speak with a licensed insurance professional regarding your specific coverage and consult a Pennsylvania attorney regarding questions about legal rights or recovery following an accident.