What Is Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Coverage in RI?

Here's a scenario we see constantly: a client is rear-ended by a driver with state-minimum insurance — $25,000 in Rhode Island — but the client's injuries are worth $100,000. The client assumes they'll get $25,000 and that's it. They're often wrong, because they have uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage on their own policy that they've forgotten about.

What UM and UIM actually are

Uninsured motorist (UM) coverage is insurance you buy from your own carrier that pays when the at-fault driver has no insurance at all. Underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage pays when the at-fault driver has some insurance but not enough to cover your damages. Both are standard features of most Rhode Island auto policies — and in most cases you selected limits when you first bought the policy without really thinking about it.

Why it matters

If the at-fault driver has $25,000 in bodily injury coverage and you have $100,000 in UIM coverage on your own policy, your realistic case ceiling is $125,000 — not $25,000. We've recovered UIM payments on top of policy-limit tenders for many clients who had no idea the coverage was there.

How to check your coverage

• •Pull up your auto insurance declarations page (usually online via your carrier's portal)
• •Look for a line labeled 'Uninsured Motorists' or 'UM/UIM'
• •Note the per-person and per-accident limits (often formatted like $100,000/$300,000)
• •That's what's available to stack on top of the at-fault driver's policy

Things that can trip you up

UM and UIM claims aren't as simple as filing with your own carrier and getting a check. Your own insurance company will defend the claim the same way the at-fault carrier did — they'll want a recorded statement, they'll challenge the value, they may even deny outright. Having counsel on a UM/UIM claim is usually more important than on the first-party claim, because you're now adverse to the company you've been paying premiums to for years.

What to do if you think UIM applies

Don't settle the at-fault driver's policy until you understand how your own UIM coverage interacts. In Rhode Island, you generally need to notify your carrier before you release the at-fault driver — otherwise you can waive UIM rights. This is the kind of procedural trap that an attorney catches before it costs you the case.