By Paul Della · Licensed Insurance Agent · The Della Agency
New York requires uninsured motorist coverage on every policy — but the version the law makes you buy only covers half the problem. The far more common danger isn't the driver with no insurance; it's the one carrying the bare $25,000 minimum. Here's what UM covers, what the optional SUM upgrade adds, and why it's one of the smartest dollars on your policy.
Uninsured motorist (UM) coverage is required on every New York auto policy and pays for your injuries when the at-fault driver has no insurance or flees the scene. But mandatory UM has a blind spot: it doesn't cover underinsured drivers — the ones with a bare $25,000 policy that can't cover a serious injury. That gap is filled by SUM (supplementary uninsured/underinsured motorist) coverage, which is optional but must be offered, and can be bought up to your own liability limits. In a state full of minimum-limit drivers, SUM is one of the highest-value, lowest-cost coverages you can add.
Most New York drivers assume that if they carry insurance and drive carefully, they're protected. Then a driver blows a light, seriously hurts them, and it turns out that driver had no insurance at all — or a policy so thin it wouldn't cover a single night in the hospital. That's the moment uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage earns its keep, and it's the moment most people first learn what they did — or didn't — have on their own policy.
The good news is New York makes you carry some of this protection automatically. The catch is that the mandatory piece only handles the rarer problem, and the coverage that fills the more common gap is the one you have to opt into. This guide sorts out what UM covers, how SUM is different, why it matters so much in a state full of minimum-limit drivers, and how much to carry. We're a licensed New York agency, and this is one of the coverages we most often see people under-buy.
What Is Uninsured Motorist Coverage in New York?
The short answer: uninsured motorist (UM) coverage is required on every New York policy and pays for your bodily injuries when the at-fault driver has no insurance or can't be identified.
Under New York's Vehicle and Traffic Law and Insurance Law § 3420(f), every auto policy issued in the state has to include UM coverage, with minimum limits that match the liability minimums — $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident for bodily injury. It's there for a specific situation: someone causes a crash that hurts you, and they turn out to have no insurance, or they flee the scene and are never identified. In that case, you file the claim against your own policy, and your UM coverage pays for the injuries the missing driver should have.
The important word is bodily. UM is injury coverage — it's not there to fix your car. And it only reaches the true zeros: drivers with no policy at all, or hit-and-run drivers who can't be found. The driver who does have insurance but not nearly enough is a different problem, and mandatory UM doesn't solve it. That's the gap most New Yorkers don't know they have.
What Does UM Cover — and What Doesn't It?
The short answer: UM pays for bodily injury — medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering — from an uninsured or hit-and-run driver. It does not pay for damage to your car, and it does not cover underinsured drivers.
When UM applies, it covers the full range of injury losses: your medical and hospital bills, income you lose while you recover, and pain and suffering — the non-economic damages that no-fault (PIP) never pays. It protects you, your passengers, relatives who live in your household, and pedestrians your household vehicle strikes. In effect, it lets you recover from your own insurer roughly what you could have recovered from the at-fault driver, had they carried coverage.
Two limits define its edges. First, UM is strictly for injuries — property damage to your vehicle from an uninsured driver isn't covered here; that's what collision coverage handles. Second, and most importantly, standard UM only responds when the other driver has no coverage. If they're insured for the state minimum but your injuries cost far more, mandatory UM doesn't fill that shortfall. For that, you need SUM.
| Situation | Does mandatory UM cover it? |
|---|---|
| At-fault driver has no insurance | Yes — bodily injury |
| Hit-and-run / driver never identified | Yes — bodily injury |
| You're a pedestrian hit by an uninsured driver | Yes, via your household policy |
| At-fault driver has only $25K, your injury costs more | No — needs SUM |
| Damage to your own car | No — needs collision |
UM vs. SUM: What's the Difference?
The short answer: UM covers drivers with no insurance; SUM (supplementary uninsured/underinsured motorist) also covers drivers who have insurance but not enough — and it's optional, up to your own liability limits.
This is the distinction that decides most real claims. Mandatory UM handles the driver with nothing. SUM — supplementary uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage — handles both: the uninsured driver and the far more common underinsured one. Under New York's SUM rules (Insurance Law § 3420(f)(2), Regulation 35-D), when an at-fault driver carries too little to cover your injuries, SUM steps in after their limits are exhausted and pays up to your own SUM limit. There's no separate "UIM" policy to buy in New York — the underinsured protection lives inside SUM.
SUM is optional, but your insurer is legally required to offer it, and you can buy it up to your own bodily-injury liability limits, capped by statute at $250,000 per person and $500,000 per accident. So if you carry 100/300 liability, you can carry 100/300 in SUM — meaning a minimum-limit driver who seriously hurts you can't cap your recovery at their thin $25,000. For most New York drivers, that's the single most valuable box to check on the whole policy.
Wondering why UM matters when New York already has no-fault? Our guide to New York's no-fault system explains what PIP pays after a crash — and the pain-and-suffering losses it leaves for UM and SUM to cover.
Why Does Uninsured/Underinsured Coverage Matter So Much in New York?
The short answer: a large share of New York drivers carry nothing or only the $25,000 minimum, and no-fault won't pay for pain and suffering — so UM and SUM are often the only way to be made whole when someone else causes a serious injury.
Two facts collide on New York roads. First, plenty of drivers are uninsured or carry only the bare minimum the law allows — and that $25,000 hasn't kept pace with what a hospital charges; a surgery and a few weeks of missed work can pass it before the first follow-up appointment. Second, New York's no-fault system pays your own economic losses up to $50,000, but it never pays for pain and suffering, and it doesn't reach beyond that cap. So when an uninsured or underinsured driver seriously injures you, the question of who makes up the difference comes down to your policy.
That's the whole case for carrying real UM and, especially, real SUM limits. Without them, the other driver's failure to insure themselves becomes your financial loss. With them, you've effectively backstopped yourself — you're covered to your own chosen limit no matter how little the person who hit you carried. It's one of the few coverages where you're buying protection against other people's bad decisions.
A driver runs a red light and seriously injures you. Your medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering come to about $100,000 — but the at-fault driver carries only the $25,000 state minimum. Their policy pays its $25,000 and is exhausted. If you carry 100/300 SUM, your own coverage steps in and can pay the roughly $75,000 shortfall, up to your limit. If you'd declined SUM, that $75,000 would likely have been your loss to absorb. (Figures are illustrative — every claim differs — but this is exactly the gap SUM is built to close.)
Does UM Cover Hit-and-Run and Pedestrians?
The short answer: yes — UM covers hit-and-run and unidentified drivers, and it protects you even as a pedestrian; if you have no policy at all, New York's MVAIC fund may be the backstop.
UM doesn't care whether the at-fault driver had no insurance or simply vanished — a hit-and-run where the driver is never identified is treated as an uninsured-motorist claim, so your own UM responds. It also follows you, not just your car: if you're struck as a pedestrian by an uninsured or hit-and-run driver, you can generally claim under your own UM coverage, or under the policy of a relative you live with. You'll want to report the crash to police promptly and notify your insurer quickly, because these claims run on strict notice deadlines.
There's one more backstop worth knowing. If you're injured by an uninsured or hit-and-run driver and there's no policy anywhere for you to claim under — no coverage of your own and none in your household — New York's Motor Vehicle Accident Indemnification Corporation (MVAIC) may step in. It's a state-established fund of last resort, with strict eligibility rules (a New York accident, a New York resident, no other available coverage) and tight filing deadlines. It's a genuine safety net, but a much narrower and slower one than simply carrying your own UM and SUM.
How Much UM and SUM Coverage Should You Carry?
The short answer: a common approach is to match your SUM limits to your bodily-injury liability limits, so you're protected to the same level whether you cause a crash or an underinsured driver causes yours.
Carrying the mandatory UM minimum satisfies the law, but it leaves the underinsured-driver gap wide open. The cleaner approach most agents suggest is to raise your bodily-injury liability to a level that reflects what you'd actually lose in a serious accident — and then buy SUM to match it. That way your "someone hit me" protection keeps pace with your "I hit someone" protection, and a minimum-limit driver can't cap what you recover. Because a bad injury can dwarf $25,000, this is usually a small premium difference for a large jump in protection.
| Coverage | New York minimum | A stronger baseline |
|---|---|---|
| Mandatory UM (bodily injury) | $25K / $50K | Match your liability |
| SUM (underinsured protection) | Not required | Add it — up to your BI limits |
| Bodily-injury liability | $25K / $50K | 100/300 for many drivers |
| SUM statutory cap | — | $250K / $500K |
None of this is about over-buying — it's about making sure a stranger's decision to skip insurance doesn't become your bill. A quick review with a licensed agent is the cleanest way to see what UM and SUM limits fit your situation, and how little the stronger option usually costs.
The underinsured driver in these examples is usually carrying the legal minimum. Our guide to New York's minimum car insurance explains why that $25,000 floor leaves so many drivers — and the people they hit — exposed.
The Bottom Line on Uninsured Motorist Coverage in New York
New York requires uninsured motorist coverage, so you already carry some protection against the driver with nothing. What the law doesn't require — and what fills the far more common gap — is SUM: the optional upgrade that also covers the underinsured driver whose bare-minimum policy can't come close to paying for a serious injury. In a state where so many drivers carry only $25,000, that's the coverage that decides whether you or a stranger's insurer absorbs the loss.
The move most drivers should make is simple: raise your bodily-injury liability to a sensible level, then buy SUM to match it, so your protection is the same whether you cause a crash or someone underinsured causes yours. It's usually a small premium difference for a large jump in security. If you're not sure whether you carry SUM at all — a lot of people don't — our team will check your policy for free and show you exactly where you stand.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. New York requires uninsured motorist (UM) coverage on every auto policy, with minimum limits that match the state's liability minimums — $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident for bodily injury. UM pays for your injuries when the at-fault driver has no insurance or flees the scene. What is not required is SUM (supplementary uninsured/underinsured motorist) coverage, the optional upgrade that also protects you against drivers who carry too little insurance. Insurers must offer SUM, but you can accept or decline it.
UM covers bodily injury — medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering — when you're hurt by a driver who has no insurance or can't be identified, including hit-and-run crashes. It protects you, your passengers, resident relatives, and pedestrians your household vehicle strikes. It does not cover damage to your own car; property damage from an uninsured driver is handled by collision coverage. And standard UM does not cover underinsured drivers — that's what optional SUM coverage is for.
Mandatory UM only pays when the at-fault driver has no insurance or is a hit-and-run. SUM (supplementary uninsured/underinsured motorist) is the optional upgrade that also pays when the at-fault driver has insurance but not enough to cover your injuries — the far more common situation in New York, where many drivers carry only the $25,000 minimum. You can buy SUM up to your own bodily-injury liability limits, capped by statute at $250,000 per person and $500,000 per accident.
Yes. UM coverage applies whether the at-fault driver had no insurance or fled and can't be identified, so hit-and-run injuries are covered under your own UM. You'll generally need to report the accident to police promptly and notify your insurer quickly. If you have no policy of your own to claim under — for example, an uninsured pedestrian struck by a hit-and-run driver — New York's MVAIC fund may provide a backstop, subject to strict eligibility and deadlines.
A common approach is to carry SUM limits that match your own bodily-injury liability limits, so you're protected to the same level whether you cause a crash or someone underinsured causes yours. Since a serious injury can far exceed the $25,000 a minimum-limit driver carries, higher SUM is one of the most valuable, lowest-cost upgrades on a New York policy. The right amount depends on your assets and situation — a licensed agent can size it with you.
Find Out If You Actually Carry SUM
A lot of New York drivers have no idea whether they carry SUM — the coverage that protects them from the state's many minimum-limit drivers. Our team will check your policy, show you where you stand, and tell you what stronger UM/SUM limits would cost. Free, no obligation.
✓ Last reviewed by the Della Agency team on . We refresh our guides quarterly — New York coverage rules, limits, and legislation change.
This guide is general information, not coverage or legal advice. New York UM and SUM rules, limits, and deadlines are set by the Vehicle and Traffic Law, Insurance Law § 3420, and Department of Financial Services regulations, and can change — confirm current rules with the New York State Department of Financial Services and your insurer, and consult a licensed attorney about any specific claim. Figures in examples are illustrative, not quotes.
Written and reviewed by the Della Agency team — licensed New York insurance professionals based at 1135 Deer Park Ave, North Babylon, serving drivers across New York and 10+ states. Figures here are drawn from the named sources cited above — New York Vehicle and Traffic Law § 311, Insurance Law § 3420(f) and the SUM regulations (Reg 35-D), and the New York State Department of Financial Services — and reviewed quarterly. NY license #[insert].