It happens more often than people think: you’re hurt in a crash that wasn’t your fault, and then you find out the other driver has no insurance at all — or carries only Pennsylvania’s minimum coverage, which can disappear fast when there are real injuries. It feels like a dead end. In many cases, it isn’t. Your own policy may hold the coverage that pays you.
First, how little insurance the other driver may legally carry
Pennsylvania only requires drivers to carry $15,000 per person / $30,000 per accident in bodily injury liability coverage, plus $5,000 for property damage. If you’re seriously hurt — an ER visit, surgery, months of missed work — $15,000 can be gone almost immediately. And some drivers on the road have no coverage at all, or let it lapse without telling anyone.
The coverage that protects you: UM and UIM
This is exactly the situation uninsured motorist (UM) and underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage exist for:
- Uninsured motorist coverage steps in when the at-fault driver has no insurance — and it also covers hit-and-run crashes where the driver is never identified.
- Underinsured motorist coverage fills the gap when the at-fault driver’s policy pays out its limits but your damages are higher.
Pennsylvania insurers are required to offer UM/UIM coverage, but drivers can reject it with a signed waiver — and many people sign that waiver at purchase without realizing what they’re declining, or pick limits far lower than their liability coverage. If you chose “stacking,” your coverage limits multiply by the number of vehicles on the policy, which can make a major difference in a serious case.
Here’s the important part: you may have more rights than you think
Two things surprise people about these claims.
First, a UM/UIM claim is made against your own insurance company — the one you’ve been paying premiums to for years. That does not mean they’ll treat you like their own. Once you file the claim, your insurer effectively steps into the shoes of the at-fault driver and negotiates against you like any other insurer. Having your own lawyer in that negotiation matters.
Second, if you have limited tort and the driver who hit you was uninsured, Pennsylvania law (75 Pa.C.S. § 1705) treats you as if you had full tort rights — the uninsured-driver exception means your right to pursue pain and suffering damages is restored, even in a claim against your own UM coverage.
And if the crash wasn’t your fault, Pennsylvania law generally prohibits your insurer from raising your premium because you made a claim for an accident you didn’t cause.
These claims have their own deadlines
UM/UIM claims are contract claims, and they come with traps:
- Prompt notice. Your policy requires you to notify your insurer of an accident — and hit-and-run claims carry especially strict, short notice deadlines, including reporting the crash to police. Waiting can give your own insurer a reason to deny the claim.
- Arbitration clauses. Many UM/UIM policies require disputes to go through arbitration rather than a regular lawsuit, with its own procedures.
- A different filing clock. Because these claims sound in contract, a different statute of limitations applies than the usual two-year injury deadline — but policy conditions can cut your time down well before that, so don’t sit on it.
Frequently asked questions
The driver who hit me fled. Am I just out of luck?
Not necessarily. A hit-and-run is treated as an uninsured motorist claim under your own policy. Report the crash to the police and to your insurer right away — those notice steps are critical to preserving the claim.
Will filing a UM claim raise my insurance rates?
If the accident wasn’t your fault, Pennsylvania law generally bars your insurer from surcharging you for it. The claim is exactly what you’ve been paying premiums for.
How do I know if I have UM/UIM coverage, and how much?
Check your policy’s declarations page for “Uninsured Motorists” and “Underinsured Motorists” lines and whether your coverage is stacked. Bring the full policy to a consultation — it’s one of the first documents we review.
Find out what your own policy can do for you
If the driver who hit you has no insurance, too little insurance, or left the scene, don’t assume there’s nothing to recover. The Law Offices of Jason P. Provinzano, LLC offers free consultations for injured people in Wilkes-Barre and across Northeastern Pennsylvania. Call 570-822-5771 or visit us at 16 W. Northampton Street, Wilkes-Barre, and we’ll review your policy and your options.
This article is general information about Pennsylvania personal injury law, not legal advice about your specific situation.
