Utah Uninsured Motorist Statute: Limits, Stacking, and Claims

Utah requires every auto insurance policy to include uninsured motorist bodily injury coverage unless you reject it in writing, and for policies issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2025, the minimum limits are $30,000 per person and $65,000 per accident.¹² These are the Utah uninsured motorist coverage requirements in their simplest form: automatic inclusion, a statutory floor, and a formal opt-out procedure if you want to go without.

What Uninsured Motorist Coverage Actually Covers

Under Utah Code 31A-22-305, an “uninsured motor vehicle” is broader than a car with no policy at all. The definition reaches four situations: the at-fault driver carries no liability insurance, the driver’s insurer denies the claim, the insurer becomes insolvent, or the driver’s coverage falls below Utah’s minimum financial responsibility requirements.² That last category matters because your UM coverage can fill the gap even when the other driver technically has a policy.

Hit-and-run vehicles count too, but with a catch. If the unidentified vehicle never made physical contact with you or your car, you must prove it existed through clear and convincing evidence beyond your own testimony. A police report, witness statements, or physical evidence like paint transfer or debris usually carries that weight. When there was contact, the standard drops, but thorough documentation still helps.²

Minimum Limits and How Yours Are Set

The $30,000 per person and $65,000 per accident floor comes from the liability minimums in Utah Code 31A-22-304, and UM coverage cannot be sold at anything lower.¹

Your actual limits may be higher by default. Unless you request otherwise in writing, your insurer must set your UM limits at the lesser of your liability limits or the maximum UM limits the insurer offers under the policy.² If you carry $100,000/$300,000 in liability coverage, your UM coverage defaults to the same amount. You can buy it down to the statutory minimum, but you have to sign a written acknowledgment to do it.

Property Damage Is Not Included

Standard UM coverage in Utah pays only for bodily injury. If an uninsured driver totals your car, UM won’t repair it. For that you need collision coverage or a separate uninsured motorist property damage endorsement. A lot of drivers only find out after the accident, so it’s worth confirming what your policy includes now.

Rejecting Uninsured Motorist Coverage

The only way to drop UM coverage from a Utah policy is to reject it in writing. The rejection must be made by the named insured, on a form the insurer provides, and filed with the Utah Insurance Department.² The form itself must explain in plain language what UM coverage does and disclose the additional premium you’d pay to carry it at limits equal to your liability coverage.

If you never signed a waiver, UM coverage is part of your policy by operation of law. When insurers fail to follow the notice and waiver procedures, Utah courts have required them to pay UM claims anyway.

Stacking Rules

Utah law prohibits combining UM limits from two or more vehicles on the same policy to increase your available coverage for a single accident.² Insuring two cars does not automatically double the UM pool you can draw on.

One narrow exception applies to named insureds and family members listed on the policy. The vehicle you were actually riding in at the time of the accident provides primary UM coverage, and the vehicle with the highest UM limits on your policy provides secondary coverage on top of it.² Interpolicy stacking beyond that is not allowed.

Underinsured Motorist Coverage Is Separate

UM coverage handles accidents where the at-fault driver has no adequate insurance. Underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage, governed by Utah Code 31A-22-305.3, is a different product that applies when the at-fault driver has insurance but not enough to cover your injuries. The statutory minimums for UIM are lower: $10,000 per person and $20,000 per accident.³

UIM stacks on top of the at-fault driver’s liability payout rather than replacing it. Their liability policy pays first; your UIM then fills the gap up to your limits.³ Given that a driver carrying only the $30,000 state minimum could leave you tens of thousands short after a serious crash, UIM is worth carrying at higher limits.

Common Exclusions

Insurers write exclusions into UM coverage, and Utah courts have generally upheld them when the policy language is clear. The ones that catch people off guard:

Intentional acts. Deliberately causing an accident voids UM benefits.
Household vehicles not listed on the policy. You can’t skip insuring your second car and then claim UM when it’s involved.
Commercial use. Rideshare or delivery driving usually voids UM unless you carry a commercial policy or rideshare endorsement.
Non-standard vehicles. Motorcycles, ATVs, and RVs are often excluded; each vehicle generally needs its own UM coverage.

Criminal conduct such as fleeing law enforcement or driving under the influence can also give the insurer grounds to deny. The exact language is in your policy’s exclusions section, and it’s worth a read before you need to file.

Filing a Claim

Notify your insurer promptly after an accident with an uninsured driver. Most policies require prompt notice, and waiting too long gives the insurer a reason to delay or deny. You’ll need to show the at-fault driver lacked adequate insurance; a police report is the most useful single document, and in hit-and-run cases law enforcement reporting is effectively required.

Once you file, the insurer investigates liability and assesses damages, typically requesting medical records, bills, and lost-wage documentation. Utah applies modified comparative fault, so your recovery is reduced by your share of fault, and you can still recover as long as the at-fault driver’s share (combined with any other defendants) exceeds yours. If you were 30 percent at fault, your UM benefits are reduced by 30 percent.

Statute of Limitations

You have four years from the date of the accident to file a UM action, whether you take it to arbitration or court.² Four years sounds generous, but medical treatment stretches over months and insurer negotiations can stall. Missing the deadline extinguishes the claim entirely.

Arbitration or Court

UM disputes over fault, injury severity, or coverage happen often, and Utah gives the claimant the choice of forum. You can submit the claim to binding arbitration or file a lawsuit, and that choice belongs to you unless your policy specifically gives both sides the right to elect arbitration.²

Pick carefully. Once you file suit, you cannot switch back to arbitration without the insurer’s written consent. Arbitration itself proceeds before a single arbitrator the parties agree on, or if they can’t agree, a three-member panel with each side selecting one arbitrator and those two selecting the third. The Utah Uniform Arbitration Act governs unless the parties agree otherwise.²

1
Utah Legislature. Utah Code 31A-22-304 – Motor Vehicle Liability Policy
2
Utah Legislature. Utah Code 31A-22-305 – Uninsured Motorist Coverage
3
Utah Legislature. Utah Code 31A-22-305.3 – Underinsured Motorist Coverage