Short answer: In Tennessee, you should carry uninsured/underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) coverage, because it pays for your injuries and vehicle damage when the at-fault driver has no insurance or not enough to cover the bill. Tennessee is an at-fault state with a high share of uninsured drivers, so without UM/UIM a wreck that isn’t your fault can still come out of your pocket. Just as important, insurers are only required to offer it — you can waive it in writing, which is how a lot of drivers end up unprotected without ever really deciding to.
Isn’t the other driver’s insurance supposed to pay?
In theory, yes — Tennessee is an at-fault state, so the driver who causes a crash owes your damages. The problem is that only helps if they can actually pay. Plenty of drivers here carry only the bare state-minimum limits, and plenty carry nothing at all. UM/UIM is the coverage that steps in when the person who hit you can’t make you whole, so you’re not left chasing someone with no assets and no policy.
1. Uninsured motorist (UM) — when the other driver has nothing
UM coverage responds when the driver who hit you has no insurance at all, or when they flee the scene in a hit-and-run. It covers your injuries, and depending on how your policy is written, the damage to your vehicle. Without it, a collision with an uninsured driver leaves you relying on your own collision coverage for the car and nothing for your medical bills.
2. Underinsured motorist (UIM) — when they don’t have enough
UIM fills the gap when the at-fault driver has insurance, but their limits run out before your bills do. Serious injuries add up fast — surgery, rehab, lost wages — and a minimum-limits policy can be exhausted in a single ER visit. UIM picks up where their coverage stops, up to your limits.
3. The rejection trap — why many drivers don’t have it
Because UM/UIM can be declined in writing, it’s one of the first things people quietly drop to shave a few dollars off the premium. If you’ve never made a deliberate decision about your UM/UIM limits, pull out your declarations page and check — there’s a real chance it’s rejected or set far below your other coverage.
4. How much should you carry?
A good rule of thumb is to set your UM/UIM limits to match your liability limits, so you’re as protected from an uninsured driver as you are from a claim against you. If you carry an umbrella policy, ask whether it extends over UM/UIM — some do, and some require a separate election.
What does it cost?
UM/UIM is inexpensive relative to what it protects — usually a small piece of your total auto premium. The exact number depends on your limits, your drivers, and your vehicles, so it’s quoted rather than guessed. Set against a single serious injury from an uninsured driver, it’s one of the best values on the policy.