Don't know if you have uninsured motorist coverage? How to check today in NJ
You can check in about five minutes: open your declarations page, the summary page of your car policy, and find the line called uninsured or underinsured motorist (UM/UIM). If you have a standard New Jersey policy, good news: the law says it must be there. If you have the cheaper Basic policy, you have no UM.
Hit by a driver with no insurance, or one who drove off, in New Jersey? A 30-second questionnaire checks whether a lawyer's office may look at what happened to you, for free.
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Where do I find UM on my policy?
On the declarations page. The card in your wallet usually shows only the policy number, so you need the full page.
- Log in to your insurance company's app or website, or find the renewal papers they mail you. Look for "declarations" or "dec page".
- Check the dates. The policy that counts is the one you had on the day of the crash.
- Find the line for uninsured motorist and underinsured motorist. Each company words it a little differently.
- Read the two numbers next to it, such as $100,000 / $300,000: the most it pays per person, then per crash.
- See "Basic policy" anywhere? Then you have no UM. Stop here and read the Basic section below.
- Ask everyone you live with for their declarations page too. Their UM may cover you too, and it is the first thing a lawyer will ask about.
Can't find it? Call your insurance company, ask for your UM and UIM limits on the crash date, and ask them to email you the answer.1
What do the numbers on that line mean?
They are the most your own policy pays you when the other driver can't. Use the table to see if yours is at the lowest allowed for when your policy started or renewed.
See the full table
| Policy issued or renewed | Per person | Per crash |
|---|---|---|
| Before 1 January 2023 | $15,000 | $30,000 |
| 1 January 2023 to 31 December 2025 | $25,000 | $50,000 |
| From 1 January 2026 | $35,000 | $70,000 |
You can buy more, and your insurance company has to offer you at least $250,000 per person and $500,000 per crash. If you raise your UM, you may need to raise your liability limits too (what your policy pays people you hurt), because UM can't be higher.2
If your policy is from 2023 or later, UM also pays to fix your car after an uninsured driver hits it, up to $25,000, minus the first $500. Pain and suffering through UM follows the right to sue you picked on your own policy, so a limited right to sue limits it too.2
I have the Basic policy. Do I have any UM?
No. If you have a Basic policy, you have no UM at all, so think about a standard policy at renewal.2
Hit by a car with a Basic policy? Careful: under the UM law it does not count as "uninsured", even if that policy pays nothing for the people it hits. If that happened to you, ask your insurance company in writing which part of your policy applies.
Want to know what your Basic policy does pay for your doctors? See what a Basic auto policy is in NJ.
The driver took off. Does UM cover a hit-and-run?
For your injuries, yes, when nobody can find the car or the driver after a real search. For damage to your car, no: the UM part that pays for car damage leaves out hit-and-run cars.23
Call the police the same day. If you report a hit-and-run within 24 hours, New Jersey's insurance rules say it does not count as an at-fault accident against you.4 If police can't find the car, keep looking yourself: the report can be reopened if you bring new facts, like a plate number or a video.5
If a driver hit you and fled, check your UM today: most people in your spot did not know if they had it, and only 1 of 7 who called could say yes.6 Here is what to do next with a hit-and-run claim in NJ.
The other driver had only a little insurance. What does UIM add?
If the driver who hit you had only a little insurance, your own UIM (underinsured motorist coverage) can pay more, but only when your UIM limit is higher than theirs. It is not added on top of theirs.
- First, the other driver's insurance must pay out its full limit.
- Then your own UIM pays you the difference. Say their limit is $25,000 and your UIM is $100,000: your UIM can pay up to $75,000 more.
- If you have two cars or two policies, you can't add their limits together. The higher limit is the most you can get.2
A month after the crash, she had bulging, herniated discs in her back and no one left to pay for them.
What to know: the other driver's fault is worth little to you if nobody has insurance to pay it.
What to do: check your UM and UIM today, before anything happens, and raise them at renewal if they are at the minimum.
What if nobody in my home has car insurance?
You may still get help from a state fund for crashes where nobody has insurance (the Unsatisfied Claim and Judgment Fund, or UCJF). Write to the fund within 180 days of the crash, or you may lose this last chance.7
He asked for help more than a year after the crash. The lawyer couldn't take the case, because it was old and no insurance could pay.
What to know: when nobody has insurance, your clock is shorter, not longer. By then, his 180 days to tell the fund had run out.
What to do: in the first weeks, ask about any household policy and the state fund, in writing.
Be careful if you owned a car with no insurance yourself: the fund will not pay you. And if you were driving your own uninsured car, you lose the right to sue.38
So check every policy in your home now: 3 of 76 car cases a lawyer gave back ended only because no insurance anywhere could pay.6
Questions people ask
Do I need uninsured motorist coverage if I have full coverage?
When people say "full coverage", they usually mean collision and comprehensive, which pay to fix your car; it is not a term in New Jersey law. Good news: if you have a standard policy, you already have UM. What matters is how much, so check if yours is at the minimum.
What does uninsured motorist coverage not cover in NJ?
UM does not treat these as uninsured: your own car, a car of someone you live with, a government vehicle, or a car on a Basic policy. It does not pay for car damage in a hit-and-run. If a town or state vehicle hit you, send that town or the state notice within 90 days.2
Can I add UM after the crash?
Adding it now helps with the next crash, not this one. The coverage that counts is the one you had on the crash date.
Does UM work if I was hit outside New Jersey?
Yes, your New Jersey UM goes with you anywhere in the United States or Canada.2 Hit outside NJ? Read our page on being hit in another state for your next steps.
Ready to make a UM claim? Follow the steps on our NJ uninsured motorist claim help page, and see what to do first after any crash on the New Jersey car accident help page.
Checked your policy and still not sure what it covers after your crash? Answer a few short questions, about 30 seconds, to see if a lawyer's office may look at what happened to you, for free.
Start the New Jersey accident quiz
Advertisement. Opens the New Jersey questionnaire. Review its policies and contact consent before submitting your details. No legal advice or guarantee of acceptance or compensation.
Sources
- Injuries Cases Autos analysis of 138 signed cases a lawyer's office gave back, 2023 to 2026, including the lawyer's forwarding notes.
- N.J.S.A. 17:28-1.1(a) to (e); UM is required in every policy "except for a basic automobile insurance policy" (Justia, 2025 edition, read 2026-11-12).
- N.J.S.A. 39:6-78 (Justia, 2025 edition, read 2026-11-12).
- N.J.A.C. 11:3-34.3, definition of "at-fault accident" (Cornell LII, read 2026-11-12).
- NJ Department of Transportation, NJTR-1 Crash Report Manual 2023, p. 109.
- Injuries Cases Autos analysis of 584 New Jersey intake conversations and 138 signed cases a lawyer's office gave back (76 car crashes), 2023 to 2026.
- N.J.S.A. 39:6-65 (Justia, 2025 edition, read 2026-11-12).
- N.J.S.A. 39:6A-4.5(a) (Justia, 2025 edition, read 2026-11-12).
How we counted
- Intake answers: 584 New Jersey intake conversations, 2023 to 2026. UM shares are among the 113 asked (36% yes, 21% no, 42% not sure); 36% of 137 were not sure the other driver had insurance.
- Hit-and-run: 7 people who called after the other driver drove off.
- Lawyer's notes: his first question is "Is there any household UM?"; on the scooter case he wrote "an old case" and "No coverage?".
- Cases given back: 138 people who signed with a lawyer's office and later had their case given back, 2023 to 2026, 76 of them car crashes. These are cases that went wrong, so they show what to avoid, not what usually happens.
- Stories are shared with initials, county and year, or as a paraphrase of a survivor group post. This page is general information, not legal advice.