Uninsured Motorist Coverage Rules in New York

In New York, uninsured motorist coverage is mandatory at 25/50 and can't be waived, while underinsured (SUM) coverage is optional and offsets what you collect from the at-fault driver. Here are the exact statutes, limits, and deadlines that decide whether you get paid.

ThatCarHitMe.com Editorial
May 25, 2026
6 min read

New York City logged 6,625 reported crashes in April 2026, and 6,773 in January.12 Some of the drivers in those wrecks carried no insurance, or not enough to cover the harm they caused. When that happens, the coverage that pays you is usually your own, and New York's rules for it are specific.

The national hub explains how uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage works in general. This page sticks to New York: the exact statutes, dollar limits, and deadlines that decide whether you get paid here.

What every New York auto policy must include

New York sets minimum liability limits of 25/50/10: $25,000 for bodily injury to one person, $50,000 per accident, and $10,000 for property damage.3 On top of that, every policy has to carry uninsured motorist (UM) coverage matching the 25/50 bodily injury figures, and that coverage cannot be waived. It's required by Insurance Law 3420(f)(1).43

UM coverage steps in when the at-fault driver had no insurance at all, or when a hit-and-run driver injured you and can't be identified.4 It pays for bodily injury only. New York UM and SUM coverage don't cover damage to your car, so if an uninsured driver wrecked your vehicle you're looking at a separate property claim (the New York diminished value guide covers how vehicle-damage recovery works).

Every policy also includes $50,000 in no-fault (PIP) benefits per person, which pay your medical bills and part of your lost wages regardless of who caused the crash.3

UM and SUM are not the same coverage

This trips people up constantly. New York splits the protection into two pieces.

The mandatory piece is UM, fixed at the 25/50 minimum and non-waivable.4 The optional piece is SUM, short for supplementary uninsured/underinsured motorists coverage. SUM is what actually protects you against an underinsured driver, one who had a policy but too little of it. Under Insurance Law 3420(f)(2), your insurer must offer SUM up to your own bodily injury liability limits, with a prescribed maximum of $250,000 per person and $500,000 per accident.4 You can decline or reduce SUM, but only through a signed written waiver on the state's prescribed form.45 If you never signed one and you bought higher liability limits, you may already have more UM/UIM protection than you realize.

SUM uses a standard endorsement written by the Department of Financial Services, prescribed by regulation 11 NYCRR 60-2.3.5 Two features of that endorsement matter a lot.

First, the offset. Your SUM payout is reduced dollar-for-dollar by whatever you collect from the at-fault driver's liability insurance.6 Say you carry $250,000 in SUM and the driver who hit you had only the $25,000 minimum. You collect the $25,000, and SUM can add up to $225,000 more, not a fresh $250,000 on top.6 SUM fills the gap; it doesn't stack.

Second, arbitration. The prescribed endorsement's Condition 11 lets you force a SUM dispute into arbitration on written demand, instead of filing a lawsuit against your own insurer.5 That's how most SUM fights over how much you're owed get resolved in New York.

When no policy covers you at all

If neither you nor anyone in your household owns an insured vehicle, and an uninsured or hit-and-run driver hurt you, you still have a route. New York created the Motor Vehicle Accident Indemnification Corporation (MVAIC) for exactly this gap. A "qualified person" who has no other auto insurance available can collect the same $50,000 in no-fault benefits and 25/50 bodily injury coverage a minimum policy would provide.7

MVAIC runs on hard deadlines, and courts enforce them without much sympathy. You have to report the accident to police within 24 hours.8 Then you have to file a notice of intention to make a claim: within 90 days for a hit-and-run or unidentified vehicle, or within 180 days when the uninsured driver is identified.78 Miss the window and the claim is usually gone, so this is the fastest-moving clock in a New York uninsured-driver case.

The deadlines that quietly sink UM claims

Even with solid coverage, New York's no-fault paperwork rules can end a claim early. Under Regulation 68 (11 NYCRR 65), you must give your insurer written notice of the claim within 30 days of the crash, submit medical bills within 45 days of treatment, and file a lost-earnings claim within 90 days.9 Those apply to your own no-fault benefits, and they run fast.

The lawsuit clock is longer. The statute of limitations for a personal injury claim is three years from the date of the accident under CPLR 214(5).10 But a UM or SUM claim is a claim against your own insurer under the policy, and the SUM endorsement pushes those disputes into arbitration, so drifting toward year three is risky. Open the claim early.

One more New York rule applies to any bodily injury recovery, UM and SUM included. Because New York is a no-fault state, you can recover for pain and suffering only if your injury clears the "serious injury" threshold in Insurance Law 5102(d): death, dismemberment, significant disfigurement, a fracture, loss of a fetus, permanent loss of use, permanent consequential limitation, or significant limitation of a body function or system.11 Below that line, your recovery is limited to economic no-fault benefits.

How fault and the 2026 changes affect what you collect

New York changed its comparative negligence rule in 2026. For motor vehicle personal injury claims (those governed by Insurance Law Article 51), CPLR 1411(b) now bars recovery entirely if your share of fault is greater than the other driver's; at 50% or less, your damages are reduced by your percentage.12 Pure comparative negligence still applies to motor vehicle death and property damage claims, and to non-vehicle cases.12 Because a UM/SUM claim asks the arbitrator to decide the same negligence question a jury would, your own share of fault can shrink or erase a UM payout the same way.

There's also a new cap aimed at a narrow group. Insurance Law 5104(d), added in 2026, limits non-economic damages to $100,000, but only for an at-fault injured person who was driving uninsured, was convicted of DUI, or was committing or fleeing a felony at the time of the crash.13 It doesn't touch an ordinary innocent claimant or a wrongful death claim.13 The practical lesson is blunt: if you let your own coverage lapse and then got hurt, New York now limits what you can recover for pain and suffering.

If you were hit by an uninsured driver in New York

Report the crash and get the police report started, open your no-fault and UM/SUM claims inside those 30- and 90-day windows, and don't sign away coverage you don't understand. If the numbers are contested or MVAIC is involved, a New York injury attorney can file the arbitration demand and hold the deadlines. You can find one through the thatcarhitme.com legal directory, and you can pull the state's underlying numbers from the New York crash reports.

This is general information about New York law, not legal advice. For guidance on your specific situation, talk to a licensed New York attorney.

Sources

  1. thatcarhitme.com, New York Crash Report, April 2026. https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/new-york/new-york/april-2026-report

  2. thatcarhitme.com, New York Crash Report, January 2026. https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/new-york/new-york/january-2026-report

  3. New York Department of Financial Services, "How much auto insurance must I carry?" https://www.dfs.ny.gov/faqs/consumer-auto/how-much-auto-insurance-must-i-carry

  4. New York Insurance Law 3420(f), uninsured and supplementary uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage. https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/ISC/3420

  5. 11 NYCRR 60-2.3, requirements for SUM endorsements (prescribed form; Condition 11, arbitration). https://www.law.cornell.edu/regulations/new-york/11-NYCRR-60-2.3

  6. New York Department of Financial Services, OGC Opinion No. 04-10-10, SUM coverage and offset. https://www.dfs.ny.gov/insurance/ogco2004/rg041010.htm

  7. Motor Vehicle Accident Indemnification Corporation (MVAIC), "Do You Qualify." https://mvaic.com/do-you-qualify

  8. New York Insurance Law 5208, notice of claim to MVAIC (24-hour police report; 90-day notice for unidentified vehicles). https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/ISC/5208

  9. New York Department of Financial Services, No-Fault Regulation 68 FAQ (11 NYCRR 65). https://www.dfs.ny.gov/apps_and_licensing/property_insurers/nofault_faqs_reg68

  10. New York CPLR 214(5), three-year limitations period for personal injury. https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/CVP/214

  11. New York Insurance Law 5102(d), definition of serious injury. https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/ISC/5102

  12. New York CPLR 1411, comparative negligence (subsection (b), motor vehicle personal injury). https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/CVP/1411

  13. New York Insurance Law 5104, no-fault threshold and 2026 non-economic damage cap (subsection (d)). https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/ISC/5104

About This Guide

Written by: ThatCarHitMe.com Editorial

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