Do I Need Uninsured Motorist Coverage in Kentucky?

Rejecting uninsured motorist (UM) coverage in Kentucky means that if a driver with no insurance hits you, you have no coverage of your own to fall back on. You absorb the full cost of your medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering out of your own pocket. If you have ever asked, “do I need uninsured motorist coverage” or “should I get uninsured motorist coverage in Kentucky,” the short answer is yes. In a state where nearly one in five drivers has no insurance, rejecting UM is a gamble that doesn’t make sense for anyone.

Kentucky law requires every auto insurance company to offer you UM coverage. But it also gives you the right to turn it down in writing. That option exists because the law says it has to, not because it is a good idea. The small amount you save each month on your premium is nothing compared to what you would owe after a serious crash with an uninsured driver.

This page explains what happens when you reject UM coverage, how the rejection process works under Kentucky law, what it costs you if you are ever in a crash, and why keeping UM coverage is one of the best financial decisions you can make as a driver.

If you have already been hit by an uninsured driver and aren’t sure what coverage you have, reach out to Sam Aguiar Injury Lawyers. We can review your policy and tell you where you stand. You can also learn more about your options on our car accident lawyer page.

What Is UM Coverage and What Does It Pay For?

Uninsured motorist coverage pays you when a driver who has no liability insurance causes a crash that injures you. It covers the same types of losses the at-fault driver’s insurance would have covered if they had a policy: medical bills, lost income, pain and suffering, and other damages tied to the accident.

Under Kentucky law (KRS 304.20-020), every auto liability policy issued in the state must include UM coverage at minimum limits of $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident unless the named insured rejects it in writing. Those limits match Kentucky’s minimum liability requirements under KRS 304.39-110.

UM coverage is not just for the policyholder. It protects anyone listed on the policy as a named insured, family members living in the household, and passengers in the covered vehicle at the time of the crash.

What UM Covers

• Medical expenses: Emergency room visits, hospital stays, surgeries, imaging (X-rays, MRIs, CT scans), prescription medications, physical therapy, chiropractic care, and all follow-up treatment related to the crash.
• Lost wages: Income you lose because your injuries prevent you from working, including future earning capacity if your injuries are permanent or long-term.
• Pain and suffering: Physical pain, emotional distress, loss of enjoyment of life, and the overall impact the crash has on your daily living.
• Other economic losses: Out-of-pocket costs like transportation to medical appointments, home modifications for serious injuries, and household services you can no longer perform yourself.

Think of UM coverage as a backup policy. It steps in when the person who hurt you has nothing to offer. Without it, you are left chasing a person who, by definition, could not afford insurance in the first place. Many crash victims also face unexpected hospital costs after an accident that quickly exceed what basic coverage provides.

How Does the UM Rejection Process Work in Kentucky?

Rejecting UM coverage in Kentucky requires a written rejection signed by the named insured on the policy. Your insurance company must offer you UM coverage when the policy is issued. If you want to decline it, you have to put that decision in writing. A verbal request or a phone call is not enough.

The rejection typically happens on a form provided by the insurer, often at the time you first purchase the policy or when you renew. The Kentucky Department of Insurance oversees the forms and requirements. If the insurer cannot produce a valid written rejection signed by you, courts have consistently held that UM coverage applies to the policy by default.

This is an important detail. If you were never given a rejection form, or if you don’t remember signing one, your policy may already include UM coverage even if you thought it didn’t. Kentucky courts have ruled repeatedly that an insurer bears the burden of proving a valid rejection exists. In Chaffin v. Kentucky Farm Bureau Insurance Companies (1990), the Kentucky Supreme Court reinforced that UM coverage is personal to the insured and that it is against public policy to deprive an insured of purchased coverage.

If you are unsure whether you rejected UM coverage, request a copy of your full policy declarations page and any rejection forms on file. Your agent should be able to provide these within a few business days.

Why Do People Reject UM Coverage?

Most people who reject UM coverage do it to save money on their monthly premium. In some cases, the decision is made quickly during the policy purchase process without a full understanding of what is being given up. In other cases, the insurance agent presents the rejection form as a routine part of signing up, and the insured doesn’t ask questions.

Here are the most common reasons people reject UM, and why each one falls apart under scrutiny.

“It Saves Me Money on My Premium”

UM coverage is one of the cheapest components of an auto policy. According to insurance rate data compiled by the Insurance Information Institute, uninsured motorist coverage typically costs between $50 and $200 per year depending on the limits and the insurer, far less than collision or comprehensive coverage. That works out to roughly $4 to $17 per month.

Compare that to the cost of a single ER visit after a crash: the average emergency room bill in the United States exceeds $2,700, and serious car accident injuries routinely generate medical bills of $50,000 to $100,000 or more. Saving $10 per month to expose yourself to six figures of uninsured medical debt is not a trade worth making.

“I’m a Good Driver, So I Don’t Need It”

UM coverage has nothing to do with your driving. It protects you from other people’s decisions. You could be the safest driver on the road and still get rear-ended at a red light by someone with no insurance. Your driving record is irrelevant when the person who hits you is the one without a policy.

“Everyone Has to Have Insurance Anyway”

Kentucky law does require drivers to carry liability insurance. But the law and reality are two different things. According to the Insurance Research Council’s 2025 study, 15.4% of U.S. drivers were uninsured in 2023. Kentucky’s rate is significantly worse. Data from the Insurance Information Institute shows that approximately 18.7% of Kentucky motorists drove without insurance in 2022, making Kentucky the 6th highest uninsured driver state in the country.

That means roughly one out of every five cars on the road in Kentucky has no insurance at all. When you combine uninsured drivers with underinsured drivers (those carrying only Kentucky’s bare minimum $25,000 in liability), the IRC found that one in three drivers nationally is either uninsured or underinsured. Kentucky’s minimum insurance limits are among the lowest in the country, making this problem even more acute for drivers here.

“My Health Insurance Will Cover It”

Health insurance may cover some of your medical bills after a crash, but it does not cover lost wages, pain and suffering, or other damages. It also comes with deductibles, copays, and out-of-network limitations that can leave you with thousands of dollars in out-of-pocket costs. And if your health insurer pays your medical bills after a car accident, they will typically assert a subrogation lien, meaning they will want to be paid back out of any settlement you receive. UM coverage fills a gap that health insurance was never designed to cover.

How Many Uninsured Drivers Are on Kentucky Roads?

Kentucky has one of the highest uninsured driver rates in the United States. Approximately 18.7% of Kentucky drivers carried no auto insurance in 2022, according to the Insurance Information Institute. That places Kentucky 6th in the nation for uninsured motorists.

To put that in perspective: if you drive past 100 cars on I-64 or I-65 today, roughly 19 of them have no insurance. If one of those drivers causes a crash that puts you in the hospital, there is no policy on their end to pay your bills. Without UM coverage, you are on your own.

The national picture is not much better. The Insurance Research Council found that the combined uninsured and underinsured rate reached 33.4% in 2023, a 10-percentage-point increase since 2017. The trend is going the wrong direction.

Neighboring states tell a similar story. Mississippi leads the nation at 28.2% uninsured. Tennessee and Indiana, two states Kentucky drivers cross into regularly, also carry above-average uninsured rates. If you commute across state lines, cross the Ohio River for work, or take road trips anywhere in the region, you are sharing the road with uninsured drivers every single day.

What Happens If You Are Hit by an Uninsured Driver and You Rejected UM?

If you rejected UM coverage and an uninsured driver hits you, you have very limited options to recover compensation for your injuries. Here is what you are facing.

You Can Sue the Uninsured Driver Directly

You have the legal right to file a lawsuit against the at-fault driver. But think about what “uninsured” usually means. A driver who cannot afford car insurance likely does not have significant assets either. Even if you win a judgment, collecting on it is another matter entirely. You could spend years trying to recover money from someone who doesn’t have it.

Your PIP Coverage Only Goes So Far

Kentucky’s basic PIP coverage provides $10,000 in first-party benefits for medical bills and lost wages. That sounds like something until you see the bills. A single ambulance ride, ER visit, and MRI can eat through $10,000 in under 48 hours. If your injuries require surgery, extended physical therapy, or time off work, $10,000 is a fraction of what you need.

PIP also does not cover pain and suffering. It only pays for economic losses like medical bills and a portion of lost wages (capped at $200 per week under the basic reparation benefits). The gap between what PIP pays and what your injuries actually cost is where UM coverage would have stepped in.

Your Health Insurance Has Limits

If you have health insurance, it can cover some of the medical costs, but you will owe copays, deductibles, and potentially coinsurance. And your health insurer will likely place a subrogation lien on any money you eventually recover, which means they get paid back before you see a dollar. Health insurance also pays nothing for lost wages, pain, emotional distress, or diminished quality of life.

The Financial Impact Can Be Devastating

Without UM coverage, the math becomes very simple and very painful. Consider a moderate car accident injury: broken bones, soft tissue damage, and six months of treatment.

• Emergency room and ambulance: $5,000 to $8,000
• Orthopedic surgery: $15,000 to $50,000
• Physical therapy (six months): $5,000 to $12,000
• Lost wages (six months at $50,000 annual salary): approximately $25,000
• Pain and suffering: typically valued at 1.5x to 3x medical bills in Kentucky cases

Total damages for a moderate injury case can easily reach $75,000 to $150,000 or more. Without UM coverage, you are responsible for every dollar of that. With UM coverage at even modest limits, you have a direct claim against your own insurer to cover those losses.

Side-by-Side: With UM Coverage vs. Without UM Coverage

Figures reflect typical Kentucky auto policy structures. Actual coverage depends on your policy. Consider this a general overview, not a prediction about your situation.

How Much Does UM Coverage Actually Cost?

UM coverage is one of the most affordable components of a Kentucky auto policy. The exact cost depends on your insurer, your coverage limits, your driving history, and where you live. But as a general rule, UM coverage at the state minimum limits ($25,000/$50,000) typically adds between $50 and $200 per year to your premium.

Higher limits cost more but still represent a small fraction of your total premium. Increasing your UM limits to $100,000/$300,000, which provides meaningful protection in a serious crash, might cost an additional $100 to $300 per year depending on the carrier.

For context, the average Kentucky driver pays about $1,580 per year for full coverage auto insurance. UM coverage represents a small slice of that total. Removing it might save you $10 to $15 per month. Keeping it could save you $100,000 or more if the wrong driver hits you.

If the cost of your overall premium is a concern, there are better ways to lower your bill: raising your collision deductible, dropping comprehensive on an older vehicle, shopping for a lower rate with another carrier, or bundling your auto and home policies. Dropping UM coverage should never be the way you cut costs.

Can You Add UM Coverage Back After Rejecting It?

Yes. If you previously rejected UM coverage, you can add it back to your policy at any time by contacting your insurance agent or carrier. The coverage will typically take effect on the date of the policy change or at your next renewal, depending on the insurer.

There is one critical catch: UM coverage only applies to accidents that happen after the coverage is in effect. It does not apply retroactively. If you were hit by an uninsured driver last month and you rejected UM, adding coverage today does not apply to that crash. The time to add UM coverage is before you need it, not after.

When you add UM coverage back, make sure to:

• Choose adequate limits. Kentucky’s minimum UM limits are $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident. Those minimums match the state’s liability minimums, which are among the lowest in the country. If your injuries exceed $25,000, which is not hard to do, you are capped at whatever limit you purchased. Consider matching your UM limits to your liability limits, or going higher.
• Confirm the coverage in writing. Get your updated declarations page and verify that UM coverage appears with the limits you requested.
• Ask about UIM coverage too. Underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage is different from UM. UIM covers the gap when the at-fault driver has insurance, but not enough to cover your losses. Kentucky law under KRS 304.39-320 requires insurers to offer UIM coverage. Learn more about how UM and UIM coverage work together in Kentucky.

What If You Didn’t Know You Rejected UM Coverage?

Many drivers in Kentucky discover they have no UM coverage only after a crash, when they actually need it. In some cases, the rejection happened years ago during the initial policy purchase, and the insured doesn’t remember signing the form. In other cases, a spouse or family member signed the rejection without the policyholder’s full understanding.

Kentucky courts have addressed this. If the insurance company cannot produce a valid, written rejection form signed by the named insured, the law presumes UM coverage exists on the policy. The burden of proving a valid rejection falls on the insurer, not on you.

Courts have also scrutinized the circumstances of rejection. If the rejection form was buried in a stack of paperwork, if the insured was not given a meaningful explanation of what they were giving up, or if the form itself was defective or incomplete, courts have found the rejection invalid. The Kentucky Supreme Court made clear in Chaffin v. Kentucky Farm Bureau Insurance Companies (1990) that UM coverage is personal to the insured and cannot be stripped away through vague policy language.

If you have been in a crash and were told you have no UM coverage, do not take the insurance company’s word for it. A closer look at your policy, your rejection forms, and the circumstances of how the rejection happened may tell a different story. Our car accident attorneys review policies and rejection forms for crash victims across Kentucky.

UM Coverage vs. UIM Coverage: What Is the Difference?

UM (uninsured motorist) and UIM (underinsured motorist) coverage are related but serve different purposes. UM coverage protects you when the at-fault driver has no insurance at all. UIM coverage protects you when the at-fault driver has insurance, but their policy limits are not high enough to cover your full losses.

Here is a simple example. You are hit by a driver who carries Kentucky’s minimum liability coverage of $25,000. Your medical bills, lost wages, and other damages total $80,000. The at-fault driver’s insurer pays their maximum of $25,000. That leaves $55,000 unpaid. If you have UIM coverage, your own insurer picks up the difference, up to your UIM policy limit.

In Kentucky, insurers must offer both UM and UIM coverage. You can reject either or both in writing. But rejecting both means you are completely exposed to the nearly one in three drivers on the road who are either uninsured or underinsured.

For a deeper look at how these coverages interact, see our full breakdown of uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage in Kentucky.

Kentucky’s UM Coverage Requirements Under the Law

Kentucky’s statutory framework for uninsured motorist coverage is found primarily in KRS 304.20-020. The statute requires that no auto liability insurance policy “shall be delivered or issued for delivery in this state” without UM coverage in limits matching the minimums set by KRS 304.39-110 ($25,000/$50,000), “provided that any named insured shall have the right to reject in writing such coverage.”

Key requirements under the statute:

• Mandatory offering: Every auto liability insurance policy in Kentucky must include UM coverage unless the named insured rejects it. The insurer has a legal obligation to offer it.
• Written rejection only: A rejection is not valid unless the named insured signs a written rejection form. Verbal rejections, implied rejections, and unsigned forms do not count.
• Minimum limits: If you accept UM coverage, the minimum limits are $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident, matching the state’s minimum liability requirements.
• Insolvency protection: The statute also provides coverage if the at-fault driver’s insurance company becomes insolvent and cannot pay the claim.

The statute has been interpreted and reinforced by decades of Kentucky case law. Courts have consistently held that UM coverage serves a strong public policy purpose: protecting innocent people from the financial consequences of sharing the road with uninsured drivers. Any attempt by an insurer to limit or circumvent that protection is scrutinized closely.

What Should You Do Right Now?

If you are not sure whether you have UM coverage, find out today. Here is what to do.

1. Pull up your auto insurance declarations page. This is the summary document that lists every coverage on your policy with the corresponding limits. Look for “Uninsured Motorist” or “UM” coverage. If it is listed, check the limits. If it says “Rejected” or doesn’t appear at all, you need to take action.
2. Call your insurance agent. Ask specifically: “Do I have uninsured motorist coverage, and what are my limits?” If you don’t have it, ask them to add it immediately. Ask about UIM coverage at the same time.
3. Consider your limits. Kentucky’s minimum UM limits of $25,000 per person are better than nothing, but they are not enough for a serious crash. If you can afford higher limits, get them. The cost difference between minimum UM coverage and $100,000 or $250,000 in UM coverage is often surprisingly small.
4. Check every vehicle on your policy. UM coverage should apply to every vehicle you own. If you have multiple vehicles on a single policy, confirm that UM coverage is listed for each one.

If you have already been in a crash and need to know whether your UM coverage applies, or if you were told you rejected it and want to challenge that, contact Sam Aguiar Injury Lawyers. We review policies and rejection forms for crash victims across Kentucky. You focus on getting better. We’ll handle everything else.