Underinsured Motorist Claims in Utah: The Coverage You Already Paid For

Most people who call us after a serious crash assume one policy decides what their case is worth: the one belonging to the driver who hit them. That policy is usually the ceiling on what the at-fault driver’s insurer will pay. It is rarely the ceiling on what is available.

When the Other Policy Runs Out — or Was Never There

Utah sets a floor, not a realistic number. For policies issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2025, minimum liability coverage is $30,000 for injury to one person, $65,000 per accident, and $25,000 for property damage (Utah Code 31A-22-304). Policies written before that date can still sit at the old $25,000 floor.

Thirty thousand dollars does not go far. An ambulance ride, an emergency room workup, imaging, and a few months of physical therapy can reach it before anyone has mentioned a surgery or a missed year of work.

When the at-fault driver’s coverage cannot fully compensate you, that vehicle is legally an “underinsured motor vehicle,” and your own underinsured motorist coverage — UIM — becomes available (Utah Code 31A-22-305.3).

A separate coverage, uninsured motorist or UM, applies when there is no policy to collect from at all. Utah defines “uninsured” more broadly than most people expect. It includes the hit-and-run driver who was never identified, a driver whose insurer disputes coverage for more than 60 days, and a driver whose insurance company is declared insolvent (Utah Code 31A-22-305).

Utah Adds UIM on Top. It Does Not Subtract.

This is the part that surprises people, and it is worth getting right.

In many states, underinsured motorist coverage is reduced by whatever the at-fault driver already paid. Utah does the opposite. UIM “may not be set off against the liability coverage” of the at-fault driver, and instead “shall be added to, combined with, or stacked upon” it (Utah Code 31A-22-305.3(3)(k)).

In practice: if the at-fault driver tenders a $30,000 policy and you carry $100,000 in UIM, you are looking at $130,000 of available coverage — not $100,000.

There is a second surprise waiting on your own declarations page. For policies written since January 1, 2001, your UIM limits automatically equal your liability limits unless you signed a written form rejecting the higher coverage (Utah Code 31A-22-305.3(3)(b)). Drivers who assume they carry the $10,000 statutory minimum frequently carry several times that. Pull the declarations page and look before you assume.

The Deadline Is Not the Crash Date

A Utah personal injury claim generally has to be filed within four years of the injury (Utah Code 78B-2-307). A UIM claim runs on its own clock.

The period is still four years, but it starts later. The “inception of loss” is the date of the settlement check representing the last liability policy payment (Utah Code 31A-22-305.3(5)). UIM is secondary coverage by design: the at-fault policy resolves first, and only then does the UIM clock begin.

Two more rules matter if you were working when you were hurt. Workers’ compensation benefits do not reduce a UIM recovery, and the compensation carrier cannot subrogate against it (Utah Code 31A-22-305.3(4)(c)). Health insurance subrogation is permitted only after you have been made whole.

Talk to a Utah Car Accident Attorney

If you were told the at-fault driver’s policy was the end of the conversation, it may not have been. Our Salt Lake City car accident attorneys account for every layer of coverage — the at-fault policy, your own UM and UIM, resident relatives’ policies, and any umbrella coverage — before anyone signs a release.

Hurt in Utah? Contact West Injury Law for a free case review. No attorney fees unless we win. Hablamos Español.