Roughly one in ten drivers on South Carolina roads has no car insurance at all. According to the Insurance Research Council, approximately 10.3% of SC drivers were uninsured in 2023. That means every time you get behind the wheel, there is a real chance the driver next to you could not cover your losses if they caused a crash.
Uninsured motorist coverage in SC exists precisely for this situation. It is not an optional add-on you might consider. South Carolina law requires it. But understanding what it covers, how much you actually need, and what to do when a claim goes sideways is where most drivers come up short. Hite Law Firm has helped injured people across the Upstate, the Midlands, and the Lowcountry navigate exactly these situations for more than 40 years. Here is what you need to know.
What Is Uninsured Motorist Coverage?
Uninsured motorist coverage is a component of your own auto insurance policy that pays for your losses when the at-fault driver either has no insurance, flees the scene, or has coverage that cannot pay out. It steps in where the other driver’s policy cannot or does not.
In South Carolina, UM coverage comes in two parts:
- UMBI (Uninsured Motorist Bodily Injury): Covers medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and other personal injury losses for you and your passengers.
- UMPD (Uninsured Motorist Property Damage): Covers damage to your vehicle caused by an uninsured driver. In SC, a $200 deductible applies to UMPD claims, and physical contact with the other vehicle is required for hit-and-run property damage claims.
One thing to understand clearly: UM coverage only applies when the other driver is at fault. It is not a general collision policy. It is protection against someone else’s negligence when that person cannot pay for the damage they caused.
Is Uninsured Motorist Coverage Required in SC?
Yes. Under SC Code § 38-77-150, uninsured motorist coverage is mandatory with every auto liability policy issued in South Carolina. It is automatically included when you purchase liability coverage. You do not have to ask for it separately.
The SC minimum uninsured motorist coverage limits mirror the state’s minimum liability requirements under SC Code § 38-77-140:
- $25,000 per person for bodily injury
- $50,000 per accident for bodily injury
- $25,000 per accident for property damage (with a $200 deductible)
These are the floors, not the recommended amounts. More on that below.
Can You Reject Uninsured Motorist Coverage in SC?
Technically, yes. SC law allows rejection of uninsured motorist coverage, but it requires a signed written rejection form. SC insurers are also required to make a meaningful offer of UM coverage before any rejection is legally valid. That means the insurer must explain what coverage is being offered and at what limits, not simply hand you a form to sign at closing.
If you were not given a genuine explanation of what you were waiving, that rejection may be challengeable. Drivers who signed UM rejection forms at a dealership finance desk or rushed through a policy renewal without understanding the implications sometimes discover later that the rejection did not meet SC’s requirements. An attorney can evaluate whether your rejection was properly obtained.
Signing away UM coverage is a significant risk regardless. If you are hit by an uninsured driver and have no UM coverage, your only option is to sue the driver directly, and collecting a judgment from someone with no assets or insurance is rarely productive.
UM vs. UIM: What Is the Difference?
These two terms are often used interchangeably, but they cover different situations:
| Coverage Type | When It Applies | Required in SC? |
| UM (Uninsured Motorist) | The at-fault driver has NO insurance at all, or flees the scene (hit-and-run) | Yes — mandatory under SC Code § 38-77-150 |
| UIM (Underinsured Motorist) | The at-fault driver HAS insurance, but their limits are not enough to cover your losses | No — optional, but insurers must offer it under SC Code § 38-77-160 |
The UM vs UIM distinction matters more than most drivers realize. South Carolina’s minimum liability limit is $25,000 per person. A single emergency room visit, ambulance ride, and overnight hospital stay can easily exceed that. If the at-fault driver carries only the minimum and your bills run to $80,000, their policy pays $25,000 and stops. Your UIM coverage is what bridges that gap, if you have it.
Given that UIM coverage typically costs only a few additional dollars per month, declining it is rarely worth the risk.
What Does Uninsured Motorist Coverage Pay For?
UMBI coverage can pay for a broad range of losses resulting from the accident:
- Emergency medical care, hospitalization, surgery, and rehabilitation
- Future medical expenses if ongoing treatment is needed
- Lost wages from time missed at work during recovery
- Reduced earning capacity if the injury affects your ability to work long-term
- Pain and suffering and other non-economic damages
- Funeral and burial expenses in a fatal crash
UMPD covers vehicle repair or replacement costs, subject to the $200 deductible. For hit-and-run property damage claims in SC, there must be physical contact between the vehicles. A driver who ran you off the road without making contact does not trigger UMPD under South Carolina’s current rules.
How Stacking Works in South Carolina
Stacking is one of the most valuable and least understood aspects of uninsured motorist coverage that South Carolina drivers have access to. It allows you to combine UM or UIM limits from multiple vehicles or policies to increase the total coverage available for a single claim.
Here is how it works in practice. Say you have two vehicles insured on the same policy, each with $25,000 in UM bodily injury coverage. If you are injured by an uninsured driver, stacking allows you to combine those limits for a total of $50,000 in available UM coverage rather than the per-vehicle $25,000.
South Carolina recognizes two classes of insured for stacking purposes:
- Class I insured: The named insured and their resident family members. Class I insureds can stack UM limits across all vehicles on the policy.
- Class II insured: People covered under the policy but not named (such as a passenger). Class II insureds are generally limited to the single applicable policy limit and cannot stack.
Stacking applies to bodily injury coverage only. It does not apply to property damage. The rules around stacking across separate policies can be complex, and disputes often turn on specific policy language rather than general SC law. If stacking eligibility is in question for your claim, that is a situation where an attorney’s review of your actual policy documents is worth the time before you negotiate.
What to Do If You’re Hit by an Uninsured Driver in SC
The steps you take immediately after a crash with an uninsured driver directly affect your ability to recover what you are owed. The process is similar to any accident, but with a few additional considerations.
- Call 911. A police report documents the crash, the other driver’s lack of insurance, and the basic facts of the incident. Get the report number before leaving the scene.
- Seek medical attention right away. Whether in Abbeville, Greenwood, or anywhere else in South Carolina, go to the nearest emergency facility. Many serious injuries are not immediately apparent. A gap in treatment gives your insurer grounds to dispute your claim later.
- Gather evidence. Photograph the scene, the vehicles, and your visible injuries. Get witness names and contact information. Note the other driver’s license plate, even if they claim to have no insurance. If the other driver fled without making contact, note that too. For hit-and-run property damage claims in SC, physical contact between the vehicles is required for UMPD to apply. Your bodily injury UM coverage is not subject to that restriction, but documenting the scene thoroughly matters either way.
- Notify your own insurer promptly. Your UM claim goes through your own insurance company, not the other driver’s. Report the crash as required under your policy terms.
- Be careful with your own insurer. This is where many people are surprised. Your own insurance company has an interest in minimizing the UM payout just as any insurer does. Their adjuster is not your advocate. They are evaluating the claim from the insurer’s perspective.
- Contact an attorney before accepting any offer. Once you sign a release, you cannot reopen the claim. A car accident attorney can evaluate whether the offer reflects the full value of your losses.
The Timeline of a UM Claim in SC
Most competitors describe UM coverage but skip the process. Here is what it actually looks like from start to finish in South Carolina:
Immediately after the crash: Report to the police and your insurer. Begin medical treatment. Preserve all evidence.
Days to weeks after: Your insurer opens a UM claim file. An adjuster contacts you. Medical records and bills begin accumulating. This is when many people make the mistake of giving a recorded statement or accepting a preliminary offer.
Weeks to months after: Medical treatment continues. Once you reach maximum medical improvement (the point where your condition stabilizes), the full scope of your medical expenses and disability becomes clear. This is when settlement negotiations typically begin in earnest.
If negotiations stall: If your insurer disputes the value of the claim, you may need to file suit. Under SC Code § 38-77-150, if you file a lawsuit against the uninsured driver, you must also serve your own UM insurer with the pleadings. They become a party to the litigation. Having an attorney handle this process protects your rights at every step.
Resolution: Most UM claims settle before trial. The timeline from accident to resolution is typically six months to two years, depending on the severity of injuries and whether litigation is necessary.
Do You Need More Than the Minimum UM Coverage?
Almost certainly, yes. The math tells the story clearly.
The SC minimum UM bodily injury limit is $25,000 per person. Consider a realistic accident scenario: you are rear-ended at highway speed on I-26 near Greenwood by an uninsured driver. You suffer a herniated disc requiring surgery, three days in the hospital, and six weeks of physical therapy. Conservative medical costs for that scenario easily reach $80,000 to $120,000. Your $25,000 minimum UM coverage covers less than a third of it. The rest comes out of your own pocket.
Now consider what it costs to increase that protection. Raising UM coverage from $25,000 to $100,000 typically costs an additional $5 to $15 per month on a standard auto policy. Adding UIM coverage at matching limits is often similarly priced. For the cost of a streaming service, you can multiply your protection fourfold.
The recommendation from attorneys who handle these cases regularly: carry UM and UIM limits that match your liability limits, and carry as much as you can reasonably afford. The minimum is a floor set by the legislature, not a recommendation.
How Does Uninsured Motorist Coverage Work in SC When an Attorney Is Involved?
Most UM claims do not require an attorney. If your injuries are minor, your bills are well within the policy limits, and your insurer is cooperating, you may be able to handle the claim directly.
But there are specific situations where calling an attorney changes the outcome significantly:
- Your medical bills approach or exceed the policy limits. When the stakes match or exceed what the policy will pay, every dollar of the settlement calculation matters. An attorney documents future costs, lost earning capacity, and non-economic damages that adjusters routinely undervalue.
- The insurer is disputing fault or the value of your injuries. Your own UM insurer can take adversarial positions just as any other insurer can. An attorney levels that playing field.
- Stacking is in question. Stacking disputes require legal analysis of your specific policy language and SC case law. This is not something to navigate without help.
- You were offered a fast settlement early in your treatment. Early offers almost never reflect the full value of a serious or catastrophic injury claim. An attorney evaluates whether the offer is appropriate before you sign anything.
- The crash involved a hit-and-run. Proving a hit-and-run UM claim has specific evidentiary requirements in South Carolina. An attorney knows what documentation is needed.
One more point worth knowing: if you do file a lawsuit against an uninsured driver, SC Code § 38-77-150 requires you to also serve your own UM insurer with the pleadings. They become a party to the litigation. Missing that step can compromise your claim. An attorney handles this procedural requirement as a matter of course, but it catches unrepresented claimants off guard more often than it should.
Hite Law Firm handles UM and UIM claims throughout South Carolina on a contingency basis. You pay nothing unless we recover compensation for you.
The Bottom Line
South Carolina’s uninsured driver rate sits around 10%, and the state’s minimum UM limits of $25,000 per person were set decades ago. Medical costs have not stood still. A serious accident today can generate expenses that exceed the minimum UM limit before you leave the hospital.
Uninsured motorist coverage SC drivers carry is one of the few insurance protections that works directly for you, not for someone else. Carry as much as you can afford, add UIM coverage if you do not have it, and understand your stacking rights before you ever need them.
If you have already been hit by an uninsured driver in the Upstate, the Midlands, or anywhere in South Carolina, Hite Law Firm can review your situation at no cost. We have handled these claims for more than 40 years and work on a contingency basis, so there is no fee unless we recover compensation for you.
Reach out whenever you are ready.
