Does Idaho Allow UM/UIM Stacking? What Section 41-2502 Says

By the FigureMyTax Editorial Team · How we calculate

Idaho's statute requires UM and UIM coverage unless a named insured rejects it, and it neither permits nor bars stacking. The answer comes from the policy and court decisions.

The requirement

Section 41-2502(1) provides that a motor vehicle liability policy subject to the financial responsibility law may not be issued for a vehicle registered or principally garaged in Idaho unless it provides UM and UIM coverage, in the limits of 49-117, for the protection of persons insured who are legally entitled to recover damages from owners or operators of uninsured and underinsured vehicles because of bodily injury, sickness or disease, including death.

Rejection

A named insured may reject either or both coverages in writing or in an electronic record. The rejection is effective as to all other insureds and named insureds, and the rejected coverage need not be provided in a renewal or replacement policy issued by the same insurer or an affiliate (subsection (2)).

The standard statement

Before a new policy, or the first renewal or replacement of an existing one, with an effective date on or after January 1, 2009, the named insured must receive a standard statement approved by the director of the department of insurance, summarizing UM and UIM coverage and the different forms of UIM that might be available (subsection (3)). The statute does not define UIM or say how much it pays.

What it leaves open

Nothing in the section says UM/UIM limits add up or do not, or what an "other insurance" clause may do. A law-firm summary reports that Idaho courts allow stacking unless the policy clearly prohibits it. We did not read those decisions, so a policy with an anti-stacking term is not proof that it will be enforced, and one without it is not proof that stacking applies.

How to use this

Compare the single-policy and combined results in the Idaho UM/UIM stacking calculator, start with the plain-English stacked versus single-policy explainer, and read how UM and UIM work in Idaho.

This is general information, not legal advice, and the state comparisons above are illustrative, not an exhaustive survey. Confirm how Idaho's rules apply to your specific case with a licensed Idaho attorney.