Uninsured vs. Underinsured Motorist Coverage in New Hampshire

By the FigureMyTax Editorial Team · How we calculate

New Hampshire has one UM coverage. A driver with too little insurance counts as uninsured only to the extent the liability coverage available is less than your UM limit, so it pays the shortfall, not on top of the other driver's payment.

One coverage

RSA 264:15 requires UM equal to your liability limits, and 259:117 counts an insured vehicle as uninsured if its limits are less than your UM limits or have been reduced by payments to others injured in the accident. There is no separate underinsured coverage in these sections.

How it pays

Because the vehicle counts as uninsured only "if and to the extent" its limits are less than yours, the coverage pays the difference between your UM limit and the liability coverage available. With a $100,000 UM limit and $25,000 available, it pays up to $75,000, not $100,000. The calculator uses that difference-of-limits reading, which is our reading of the statute; your policy wording controls.

Liability limits and medical payments

The financial responsibility minimums are $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident (RSA 259:61). Policies must also include at least $1,000 of medical payments coverage (264:16).

Fault and deadlines

Fault does not bar recovery if it is not greater than the defendant's, or the defendants' in the aggregate, and damages are reduced in proportion (RSA 507:7-d). Most personal actions must be brought within 3 years (508:4). New Hampshire has no no-fault threshold for pain and suffering.

Next steps

Stacking is a separate question; see our statute post and the explainer, then use the New Hampshire UM/UIM stacking calculator.

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