Uninsured vs. Underinsured Motorist Coverage in New York

By the FigureMyTax Editorial Team · How we calculate

New York requires basic uninsured motorist (UM) coverage and offers optional supplementary uninsured/underinsured (SUM) coverage. SUM pays your limit less what the at-fault driver's coverage paid, and non-economic loss requires a serious injury.

UM and SUM

UM covers accidents in New York with an uninsured, unidentified, insurer-denied, stolen or unregistered vehicle. SUM is a separate optional coverage that applies when the other vehicle's bodily injury limits are less than yours (Insurance Law 3420(f)).

How SUM pays

The statute does not say. Court decisions we read quote the insurance department's regulation as setting the maximum payable as the SUM limit reduced and offset by liability payments received (Matter of Met Life v. Leonorovitz), and quote the standard SUM endorsement as paying the difference between the SUM limits and the liability payments received (Weiss v. Tri-State Consumer Insurance Co.). With $100,000 of SUM and $25,000 paid, SUM pays up to $75,000.

Serious injury

For UM, no non-economic loss is paid unless you have a serious injury: death, dismemberment, significant disfigurement, a fracture, loss of a fetus, permanent loss of use, permanent consequential limitation, significant limitation, or an injury that keeps you from substantially all usual activities for 90 of the first 180 days (Insurance Law 5102(d)). We did not verify whether the same limit applies to SUM.

Fault and deadlines

Fault reduces your damages and never bars recovery (CPLR 1411). Most injury actions must be commenced within 3 years (CPLR 214). Your SUM endorsement may add notice and consent conditions, including written consent before you settle with the at-fault driver, so ask your insurer in writing first.

Next steps

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

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