Uninsured vs. Underinsured Motorist Coverage in Virginia

By the FigureMyTax Editorial Team · How we calculate

Virginia requires UM and UIM equal to your liability limits unless rejected. UIM is paid without credit for the other driver's coverage by default. Contributory negligence, a common-law rule, is widely described as barring recovery for any negligence, and you generally have two years to sue.

Uninsured

Va. Code 38.2-2206(B) counts as uninsured a vehicle with no required liability insurance, one whose insurer denies coverage for any reason, one with no bond or deposit, one whose owner is not a self-insurer, one whose owner or operator is immune from liability, and one whose owner or operator is unknown. A rebuttable presumption of uninsured status arises from a certification by the Department of Motor Vehicles.

Underinsured

A vehicle is underinsured when and to the extent that the liability coverage available for payment is less than your damages up to your underinsured coverage. By default UIM pays without credit for that coverage. With $100,000 of UIM, $25,000 available and $250,000 of damages, that is $100,000; with a signed election to reduce, it is $75,000.

Fault

UM and UIM pay what you are "legally entitled to recover." Virginia has not adopted comparative negligence by statute that we found; its common-law contributory negligence rule comes from court decisions we did not read and is widely described as barring recovery if you were negligent at all, with exceptions. Ask an attorney about your facts. Virginia has no no-fault threshold for pain and suffering.

Deadlines and suits

Personal injury actions must be brought within two years (Va. Code 8.01-243(A)). If you sue an uninsured or underinsured driver intending to rely on your coverage, you must serve a copy of the process on your insurer, which may defend in the driver's name or its own.

Next steps

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

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