The Coverage Gap Mississippi Drivers Face
You carry Mississippi's required liability minimums — $25,000 per person, $50,000 per accident for bodily injury, $25,000 for property damage — and assume you're covered if someone hits you. You're not. Your liability policy pays only when you cause the accident. When another driver hits you and has no insurance or insufficient coverage, your liability does nothing.
Mississippi law does not require uninsured motorist coverage. You can decline it. But 28.2% of Mississippi drivers are uninsured, the sixth-highest rate in the country. That means roughly one in four drivers on the road cannot pay for the damage they cause. Uninsured motorist coverage exists to fill that gap — it pays your medical bills, lost wages, and vehicle repair costs when the at-fault driver has no insurance or coverage limits too low to cover your losses.
Compare car insurance rates in your state
Get quotes from licensed carriers — no obligation, no spam, results in minutes.
Get Your Free QuoteMississippi Uninsured Driver Rate
28.2%
More than one in four Mississippi drivers operate without insurance. When an uninsured driver causes an accident, their liability policy doesn't exist — uninsured motorist coverage on your policy becomes the only source of payment for your injuries and vehicle damage.
Insurance Information Institute, 2023 uninsured motorist data
What Uninsured Motorist Bodily Injury Covers
Uninsured motorist bodily injury (UMBI) pays your medical expenses, rehabilitation costs, lost income, and pain and suffering when an at-fault driver has no insurance or their bodily injury limits are too low to cover your losses. It also covers you if you're hit by a driver who flees the scene and cannot be identified.
UMBI applies per person and per accident, mirroring liability structure. The coverage does not pay for vehicle damage — that requires uninsured motorist property damage, a separate coverage.
UMBI also covers you as a pedestrian or cyclist struck by an uninsured driver, and it covers you when riding as a passenger in someone else's vehicle if that driver is hit by an uninsured motorist and their own UMBI limits are exhausted. The coverage follows you, not just your vehicle.
Your liability policy pays zero when another driver hits you. UMBI is the only coverage on your policy that pays your injury costs when the at-fault driver has no insurance.
Uninsured Motorist Property Damage
The coverage pays actual cash value or repair cost, whichever is lower, minus the deductible.
Some Mississippi carriers bundle UMPD into collision coverage rather than offering it separately. When UMPD is unavailable or you decline it, collision coverage becomes your only option for vehicle damage caused by an uninsured driver. Collision pays regardless of fault but requires a deductible, and using it may affect your premium at renewal. UMPD, when available, often costs less and does not trigger a rate increase because you are not at fault.
Related Articles
Underinsured Motorist Coverage
Underinsured motorist coverage (UIM) pays when the at-fault driver carries liability insurance but their limits are too low to cover your losses.
UIM is typically sold alongside UMBI as a combined uninsured/underinsured motorist endorsement. Some carriers offer UIM separately; most bundle it.
UIM does not stack on top of the at-fault driver's liability without limit. If you carry $50,000 per person UIM and the at-fault driver carries $25,000, UIM pays up to $25,000 additional, bringing total recovery to $50,000. The combined payment cannot exceed your UIM limit. If your losses exceed your UIM limit, you pay the difference or pursue the at-fault driver personally, a process that rarely recovers meaningful amounts from an underinsured driver.
Mississippi Minimum Liability Limits
$25,000 / $50,000 / $25,000
Mississippi requires $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident for bodily injury, and $25,000 for property damage. A driver carrying only these minimums cannot pay more than $25,000 for one person's injuries, regardless of actual medical costs. UIM covers the gap when their limits fall short.
Mississippi Code Title 63, Chapter 15
When Uninsured Motorist Coverage Does Not Apply
UMBI and UMPD pay only when the at-fault driver is uninsured or underinsured. If you cause the accident, your liability policy pays the other driver's costs, and your UMBI does not apply. If you are at fault and the other driver is uninsured, their lack of insurance is irrelevant — you owe them for the damage you caused, and they have no obligation to carry coverage that would pay you.
UMBI does not cover vehicle damage. UMPD does not cover medical costs. The two coverages are separate. If you decline UMPD and an uninsured driver totals your car, UMBI pays your hospital bills but nothing toward the vehicle. You file a collision claim, pay your deductible, and your insurer may pursue the at-fault driver for reimbursement through subrogation, a process that rarely recovers the full amount when the driver is uninsured.
Choosing Uninsured Motorist Limits
Carriers in Mississippi often default to offering UMBI limits equal to your liability limits, but you can select lower or higher amounts depending on the carrier's underwriting rules.
A common approach: match your UMBI limits to your liability limits. This ensures that if an uninsured driver causes the same damage to you that you could cause to them, your coverage responds at the same level. Selecting UMBI limits lower than your liability limits leaves you underinsured relative to the risk you're willing to impose on others. Selecting higher UMBI limits costs more but provides greater protection when the at-fault driver has no coverage or minimal limits.
Compare the incremental cost of higher UMBI limits when you request quotes. Carriers writing Mississippi policies that offer UMBI include State Farm, Geico, Progressive, Allstate, and Farmers, among others listed in the data above.