Updated July 2026
What Is Uninsured Motorist Coverage Insurance?
Uninsured motorist coverage pays your medical expenses, lost wages, and vehicle damage when the at-fault driver has no insurance or their liability limits are too low to cover your losses. Iowa law requires carriers to offer UM/UIM at the same limits as your liability coverage, and you can only decline it by signing a written rejection form. If you don't reject it, the coverage automatically appears on your policy at your liability limits. This coverage does not satisfy SR-22 filing requirements or license reinstatement conditions because those mandates require liability insurance that protects other people, not coverage that protects you.
- You're stopped at a red light and rear-ended by a driver with no insurance. You have $8,500 in medical bills and $4,200 in vehicle damage. The at-fault driver has no liability coverage to pay your claim. Your uninsured motorist bodily injury coverage pays the $8,500 in medical costs up to your policy limits, and your uninsured motorist property damage coverage pays the $4,200 vehicle repair if you purchased that optional component in Iowa.
- A driver runs a stop sign and hits you, causing $45,000 in medical expenses and $12,000 in vehicle damage. The at-fault driver carries Iowa's minimum liability limits of $20,000 per person. Their liability policy pays the first $20,000 of your medical bills. Your underinsured motorist coverage pays the remaining $25,000 in medical costs, up to your UM/UIM limits, because their coverage was insufficient to cover your full loss.
- You're sideswiped on I-80 and the other driver flees the scene. You have $6,800 in vehicle damage and $3,200 in medical bills. Because the at-fault driver cannot be identified, your uninsured motorist coverage treats this as an uninsured driver claim and pays both your medical costs and property damage up to your policy limits, assuming you purchased UM property damage coverage.
Who Needs Uninsured Motorist Coverage Insurance?
Uninsured motorist coverage is critical if you're reinstating your license after a suspension and cannot afford to absorb a $20,000 medical bill or vehicle replacement cost out of pocket if you're hit by an uninsured driver. Iowa has an uninsured motorist rate near 12%, meaning roughly one in eight drivers on the road carries no liability insurance, and if one of them hits you, your only financial recovery option without UM/UIM is suing the at-fault driver directly — a process that rarely recovers meaningful money from someone who couldn't afford insurance in the first place. If you're carrying SR-22 insurance and already paying elevated premiums, the additional $10 to $15 per month for UM/UIM is a small cost relative to the financial exposure you face without it.
If your health insurance deductible plus your vehicle's replacement cost exceeds $5,000 and you cannot cover that amount from savings without hardship, carry uninsured motorist coverage at limits matching your liability coverage. If you're reinstating after a suspension and rebuilding financial stability, UM/UIM is one of the few coverage types that protects you rather than other drivers, and the cost is low enough to justify carrying it even on a tight budget.
How Much Does Uninsured Motorist Coverage Insurance Cost?
Uninsured motorist coverage typically adds $8 to $18 per month to your Iowa auto insurance premium, or approximately $95 to $215 annually, depending on your liability limits and whether you add property damage coverage.
- Your liability limits directly determine your UM/UIM limits in Iowa because the law requires carriers to offer matching coverage unless you reject it in writing.
- Whether you add uninsured motorist property damage coverage, which is optional in Iowa and typically adds $3 to $6 per month on top of bodily injury UM/UIM.
- Stacking elections — if you insure multiple vehicles and choose stacked UM/UIM coverage, you can combine limits across all vehicles, which increases the premium but provides higher total coverage.
- Your county's uninsured driver rate — areas with higher percentages of uninsured motorists see slightly higher UM/UIM premiums because claim frequency is higher.
- Your driving record and violation history — carriers price UM/UIM coverage based on overall risk profile, so suspended license drivers often pay 40% to 90% more than standard-risk drivers for the same coverage.