Texas Uninsured Motorist Coverage Explained (2026)

State minimum 30/60/25 liability pays other people when you cause a crash. Uninsured/underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) coverage pays you when the driver who hit you has no policy or tiny limits.

Offered by law, easy to reject

Texas insurers must offer UM/UIM. You can sign a rejection form to drop it. Agents sometimes slide the form into a stack of e-signatures — read before you click.

Worth knowing: rejection saves premium until the first hit-and-run hospital bill.

UM vs UIM

Type	Typical trigger
Uninsured (UM)	At-fault driver has zero insurance
Underinsured (UIM)	At-fault limits too small for your injuries

Property damage UM (UMPD) is separate from bodily injury UM — know which boxes you checked.

Stacking (if you own multiple vehicles)

Some policies stack UM limits across vehicles on the same policy. Others do not. Texas allows certain stacking elections — ask for the definition in writing.

New resident angle

You are already buying Texas insurance for registration. Match UM limits to your health deductible and emergency fund:

• High-deductible health plan → higher UM bodily injury helps
• Paid-off older car → UMPD may matter less than injury coverage

Not a substitute for liability

Dropping liability to afford UM is illegal. SR-22 drivers have separate filing rules — see SR-22 guide.

Learn more

• Texas Department of Insurance — Uninsured Motorist
• Texas Transportation Code — financial responsibility