Roughly one in eight drivers carries no insurance, and far more carry state minimums that a real injury exhausts instantly. Your uninsured/underinsured-motorist coverage exists exactly for this, same valuation math, different payer, and a few procedural traps worth knowing.
Reviewed August 24, 2026 · bands map to the disclosed methodologyBased on the multiplier method used by insurers and attorneys. This is an educational estimate, not legal advice. Every claim is different.
| Situation | Typical multiplier | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Your claim's value | Multiplier math | Same formula as any injury claim, the calculator above. |
| Their liability limits | First layer | In UIM claims, the at-fault carrier pays its limits first; UIM covers the gap. |
| Your UM/UIM limits | The ceiling | You cannot recover more than the coverage you bought, and stacking rules can raise it. |
These bands are the same disclosed multiplier framework used across this site (methodology). Where a specific injury lands inside it is driven by documentation, permanence, and liability clarity, not by the label on the injury.
In an underinsured claim, accepting the at-fault carrier's limits without your own insurer's written consent can void your UIM coverage. Insurers keep subrogation rights against the driver, and settling extinguishes them. The sequence matters: get the tender in writing, notify your UIM carrier, get consent, then settle. It's paperwork, and skipping it costs entire claims.
In many states, UM/UIM limits can 'stack' across vehicles on a policy or across policies, turning $50,000 of coverage on two cars into $100,000 of protection. Whether stacking applies is a state-law and policy-language question worth an attorney's fifteen minutes, because it changes the recoverable ceiling before negotiation even starts.
Value it exactly like a normal injury claim, the multiplier math above, then cap it at your UM limits. For underinsured claims, the recovery is your claim's value minus what the at-fault carrier paid, up to your UIM limits (offset rules vary by state).
Yes. A UM claim is adversarial, and carriers adjust them like any liability claim. The difference: your insurer owes you good-faith duties a stranger's carrier doesn't, which becomes leverage if they lowball a documented claim.
Not before written consent from your UIM carrier. Accepting without it can void the underinsured layer of your claim. Get the offer in writing, notify your carrier, and follow the consent sequence.