The Driver Who Hit Me Has No Insurance. Now What?

You were in an accident that wasn't your fault. The other driver ran a red light, rear-ended you at a stoplight, or crossed the center line. The police came. A report was filed.

Then you find out: the other driver has no insurance.

Maybe they never had a policy. Maybe it lapsed. Maybe their insurance company denied coverage for some reason. Or maybe it was a hit-and-run and you never found out who hit you at all.

Either way, the result is the same. There's no liability policy to make a claim against. And you're left wondering: who's going to pay for my injuries?

The Short Answer

If the at-fault driver has no insurance, your recourse is your own policy—specifically, your uninsured motorist (UM) coverage. If you have UM coverage, it can compensate you for injuries caused by an uninsured driver, just like the other driver's liability policy would have.



If you don't have UM coverage, your options are limited.

What "Uninsured" Actually Means

An at-fault driver can be considered "uninsured" in several situations:

• They never had a policy
• Their policy expired or lapsed before the accident
• Their insurance company denied coverage (because of an exclusion, missed payments, or other policy violation)
• They were never identified (a hit-and-run where you don't know who hit you)



The common thread is that the available liability coverage from the at-fault driver is zero. When that happens, uninsured motorist coverage is designed to step in.

How Uninsured Motorist Coverage Works

UM coverage is a type of insurance you buy on your own auto policy. It protects you when someone else causes an accident but doesn't have liability insurance to cover your damages.

Here's what surprises many people: you're making a claim on your own policy, even though the accident wasn't your fault. That feels wrong to a lot of people. But that's exactly why UM coverage exists—to protect you when the person who should be paying can't or won't.



UM coverage pays for the same things that the at-fault driver's liability coverage would have paid: medical expenses, pain and suffering, lost income, and other out-of-pocket costs related to your injuries.

New Mexico Has Unique UM Rules

New Mexico's laws around uninsured motorist coverage are more protective of policyholders than many other states. This can work in your favor.

You don't have to be in the insured vehicle. This is one of the most important—and least understood—aspects of UM coverage in New Mexico. If you have UM coverage on your own car, you may be able to access it even if you weren't driving that car when the accident happened.

Were you a passenger in someone else's vehicle? You may be able to make a UM claim on your own policy. Were you riding a city bus? Same thing. Were you a pedestrian hit by an uninsured driver? Your own auto policy's UM coverage may still apply.

The coverage follows you, not just your car.

Stacking may multiply your coverage. If you have multiple vehicles on your policy—or multiple policies in your household—your UM coverage may "stack." That means the limits add up.



For example, if you have three cars on your policy, each with $25,000 in UM coverage, your total available UM coverage might be $75,000—not just $25,000. The rules around stacking are technical, and insurance companies don't always apply them correctly. But the possibility exists.

Few exclusions are valid. Insurance policies often contain exclusions—situations where coverage supposedly doesn't apply. Under New Mexico law, very few exclusions are valid for UM coverage. Just because the insurance company says your claim is excluded doesn't mean they're right.

You may have more coverage than your policy shows. New Mexico has specific legal requirements for how UM coverage must be offered, explained, and documented. If your insurance company didn't follow these rules, you may have more coverage than what appears on your declarations page—potentially up to your liability limits.

What If You Don't Have UM Coverage?

Here's the hard truth: if you don't have uninsured motorist coverage and the at-fault driver doesn't have insurance, your options are very limited.

You could try to pursue the at-fault driver personally. But if they don't have insurance, they probably don't have significant assets either. Even if you win a judgment, collecting on it may be nearly impossible.

Your health insurance will still cover medical treatment, subject to your plan's terms. But there's likely no recovery for pain and suffering, lost wages, or other damages. There's simply no policy to make a claim against.



This is the situation people find themselves in when they declined UM coverage to save money on premiums. In hindsight, that savings looks very different.

What About Medical Payments Coverage?

If you have medical payments coverage (med pay) on your auto policy, it can help with immediate medical bills—usually up to around $5,000, regardless of who was at fault.



Med pay is useful, but it only covers medical expenses up to a limited amount. It doesn't cover pain and suffering, lost wages, or damages beyond its stated limit. It's a supplement, not a replacement for UM coverage.

Can I Sue the Uninsured Driver?

Technically, yes. You can file a lawsuit against someone who injured you, whether or not they have insurance.

But lawsuits cost money to pursue. And even if you win, you have to collect. If the driver has no insurance, they may have no assets either. A judgment is just a piece of paper if there's nothing to collect against.



In most cases involving uninsured drivers without assets, pursuing a lawsuit isn't practical. Your own UM coverage—if you have it—is a far more reliable path to compensation.

Will Filing a UM Claim Raise My Rates?

This is a common concern. People worry that making a claim on their own policy will be held against them.

Under New Mexico law, your rates should not increase because of a UM claim. You're using coverage you paid for, in exactly the situation it was designed for. The accident wasn't your fault.

That said, insurance companies don't always follow the rules perfectly, and rate-setting involves many factors. If you notice an unexpected rate increase after a UM claim, it may be worth questioning.

The UM Claims Process

When you make a UM claim, you're dealing with your own insurance company. In some ways, this feels similar to making other claims on your policy, like collision or comprehensive coverage.



Your insurer has duties to you as a policyholder. They're supposed to handle your claim in good faith and reach a fair resolution.

In practice, that doesn't always happen. Some adjusters approach UM claims adversarially—treating them more like a liability claim against someone else's policy than a first-party claim from their own customer. If you feel like you're being treated unfairly, you may have options, including bad faith claims against your own insurer.

Where UM Claims Go Wrong

People leave money on the table in UM claims in several ways:

• Not making the claim at all (not realizing UM coverage applies)
• Not checking other household policies (a spouse's or child's policy might also provide coverage)
• Accepting the insurance company's assertion that an exclusion applies (when it might not be valid under NM law)
• Not recognizing that stacking might increase available coverage
• Settling for less than the claim is worth



But the most common way UM claims go wrong is before the accident even happens—by not buying UM coverage, or not buying enough.

The Bottom Line

If the driver who hit you has no insurance, don't assume you're out of options. Your own uninsured motorist coverage may provide the compensation you need.

New Mexico's UM laws are more protective than many states. You may have coverage you didn't know about, through policies you didn't think applied, in amounts higher than you expected.

If you're dealing with an uninsured driver situation, it's worth having an attorney review your policies and explain your options. The coverage landscape may be better than you think—or it may confirm that you need to increase your UM limits before the next accident happens.

At 505 Legal, we help people navigate uninsured motorist claims and identify all available coverage. New Mexico's UM laws are more protective than most states, and there may be more options than you realize. If you've been hit by an uninsured driver, we're here to review your policies and explain your options.

Written by Kenneth H. Stalter, Co-Founder, 505 Legal.