Video: Underinsured Motorist Auto Coverage: What You Need to Know

August 13, 2026

Transcript

The $250K Auto Insurance Mistake: Why Underinsured Motorist Coverage Matters in Massachusetts

Here’s one of the biggest auto insurance mistakes that I have seen, and most people do not even realize they have made this until after a serious accident. You could have very high bodily injury limits on your Massachusetts auto policy, for instance, $250,000 per person, even $500,000 per accident, and still have little or no underinsured motorist coverage, which protects you.

What Is Underinsured Motorist Coverage?

I’m Attorney Tracy Paulsen, founder of Rightful Legal, a Massachusetts personal injury law firm.

Now, here’s the problem. Optional bodily injury coverage protects you when you injure someone else. Underinsured motorist coverage, called UIM, protects you and your family when someone else seriously injures you and does not carry enough insurance.

Those are two completely different protections. In Massachusetts, underinsured motorist coverage is optional.

Why UIM Coverage Matters in Massachusetts

You can spend money buying substantial liability coverage to protect other people and your assets while failing to purchase comparable coverage for yourself and your loved ones.

Imagine you have $250,000 in optional bodily injury coverage per person. You are doing the responsible thing.

Example: $250K Coverage vs. a Driver With $25K in Coverage

Then another driver crashes into you and causes catastrophic injuries, but that person only has $25,000 in bodily injury coverage.

You look at your own policy expecting protection, and then you discover you never purchased underinsured motorist coverage. That can be financially devastating.

What You Could Recover After an Accident

The most you can likely expect for a settlement is $25,000 from the other person’s insurance carrier to cover your pain and suffering, your medical bills, lost income, and the rest, and it won’t cover it.

The Massachusetts Division of Insurance specifically explains that underinsured motorist coverage is designed for exactly this situation, when the at-fault driver’s liability limits are not enough to compensate you for your injuries.

Massachusetts UIM Coverage Explained

However, unlike other states like Rhode Island, Massachusetts does not require you to sign a consent to opt out of UIM.

So, you oftentimes will not know if you get insurance through a self-service portal or your agent doesn’t tell you until it’s too late.

This is why I tell people: do not just ask your agent, “How much insurance do I have?” Ask them, “How much insurance do I have protecting me if the person who hits me does not have enough coverage?”

What to Ask Your Insurance Agent

Look at your declarations page. Compare your optional bodily injury limits with your underinsured motorist limits.

They should be the same. Oftentimes, they’re not.

You want to discover that gap before the accident, not after it.

Check Your Insurance Declarations Page

This coverage is minimal. It hardly costs anything. So please review your policy as soon as you watch this video.

Why UIM Coverage Is So Important

It’s a really unfortunate situation that I see all too often. I have one case where this person did not elect it and had $1 million in coverage on someone else, and unfortunately, the other person did not, and they suffered a traumatic brain injury.

So this is really serious.

Contact Rightful Legal

If you have questions about this or you have a potential case, you can reach me directly at 617-821-5856.

We aim to protect you. Obviously, not the insurance company, which is not aiming to protect you. They’re aiming to save money.

Thank you again for watching. Please like or subscribe if you found this video helpful and informative. Thank you.