, you need both bodily injury and property damage liability insurance. While those coverages are good to have in the event of an at-fault incident, they aren’t worth much if you’re involved in a traffic accident with an uninsured driver. To help you avoid situations where you might have to pay out-of-pocket for major medical expenses, Colorado law requires all insurance companies to offer uninsured motorist coverage as an option.

To help you understand how Colorado handles uninsured motorist coverage, this guide from

Jerry

goes over everything you need to know about how UM/UIM coverage works—and why not buying it should be considered a big risk. Plus, we’ll talk you through how our

trustworthy licensed broker app

can lower your

Colorado car insurance costs

in under a minute.

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Do you need uninsured motorist coverage in Colorado?

Uninsured motorist coverage

is not required by law in Colorado, but it’s a good thing to have.

According to the

Insurance Information Institute (III)

, Colorado is the 13th worst state in the country for uninsured drivers, with approximately 16.3%of motorists failing to meet the state’s minimum insurance requirements.

This means that if you get in a traffic accident in Colorado, there’s a good chance the other party could have insufficient car insurance. If that’s the case, you’ll be on the hook for all of your medical costs—even if the accident was the other driver’s fault!

Enter uninsured/underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) coverage. This optional insurance takes over where your own coverage and the other driver’s liability insurance (or lack of liability insurance) leave off. In the state of Colorado, UM/UIM insurance covers medical expenses after a car accident with an uninsured driver.

If you’re worried about the cost of adding more coverage to your car insurance policy—don’t be. Although your exact price depends on your risk factors and other metrics, most Colorado drivers only pay between $50 and $75 a year for uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage. When spread out over 12 monthly payments, that’s less than $10 a month!

MORE:

The amount of uninsured drivers on the road

How uninsured motorist insurance works in Colorado

Let’s get into the details. When it comes to mandatory car insurance in Colorado, all drivers are required to carry

liability insurance

to cover the other driver’s repair bills and medical expenses in the event of an at-fault accident. Here’s how this legally required insurance breaks down:

$25,000 of

bodily injury liability

per accident

$50,000 of bodily injury liability per person

$15,000 of

property damage liability

Opting for a Colorado car insurance policy that only includes these coverages might keep costs low, but it’ll also leave you vulnerable to risk after a car accident. For example, did you know that Colorado is the

fourth-most expensive state for ER visits

in the nation? When you combine the cost of an average ER visit (about $2,886 in Colorado) with what you’ll have to pay for an ambulance, surgery, rehab, and other expenses, it’s easy to see how an accident-related injury could quickly lead to astronomical medical bills.

What’s available?

Here are the two types of UM/UIM coverage available to Colorado drivers:

Uninsured motorist bodily injury coverage (UM/UMBI). Covers your medical expenses (and those of your passengers) after an accident with an uninsured driver.

Underinsured motorist bodily injury coverage (UIM/UIMBI). Covers your medical expenses if the other driver’s liability insurance isn’t sufficient to cover your costs.

These optional coverages take care of your medical expenses after an accident in the event that the other driver has insufficient liability insurance or simply doesn’t have car insurance at all. You aren’t legally obligated to carry either UM/UMBI or UIM/UIMBI coverage, but

Colorado state law

does require every insurance company to offer uninsured motorist coverage as an option.

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What does it cover?

In general, UM/UIM coverage in Colorado is meant to cover accident-related medical expenses for you and your passengers. But those expenses aren’t limited to hospital bills and doctor visits alone. Here’s a rundown of some other costs covered under Colorado’s uninsured motorist coverage:

Future medical expenses (related to your original injuries)

Loss of potential earnings/wages

Rehabilitation or long-term nursing assistance

Therapeutic care or medical devices such as wheelchairs

Pain and suffering (under certain circumstances)

Getting injured in an auto accident is stressful enough, so the last thing you should have to worry about is how you’re going to pay for your medical bills. Not only is adding UM/UIM coverage to your car insurance policy easy and inexpensive—it can offer the peace of mind that comes with knowing you and your family members are protected from financial burdens after a serious traffic accident.

How to make a claim

One of the first things you should do

after a car accident

is exchange insurance information with the other driver. If you or one of your passengers sustained injuries and the other party doesn’t have car insurance, you need to file a UM/UIM claim. You can also file a UM/UIM claim if you were injured in a

hit-and-run

The process for filing an uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage claim isn’t complicated. All you need to do is call your insurance company, tell them what happened, and provide the documents they ask for (usually medical records, accident reports, or doctor/hospital bills). It’s a good idea to keep all your paperwork organized, since the more documents you can provide to your insurance company, the faster they’ll be able to evaluate your case.

If your medical bills exceed the limits of your UM/UIM coverage, you can pay for the remainder through

medical payments coverage (MedPay)

or your health insurance plan.

MORE:

Here’s what happens if you’re in a car accident without insurance

Why it’s a good idea to buy uninsured motorist insurance in Colorado

If there’s a downside to buying uninsured motorist coverage, it’s that it increases your car insurance costs. While UM/UIM insurance is usually affordable, it might still be a problem for drivers on a tight budget. Of course,

Jerry

can help you find cheap uninsured motorist insurance in Colorado—so here are a few reasons why it’s a good idea to consider this optional coverage.

Colorado is an at-fault state

Because

Colorado is an at-fault state

, drivers file claims through the other party’s insurance company—not their own. This means that under normal circumstances, getting into an accident caused by a driver without car insurance means you’d be on the hook for any and all of your medical bills.

Depending on the severity of your injuries and your financial situation, that can be a huge deal! But as long as you have UM/UIM coverage on your car insurance policy, your medical expenses are covered after the accident—even if you can’t file a claim with the other party’s car insurance company.

MORE:

Colorado car accident laws

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Hit-and-run accidents

If you’re the victim of a hit-and-run accident in Colorado where the other driver fled the scene, you won’t be able to file a claim with their insurance. Instead, you’ll have no choice but to file a claim with your own insurance company.

Unless your car insurance policy includes collision, MedPay, or UM/UIM coverage, there’s no way to recoup damages after a hit-and-run, making this another reason UM/UIM insurance is so essential.

MORE:

Should I get a lawyer after a hit-and-run accident?

Colorado has a lot of uninsured drivers

There are states that fare worse than Colorado for uninsured motorists, but that doesn’t mean you’re in the clear! Approximately 16.3% of Colorado drivers neglect to meet the state’s coverage requirements, and the city of

Denver

ranks among the top 20 U.S. metro areas for uninsured drivers.

Based on those statistics, getting into an accident in Colorado means that there’s a high chance the other driver is uninsured. To protect yourself against the financial fallout of getting into a collision with an uninsured driver in Colorado, add UM/UIM coverage to your policy.

How to save on uninsured motorist coverage in Colorado

While you can usually buy uninsured motorist coverage for as little as a few dollars a month, insurance costs can add up fast—especially when combined with other optional coverages such as

collision insurance

comprehensive coverage

, or

towing and labor coverage

If you want to maximize your car insurance coverage while keeping costs low, turn to

Jerry

. As a licensed broker partnered with more than 55 of the nation’s top insurance companies, the Jerry app can find you cheap rates on the coverages that meet your needs. Just answer a few quick questions about yourself and your vehicle, and in just 45 seconds, we’ll tell you if you’re paying too much for your Colorado car insurance—and provide you with a personalized list of affordable quotes that’ll lower your yearly costs.

The exact amount you’ll save depends on factors unique to you, but with the average Jerry user saving more than $800 a year on their car insurance, you’ll have more than enough left over for that useful uninsured motorist coverage.