Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Claims on Long Island: A Complete Guide

You did everything right. You bought insurance. You drove carefully. Then someone with no insurance ran a red light and hit your car on Sunrise Highway, or rear-ended you on the LIE, or sideswiped you leaving a strip mall in Hempstead. Now you are in the ER or a physical therapy office wondering who is going to pay for this.

In most cases the answer is your own insurance company, through uninsured motorist (UM) coverage. This guide explains how that works under New York law, what the process looks like for Long Island drivers, and what to do now to protect your claim. When you want to talk about your own case, our Long Island uninsured motorist lawyers handle UM, SUM and MVAIC claims.

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New York Requires UM Coverage on Every Auto Policy

Insurance Law § 3420(f)(1) requires every auto liability policy issued or delivered in New York to include uninsured motorist coverage. The limits are $25,000 for injury to one person and $50,000 for injury to more than one person in one accident, and $50,000/$100,000 for death. It is part of every policy by law.

What this means for you: even if the driver who hit you has no insurance, you can claim against your own insurer up to your UM limits. You are not suing yourself. You are using coverage you already paid for.

Higher protection comes from supplementary uninsured/underinsured motorist (SUM) coverage, which you buy separately. Check your declarations page now. The difference between $25,000 and $100,000 of coverage is enormous after a serious injury.

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UM vs. SUM: Understanding the Difference

The two are related but not the same.

Uninsured motorist (UM) coverage

UM coverage applies when the at-fault vehicle has no liability insurance, including a stolen or unregistered vehicle, a vehicle used without the owner’s permission, a vehicle whose insurer “disclaims liability or denies coverage,” and an unidentified vehicle that leaves the scene (Insurance Law § 3420(f)(1)).

Supplementary uninsured/underinsured motorist (SUM) coverage

SUM coverage, New York’s underinsured motorist coverage, applies when the at-fault driver has insurance but less than you need. It “shall provide coverage … if the limits of liability under all bodily injury liability bonds and insurance policies of another motor vehicle liable for damages are in a lesser amount than the bodily injury liability insurance limits of coverage provided by such policy” (Insurance Law § 3420(f)(2)(A)).

Concrete examples

UM example

You are stopped at a red light in Massapequa. A driver hits you and hands you an insurance card that turns out to be for a canceled policy. That driver is uninsured, and you claim UM benefits from your own insurer.

SUM example

You are seriously hurt in a crash on the Northern State Parkway. The at-fault driver has the New York minimum of $25,000. Your damages are far more than that. After the at-fault driver’s insurer pays its $25,000, you claim SUM benefits from your own insurer.

How much SUM pays is set by the prescribed SUM endorsement in 11 NYCRR 60-2.3. The insurer’s “maximum payment under this SUM endorsement shall be the difference between: (1) the SUM limits; and (2) the motor vehicle bodily injury liability insurance or bond payments received by the insured.” With $100,000 of SUM and $25,000 paid by the at-fault driver’s insurer, the most SUM can pay is $75,000. The insurer pays SUM “only after the limits of liability have been exhausted” under the at-fault driver’s policy (Condition 8).

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How to File a UM Claim in New York: Step by Step

The conditions quoted below come from the SUM endorsement that 11 NYCRR 60-2.3 prescribes for every policy with SUM coverage. A policy without SUM carries the mandatory UM endorsement prescribed by MVAIC instead (11 NYCRR 60-2.3(e)); read your own policy for its exact terms.

1. Give your own insurer written notice

The SUM endorsement requires that “as soon as practicable, the insured or other person making claim shall give us written notice of claim” (11 NYCRR 60-2.3, Condition 2). Do not assume that because the other driver was at fault you only deal with that driver’s carrier. If the driver is uninsured, there is no carrier. Give written notice right away.

2. Report the accident to the police

Get a police report from the Nassau County or Suffolk County Police Department. In a hit-and-run, timing matters: the SUM endorsement treats an unidentified vehicle as uninsured only if the accident was “reported … within 24 hours or as soon as reasonably possible to a police, peace or judicial officer or to the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles,” and MVAIC has the same 24-hour rule (Insurance Law § 5208(a)(2)).

3. Preserve all evidence

Photograph the scene, your vehicle and your injuries. Get witness contact information. Collect all medical records and bills. Keep a journal of pain, limits and missed work.

4. Expect examinations under oath and medical exams

The SUM endorsement requires you to “submit to examinations under oath by any person we name” and to “physical examinations by physicians we select when and as often as we may reasonably require” (Conditions 2 and 3). You can have a lawyer with you. What you say can be used to limit your recovery, so talk to a lawyer first.

5. Settle or arbitrate

If you and your insurer disagree about whether you are entitled to recover or about the amount, the SUM endorsement provides that, “at the option and upon written demand of such insured,” the dispute “shall be settled by arbitration” (11 NYCRR 60-2.3, Condition 11(a)). When the SUM limit is only the mandatory minimum, either side can demand arbitration (Condition 11(b)). Coverage questions can also end up in court: an insurer can petition under CPLR article 75 to stay arbitration, as in Matter of Government Employees Insurance Co. v Bermeo, 230 AD3d 1141 (2d Dept 2024), where the claimant had been struck by an e-bike, which is not a motor vehicle.

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The Arbitration Process

• Demand: You start it with a written demand once negotiation stalls.
• Exchange of proof: Medical records, lost-earnings proof and expert reports are exchanged before the hearing.
• Hearing: An arbitrator hears testimony and argument, much like a bench trial without a jury.
• Award: The parties “agree to be bound by any award made by the arbitrator,” and judgment on the award “may be entered in any court having jurisdiction” (Condition 11(b)). Court review of an award is limited under CPLR article 75.

How long the process takes depends on the injuries, the medical proof and whether liability is disputed.

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Hit-and-Run Accidents and UM Coverage on Long Island

A hit-and-run is an uninsured motorist claim, with three conditions:

• Physical contact: Insurance Law § 3420(f)(3) provides that the coverage “shall not apply” to a claim against a person whose identity is unascertainable “unless the bodily injury to the insured person arose out of physical contact of the motor vehicle causing the injury with the insured person or with a motor vehicle which the insured person was occupying.” A “phantom vehicle” that makes you swerve without touching you or your car does not qualify.
• Report within 24 hours: report the accident to the police within 24 hours or as soon as reasonably possible (11 NYCRR 60-2.3, definition of “uninsured motor vehicle”; Insurance Law § 5208(a)(2)).
• Sworn statement and inspection: under the SUM endorsement you file “a statement under oath” that you have a claim against a person whose identity is unascertainable, and you make your vehicle available for inspection on request.

An independent witness who saw the other vehicle hit you and leave strengthens the claim.

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What Is MVAIC and When Does It Apply?

The Motor Vehicle Accident Indemnification Corporation (MVAIC), created under article 52 of the Insurance Law, pays claims for people hurt by uninsured or unidentified drivers who have no UM policy of their own to claim under.

Who qualifies

MVAIC protects a “qualified person”: “a resident of this state, other than an insured or the owner of an uninsured motor vehicle and his spouse when a passenger in such vehicle,” or a resident of a place that gives New York residents similar protection (Insurance Law § 5202(b)).

Physical contact for hit-and-run

MVAIC’s protection against an unidentified driver applies only if the injury “arose out of physical contact of the motor vehicle causing the injury with the qualified person or with a motor vehicle which the qualified person was occupying” (Insurance Law § 5217).

Filing deadlines

Situation	Deadline to file the affidavit with MVAIC (Insurance Law § 5208(a))
Identified uninsured vehicle	180 days from accrual of the cause of action
Hit-and-run (unidentified driver)	90 days from accrual, with a police report within 24 hours
The other driver’s insurer disclaimed or denied coverage	180 days from receipt of notice of the disclaimer or denial

A late police report is excused “if it is shown that it was not reasonably possible to make such a report or that it was made as soon as was reasonably possible” (§ 5208(a)(2)(B)), and a late affidavit can sometimes be accepted on proof that timely filing was not reasonably possible (§ 5208(b)). Do not rely on either.

MVAIC limits

A judgment MVAIC pays cannot exceed $25,000 for injury to one person, $50,000 for injury to more than one person in one accident, $50,000 for the death of one person, and $100,000 for the deaths of more than one (Insurance Law § 5210(a)). The limit is reduced by collectible insurance or assets of the uninsured motorist and by payments from others who are liable (§ 5210(b)). MVAIC is not a substitute for carrying SUM coverage.

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Common Mistakes That Can Hurt Your UM Claim

Not knowing your own UM and SUM limits

Find out now whether you have $25,000 or $250,000. It changes the strategy.

Giving a recorded statement without a lawyer

In a UM claim your own insurer is on the other side. It has a financial interest in paying less.

Missing notice deadlines

Give written notice “as soon as practicable” under your policy, and file with MVAIC within 90 or 180 days if MVAIC is the source.

Settling with the at-fault driver without protecting your SUM claim

SUM coverage does not apply if the insured, “without our written consent, settles any lawsuit against any person or organization that may be legally liable” (11 NYCRR 60-2.3, Exclusion 1). The endorsement’s procedure: if you settle with the at-fault driver for that driver’s full policy limit, you may sign the release “after thirty calendar days from our receipt of your written notice to us,” unless within that time your insurer agrees to advance the settlement amount and pursue the driver itself (Condition 9(a)). Send that written notice before you sign anything.

Expecting to stack policies

The SUM endorsement provides that limits “shall never be added together or combined for two or more motor vehicles” (Condition 6). If more than one policy applies, you recover up to the highest single limit, in the order the endorsement sets (Condition 7).

Failing to document injuries

Arbitrators award damages on evidence. Gaps in treatment and missing records reduce awards.

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UM vs. SUM vs. MVAIC: Which Applies to Your Situation?

Situation	Coverage that applies
At-fault driver has no insurance	Your UM coverage (Insurance Law § 3420(f)(1))
At-fault driver has insurance, but limits are lower than your SUM limits	Your SUM coverage, after the at-fault policy is exhausted (§ 3420(f)(2))
Hit-and-run with physical contact, reported to police within 24 hours, you have UM	UM (§ 3420(f)(3))
Hit-and-run, no physical contact	Not covered by UM (§ 3420(f)(3)) or MVAIC (§ 5217)
You have no auto insurance, at-fault driver uninsured	MVAIC, if you are a “qualified person” (§ 5202(b)); affidavit within 180 days
Unidentified vehicle with physical contact, no UM coverage available to you	MVAIC (§§ 5217, 5218); affidavit within 90 days and police report within 24 hours

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Talk to a Long Island Uninsured Motorist Attorney

An uninsured motorist claim is not a routine insurance transaction. Your own insurer has lawyers. The arbitration process has rules and deadlines. The value of your claim depends on how well your injuries are documented and how the claim is presented.

The Law Office of Jason Tenenbaum represents injured drivers, pedestrians and cyclists across Nassau and Suffolk Counties in UM and SUM claims and MVAIC claims.

If you were hit by an uninsured or underinsured driver on Long Island, contact us today for a free consultation.

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Call us at (516) 750-0595, available 24/7.

The information in this post is provided for general informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice. Reading this post does not create an attorney-client relationship. If you have been injured in an accident, consult a licensed New York attorney about your specific situation.