South Carolina Mandates Uninsured Motorist Coverage
South Carolina law requires every auto insurance policy to include uninsured motorist coverage at the same limits as your liability coverage. This is not an optional add-on. The state mandates it because 10.3% of South Carolina drivers operate without insurance, and uninsured motorist coverage protects you when one of them causes a collision that injures you or damages your vehicle.
The minimum uninsured motorist coverage in South Carolina is $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident for bodily injury, matching the state's liability minimums. You can purchase higher limits, but you cannot carry less unless you reject the coverage in writing. That written rejection is the only way to remove uninsured motorist coverage from your policy, and most carriers require a signed form acknowledging you understand the risk.
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Get Your Free QuoteSouth Carolina Uninsured Motorist Rate
10.3%
More than one in ten drivers on South Carolina roads operates without insurance. Uninsured motorist coverage ensures you're not financially exposed when an at-fault driver cannot pay for injuries or vehicle damage they cause.
Insurance Research Council, 2023
What Uninsured Motorist Coverage Actually Pays For
Uninsured motorist bodily injury coverage pays medical bills, lost wages, and pain-and-suffering damages when an uninsured driver injures you or your passengers. It also covers you if you're hit by a driver whose carrier denies the claim or whose liability limits are exhausted before your injuries are fully compensated. South Carolina requires this coverage because the state uses a fault-based system—the at-fault driver's liability insurance pays your claim, but only if that driver carries insurance.
Uninsured motorist property damage coverage pays for vehicle repairs when an uninsured driver damages your car. South Carolina does not mandate property damage coverage under the uninsured motorist statute, only bodily injury. You can add property damage coverage as an optional endorsement, and many carriers bundle it with the mandatory bodily injury coverage. If you reject uninsured motorist coverage entirely, you lose both components.
Underinsured motorist coverage is a separate product that pays when the at-fault driver carries liability insurance but their limits are too low to cover your full claim. South Carolina does not mandate underinsured motorist coverage, but carriers must offer it at the time you purchase or renew your policy. You can reject it in writing, just as you can reject uninsured motorist coverage.
South Carolina law requires carriers to offer uninsured motorist coverage at your liability limits. You can reject it only by signing a written waiver acknowledging the risk.
How to Reject Uninsured Motorist Coverage in South Carolina
Contact your carrier and request the uninsured motorist rejection form. Most carriers provide a standardized waiver that names the coverage you're rejecting, the limits you're declining, and a statement that you understand uninsured motorist coverage protects you when an at-fault driver has no insurance. Sign the form and return it to your carrier by mail, email, or through your online account portal. The rejection takes effect on your next policy term or immediately if you submit it mid-term, depending on your carrier's processing rules.
Once you reject uninsured motorist coverage, your policy no longer includes it. If an uninsured driver injures you or damages your vehicle, you pay out of pocket or pursue the at-fault driver directly in court—a process that rarely recovers full damages because uninsured drivers typically lack assets to satisfy a judgment. You can reinstate uninsured motorist coverage at any time by contacting your carrier and requesting it be added back to your policy. The coverage resumes on your next renewal or immediately, depending on your carrier's underwriting rules.
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Why Most South Carolina Drivers Keep Uninsured Motorist Coverage
South Carolina's 10.3% uninsured motorist rate means you face a one-in-ten chance that the driver who hits you carries no insurance. Uninsured motorist coverage converts that risk into a claim your own carrier pays, rather than a lawsuit you file against a driver who cannot pay. The coverage costs less than collision or comprehensive because it only pays when another driver is at fault and uninsured—a narrower risk than the all-peril coverage collision provides.
Households insuring multiple vehicles benefit from uninsured motorist coverage on every car because the coverage follows the vehicle. If an uninsured driver hits your second car while your spouse is driving, that vehicle's uninsured motorist coverage pays the claim. If you rejected the coverage on that car but kept it on your primary vehicle, the claim is denied. Carriers do not stack uninsured motorist coverage across vehicles on the same policy unless you purchase stacked coverage as a separate endorsement.
Rejecting uninsured motorist coverage makes sense only when you carry health insurance with low out-of-pocket maximums and you're willing to absorb vehicle repair costs or sue the at-fault driver yourself. Even then, uninsured motorist coverage pays for injuries your passengers sustain, and it covers you when you're driving a rental or borrowed car if the coverage is written with a broader definition. Most South Carolina drivers who reject the coverage do so to lower their premium, then reinstate it after a near-miss or a claim denial.
South Carolina Minimum Uninsured Motorist Limits
$25,000 / $50,000
State law requires carriers to offer uninsured motorist coverage at the same limits as your liability coverage. The statutory minimum is $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident for bodily injury, matching the liability floor.
South Carolina Code of Laws
Uninsured Motorist Coverage Across Multiple Vehicles
When you insure two or more vehicles on one South Carolina policy, each vehicle carries its own uninsured motorist coverage unless you reject it vehicle-by-vehicle. Carriers do not automatically apply a single rejection to every car on the policy. If you want to remove uninsured motorist coverage from all vehicles, you must sign a rejection form that lists each vehicle by VIN. If you reject coverage on one car but not the others, only that vehicle loses the protection.
Stacked uninsured motorist coverage allows you to combine the limits from multiple vehicles on the same policy when a single claim exceeds one vehicle's limit. South Carolina permits stacking, but carriers are not required to offer it. If your carrier offers stacked coverage, you pay a higher premium in exchange for the ability to add the uninsured motorist limits from your second and third vehicles to a single claim. Non-stacked coverage—the default in South Carolina—pays only the limit attached to the vehicle involved in the collision.
Compare Carriers That Write Uninsured Motorist Coverage in South Carolina
Every carrier licensed to write auto insurance in South Carolina must offer uninsured motorist coverage at the time you purchase or renew your policy. The coverage itself is standardized by statute, but carriers vary in how they price it, whether they offer stacked coverage, and how quickly they process uninsured motorist claims. Compare South Carolina auto insurance carriers that write policies for households insuring multiple vehicles and confirm each carrier's uninsured motorist options before you bind coverage.