South Carolina Requires Uninsured Motorist Coverage
You're adding a second or third vehicle to your South Carolina auto policy and the quote shows uninsured motorist coverage on every car. You didn't select it. The carrier added it automatically because South Carolina law mandates UM coverage on every policy written in the state.
The mandate exists because 10.3% of South Carolina drivers carry no insurance. When an uninsured driver hits your car, their lack of coverage doesn't erase your repair bills or medical costs. Uninsured motorist coverage steps in to pay what the at-fault driver's policy would have paid if they'd carried one. The state minimum is $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident for bodily injury, matching the liability floor.
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Get Your Free QuoteSC Uninsured Driver Rate
10.3%
More than one in ten South Carolina drivers operates without insurance. That rate is higher than the national average and makes uninsured motorist coverage the most frequently used optional coverage in the state, though it's not optional here.
Insurance Research Council, 2023
How UM Coverage Works Across Multiple Vehicles
Each vehicle on your policy carries its own uninsured motorist limit. If you insure three cars and select $25,000/$50,000 UM coverage, each car has that limit independently. The limits do not pool into a single household total.
When an uninsured driver hits one of your vehicles, the UM coverage on that specific vehicle pays first. If you're injured while riding as a passenger in someone else's car and that driver is uninsured, your own policy's UM coverage can step in as secondary protection. The coverage follows the vehicle primarily, but it also follows you as a named insured when you're injured in an uninsured driver's vehicle or as a pedestrian.
South Carolina allows UM coverage to stack across vehicles on the same policy if you're injured while occupying one of your own insured vehicles. Carriers must offer stacking unless you sign a written rejection. Most households with multiple vehicles do not realize they have this option or that rejecting it cuts their total available UM protection by two-thirds.
State Minimum vs Higher UM Limits
The $25,000 per-person minimum exhausts quickly. If two household members are injured in the same accident, the $50,000 per-accident cap splits between them, leaving each with $25,000 or less depending on injury severity. Medical bills from an uninsured driver's negligence do not shrink to fit your UM limit.
Households with multiple vehicles face higher total exposure because more drivers and passengers use the cars daily. Higher limits stack across vehicles if you haven't rejected stacking, multiplying your total available protection without multiplying the per-vehicle cost.
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Rejecting UM Coverage in South Carolina
South Carolina allows you to reject uninsured motorist coverage entirely, but rejection requires a signed written waiver on a form provided by your carrier. The waiver must be signed by each named insured on the policy. Verbal rejection or a checkbox on an online quote form does not satisfy the requirement.
Rejecting UM coverage removes your protection against uninsured drivers but does not lower your premium significantly. The coverage is inexpensive because the state's high uninsured rate makes it actuarially necessary, and carriers price it accordingly. Most households with multiple vehicles gain more financial protection from keeping UM coverage at higher limits than they save by rejecting it.
If you reject UM coverage and later want to add it back, you can do so at any policy renewal or mid-term by requesting it in writing. The carrier cannot refuse to reinstate it. Rejection is not permanent, but the gap in coverage during the rejection period leaves you unprotected if an uninsured driver causes an accident.
SC Minimum UM Limits
$25,000 / $50,000
South Carolina's minimum uninsured motorist coverage matches the state's minimum liability requirement. These limits apply per vehicle unless you reject coverage in writing or select higher limits.
South Carolina Department of Insurance
Underinsured Motorist Coverage
South Carolina does not mandate underinsured motorist coverage, but carriers must offer it alongside uninsured motorist coverage. Underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage pays when the at-fault driver carries liability insurance but their limits are too low to cover your damages.
UIM coverage is sold in the same per-person and per-accident structure as UM coverage. The two coverages work together: UM covers drivers with zero insurance, UIM covers drivers with insufficient insurance. Both are inexpensive relative to the protection they provide, and both stack across vehicles if you haven't rejected stacking.
Compare UM Limits Across Carriers
Not every carrier prices uninsured motorist coverage the same way. Some carriers charge a flat per-vehicle rate regardless of how many cars you insure. Others discount UM premiums when you add a third or fourth vehicle.
Request quotes with multiple UM limit options from at least three carriers that write multi-vehicle policies in South Carolina. Compare how each structures UM premiums and whether they allow stacking without a surcharge.