Uninsured motorist coverage is not required for Hawaii drivers, but it’s good to have this added protection in a state where nearly 10% of drivers carry no insurance coverage.

All Hawaii drivers are required to carry

liability coverage

, but many don’t. Being a no-fault state, which means drivers pay for their own accident-related costs no matter who was at-fault, means that all drivers must carry a minimum amount of

personal injury protection (PIP)

as well. Still, both minimum amounts of liability coverage and personal injury protection may not be enough to cover your medical costs if you're injured in an accident, making uninsured and underinsured (UM/UIM) coverage that much more important.

Jerry

, the

car insurance

app that makes comparison shopping quick and easy, is here to walk you through uninsured motorist coverage in the Aloha State, and why passing on it is an unnecessary risk.

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Do you need uninsured motorist coverage in Hawaii?

Hawaii law does not require drivers to carry

uninsured motorist coverage

, but considering it is an affordable and highly protective add-on, it’s a good thing to have.

According to the

Insurance Information Institute (III)

, nearly 10% of Hawaii drivers carry no insurance.In a state with nearly 930,000 drivers, that means close to 100,000 drivers are on the roads without any insurance, or without sufficient coverage.

If you’re injured in a collision by a driver without any insurance—or without enough insurance—you could face significant financial hardship if your medical costs spiral out of control.

Also, considering how cheap—between $50 and $75 annually in Hawaii—it is to add this protection to your policy, why wouldn’t you do so?

MORE:

How many drivers are uninsured?

How uninsured motorist insurance works in Hawaii

As a no-fault state, Hawaii’s minimum requirement for personal injury protection (PIP) is just $10,000. Your PIP coverage is added onto your health insurance in order to cover any medical bills you incur.

But again, $10,000 is the minimum amount of PIP coverage that Hawaii drivers are legally required to carry. Sticking with the minimum will keep your costs down, but if you’re seriously injured in an accident, you’re vulnerable to being on the hook for extremely expensive medical costs.

Hawaii is ranked as the

9th most expensive state for ER visits in the U.S.

,with an average cost of $2,076 per ER visit. Tack on ambulance bills, surgical costs, rehab expenses, home care bills, lost wages, and potential for future lost earnings, you could find yourself in a serious financial pickle if your minimum PIP and health insurance are insufficient to cover your medical costs.

What’s available

Uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage available for purchase in Hawaii falls into the following categories:

Uninsured motorist bodily injury coverage (UM/UMBI) pays for medical costs (for you and your passengers) incurred due to an accident where another driver is at fault and doesn’t have insurance

Underinsured motorist bodily injury coverage (UIM/UIMBI) covers your and/or your passengers’ medical expenses due to an accident caused by another driver, if that driver’s liability coverage isn’t enough to cover these costs

UM/UIM is important in Hawaii because, as a

no-fault state

,all drivers are responsible to cover their own costs, no matter who is at fault. So if you carry only the minimum $10,000 in PIP coverage as required by Hawaii law, holding UM/UIM coverage will supplement your PIP coverage in covering your medical expenses.

The good news is that all insurance providers in Hawaii are legally required to offer you UM/UIM coverage. If you opt-out, you’ll have to do so in writing.

What it covers

In Hawaii, UM/UIM will cover medical expenses for you and any passengers in your vehicle, but that goes beyond just ER costs. Here are some of the costs UM/UIM covers in Hawaii:

Lost wages

Future medical costs

Long-term nursing or rehabilitation costs

Medical devices or equipment, such as a wheelchair

Home retrofit if necessary to accommodate your needs after an accident

Pain and suffering, if applicable

An unexpected injury to yourself or a loved one can lead to serious financial costs, especially if you don’t hold sufficient insurance. Keeping UM/UIM coverage in your policy is an easy and affordable way to protect yourself and others in case of injury caused by an uninsured driver.

How to make a claim

If you’re involved in a collision with another driver, you’ll need to collect their information, especially their insurance information. If you or a passenger in your car suffered an injury, and the other driver doesn’t have any (or enough) insurance, you’ll have to file a UM/UIM claim.

Doing so is relatively straightforward. Call your insurer and explain what happened. Provide all the documentation you have, including medical results, police reports, traffic reports, and any hospital and/or doctor bills. The more documentation you can provide to your insurance company, the easier it will be to process your claim.

If your medical costs are more than your UM/UIM coverage provides, you’ll have to cover any outstanding amount using your health insurance, PIP coverage, or by paying out of pocket.

MORE:

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

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

Even if it will be lighter on your pocketbook to stick with Hawaii’s state minimums, opting to keep UM/UIM coverage on your policy makes good sense. Here’s why:

Hawaii’s minimums are just that—minimums

Only carrying Hawaii’s minimum amount of personal injury protection (PIP) can leave you vulnerable if you’re injured in a collision and your medical costs exceed those minimums. With UM/UIM coverage, you give yourself added financial protection in case you’re injured in an accident.

You’re injured in a hit-and-run

If you’re injured in an accident caused by another driver, and that driver flees the scene before you can get their information, you could be on the hook for medical costs if those costs exceed your personal injury protection. With UM/UIM coverage, you’ll be able to make a claim for damages up to your coverage limit even if the other driver flees the scene.

MORE: How do I report a hit and run accident?

Nearly 10% of Hawaii drivers carry no insurance

That means there are nearly 100,000 drivers on Hawaii roads driving around without insurance. But if you carry UM/UIM coverage, you’ll be better protected in the case that one of those drivers injures you or your passengers in an accident.

How to save on uninsured motorist coverage

We get it that paying more for extra coverage—such as uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage—may not be something you want to do. But considering Jerry’s reason for existence is to find robust car insurance policies at affordable rates, you should at least look into it.

So long as you live in the lower 48 states, sign-up for

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