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How this is calculated

Auto Liability & UM/UIM Reality Check

Places your stated bodily-injury and property-damage limits next to two reference points — your state's statutory minimum (seeded table, periodically reviewed) and an illustrative $250k–$500k+ serious-accident cost band — and flags whether you carry UM/UIM.

Step by step

  1. Your BI per-person, BI per-accident, and PD limits are compared with the state minimums for the state you select. The two bodily-injury limits are read separately, so a per-person limit under the minimum is reported even when the per-accident limit is above it.
  2. The headline shortfall is the low end of the serious-accident band minus your per-person limit (never below zero), because one seriously injured person is the more common severe claim and the per-person limit is the one that applies to it.
  3. The same shortfall against your per-accident limit is shown alongside — that is the figure that applies when several people are hurt in one accident.
  4. A property-damage limit below the state minimum is flagged on its own.
  5. UM/UIM is flagged when you answered "no" or "not sure" — it is the coverage that protects you from drivers who carry too little.

The formula

Headline shortfall = max(0, serious-accident band low − BI per-person limit). Multi-person shortfall = max(0, serious-accident band low − BI per-accident limit).

Assumptions and their default values

Some of these change with the state you select.

State minimum — bodily injury per person $25,000
State minimum — bodily injury per accident $50,000
State minimum — property damage $25,000
Minimums shown for Typical state minimum (illustrative)
Illustrative serious-accident cost band — low $250,000
Illustrative serious-accident cost band — high $500,000

Where the figures come from

  • State minimum financial-responsibility limits (seeded reference table, periodic legal review).
  • Insurance Research Council, uninsured-motorist estimates (roughly one in seven US drivers, 2022 study).

Important disclosures

  1. This tool is educational only. It illustrates potential exposure using the assumptions shown — it is not insurance advice, a price, or an offer of coverage, and it does not determine whether any coverage amount is right for you. Policy language varies; review your actual policy and discuss your situation with a licensed insurance professional.
  2. State minimum limits are set by statute and change; the figures shown are maintained on a periodic review cycle and may lag recent legislation. Verify current minimums with your state or your agent.
  3. The serious-accident cost band is an illustrative educational range, not a prediction of any actual claim.
  4. Some states have no-fault/PIP systems or optional UM/UIM rules this simple comparison does not model.

Now that you can see the method, the numbers are worth a conversation.

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