Rear End Collision
$2,300,000
Insurer offered$85,000
Spinal cord injury after a rear end crash. The insurer offered $85,000.
Serving Missouri
Hit by an Uninsured Driver in Missouri: What Happens to Your Claim?
Hurt in a crash? The insurance company already has a team working on your claim. You should too. A free call tells you where you stand.
- No Fee Unless We Win (Costs May Apply)
- Se Habla Español
- Available 24/7
Your attorneyAndranik "Andy" Boyadzhyan, Esq.Founding Attorney. Licensed in Missouri.Attorney advertising. Services are not available in all states.
Free consultationNo cost to ask. No obligation.
No fee unless we winCosts may apply. Explained in writing.
Available 24/7Calls answered day and night.
Se habla españolEvery step in English or Spanish.
Licensed attorneysA licensed attorney on every file.
By Andranik "Andy" Boyadzhyan, Attorney at Law. Meet the team
In Missouri, if the driver who hit you had no insurance, your own uninsured motorist coverage pays the claim, and every auto policy sold in the state must include it. The same coverage responds to a hit and run driver who is never found. Top USA Law reads every household policy to find what is available.
Who pays when the other driver has no insurance in Missouri?
Your own insurer does, through the uninsured motorist portion of your policy. Missouri requires every driver to carry liability insurance, but a requirement is not compliance, and a driver with no policy, a lapsed policy or one cancelled for nonpayment is a common find after a crash. When that happens, the claim you would have made against the other driver's insurer is made against your own, for the same losses.
This is not a favor from your insurer. Uninsured motorist coverage is a contract you paid for, and Missouri law requires it in every auto liability policy issued in the state. The mandatory liability requirement sits in RSMo 303.025; the uninsured motorist requirement rides with it, so if you hold a Missouri policy at all, you hold this coverage. A relative's policy may cover you as well if you share a household.
Underinsured motorist coverage is different. It responds when the other driver has insurance but too little for your injuries, and it is optional in Missouri, so it exists only if someone in your household chose it. There is no state fund when neither exists. Then the claim rests on the driver personally, so identifying the driver comes first.
How does an uninsured motorist claim work in Missouri?
The claim, step by step
The claim is made against your own insurer, but it is not a friendly conversation. Your insurer stands in the shoes of the driver who hit you and can raise every defense that driver could have raised: that you were partly at fault under RSMo 537.765, that your injuries came from something else, that treatment ran too long. You must prove the uninsured driver was negligent and prove your damages. Most policies also require prompt notice, cooperation, and proof that the other driver was actually uninsured, usually a letter from that driver's former carrier or a police report noting no insurance.
Consider a driver rear ended on the interstate through St. Louis by someone whose insurance card is for a policy that lapsed the month before. The injured driver's own policy carries uninsured motorist limits, so the claim proceeds against that policy for the full value of the injury up to those limits. If a second policy exists in the household, both are examined for coverage that may add together.
Hit and run, phantom vehicles and what Top USA Law does
A driver who leaves the scene and is never identified is treated as uninsured for purposes of the coverage. Leaving the scene is a crime under RSMo 577.060, and a later conviction is evidence in the civil case. Many policies require that a hit and run be reported to police within a set time and that there be physical contact or corroborating evidence, so the report and scene photographs matter. If the driver was also intoxicated, a conviction under RSMo 577.010 is evidence against the driver personally.
Top USA Law begins with the declarations page for every policy in your household, reading the coverage, notice and consent terms. We send written notice to your carrier immediately, and we settle with no other party without the carrier's consent when the policy requires it, because doing so can forfeit the coverage. The deadline to sue the uninsured driver remains five years under RSMo 516.120; the contract deadline under your policy can be shorter, so we calendar both.
See if you have a case
Three answers and a phone number. An attorney reviews your situation and calls you back, free.
Results in cases like this
T Bone Accident
$1,800,000
Insurer offered$120,000
Broken pelvis and internal bleeding at an intersection. The insurer offered $120,000.
Drunk Driver Victim
$1,500,000
Insurer offered$50,000
Traumatic brain injury caused by an impaired driver. The insurer offered $50,000.
Every case is different. Past results do not guarantee, warrant, or predict a similar outcome.
Where we help in Missouri
How Top USA Law handles uninsured driver claims in Missouri
An uninsured motorist claim that cannot be settled is filed in the circuit court for the county where you were hurt, most often the Circuit Court of Jackson County or the Circuit Court of the City of St. Louis. Records from the Level I trauma centers, including Research Medical Center in Kansas City, SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital and University of Missouri Health Care in Columbia, are requested in the first weeks. Andranik "Andy" Boyadzhyan is the firm's Missouri licensed attorney. Start with the Missouri car accident lawyer page or call (877) 411-5291 to have your policies reviewed.
We serve Missouri clients by phone, video and in person appointments arranged case by case.
Hurt in a crash? Talk it through for free.
Missouri filing deadlines and insurance notice rules can be short. A free call tells you where your clock stands.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have uninsured motorist coverage if I never asked?
If you hold a Missouri auto liability policy, yes. Missouri requires the coverage in every policy issued in the state, so it cannot be waived. Check your declarations page for the limit. Underinsured motorist coverage is the optional one, and it appears there only if it was purchased.
Will an uninsured motorist claim raise my premiums?
Practices vary by carrier, and we cannot promise a specific result at renewal. What is certain is that the claim is paid because another driver was at fault, that the coverage exists for exactly this situation, and that declining to use it leaves money you already paid for on the table.
Can I sue the uninsured driver directly in Missouri?
Yes. An uninsured driver is still liable for the harm caused, and a judgment can be pursued against that person's wages and assets. In practice many uninsured drivers have little to collect, which is why the uninsured motorist claim comes first. Your insurer, after paying, may pursue the driver itself.
What if the driver fled and was never found?
Your uninsured motorist coverage treats an unidentified hit and run driver as uninsured, so the claim proceeds against your own policy. Report the crash to police at once and tell your insurer promptly, because policies often require timely reporting and evidence that the phantom vehicle existed. Leaving the scene is a crime under RSMo 577.060.
Does my own fault reduce an uninsured motorist claim?
Yes, in the same way it would reduce a claim against the other driver. Missouri's pure comparative fault rule under RSMo 537.765 cuts the recovery by your percentage of blame but never eliminates it, and your own insurer will argue that percentage just as an adverse carrier would.
How long do I have for an uninsured motorist claim in Missouri?
The lawsuit against the driver has five years from the crash under RSMo 516.120, but the claim under your own policy is a contract claim with its own notice conditions, some of which run within days or weeks. Give written notice to your carrier now.
Last reviewed by Andranik "Andy" Boyadzhyan, Esq., September 2026.
Get your free case evaluation
Three fields. We respond fast, day or night.
Hit by a semi truck on the highway. Top USA Law knew exactly how to deal with the trucking company. Got me $425,000 after they initially offered $30,000.
Client testimonials. Testimonials are not a guarantee, warranty, or prediction of the outcome of your case.
Talk to an Accident Attorney
Top USA Law. Services are not available in all states.
Takes 30 seconds. No obligation.