Fact-Checked
Key Takeaways:
If the driver who hit you has no insurance, your own auto policy usually becomes the main source of compensation. That answer surprises people, and it lands at the worst possible moment, while medical bills accumulate and time away from work keeps stretching. New York law anticipates this situation and builds in several layers of protection, though each layer carries its own paperwork and its own deadline.
Missing one of those deadlines can close off a source of recovery that would otherwise have been available to you. At MooreJustice Accident & Injury Lawyers, we represent injured people whose crashes involved drivers carrying no coverage at all. Our team can walk you through which layers apply to your situation and what has to be filed to preserve them.
Drivers must carry insurance before they can register a vehicle, and the required minimums shape every claim that follows a crash. Those figures also explain why an uninsured driver leaves such a wide gap.
Every auto policy issued in the state must include several forms of coverage, according to the Department of Financial Services:
That final item carries the most weight after a collision with an uninsured driver, because it converts your own policy into a source of recovery.
Drivers who let coverage lapse face registration and license consequences of their own. Those consequences do nothing to pay for your treatment, which is why the rest of this framework exists.
No-fault coverage, also called personal injury protection (PIP), pays first after almost every motor vehicle collision in the state. It applies regardless of who caused the crash or what the other driver carried.
Those benefits cover up to $50,000 per person in basic economic loss, including medical treatment, a portion of lost earnings, and certain out-of-pocket costs. Payment comes from your own insurer, or from the insurer of the vehicle you occupied.
One deadline decides whether any of it gets paid. Written notice must reach the insurer within 30 days of the crash under Regulation 68, and insurers regularly deny late submissions. Attorneys at The Law Offices of Darren T. Moore P.C. send that notice as soon as a client retains us, then track the follow-up filings for medical bills and lost earnings.
No-fault has real limits, though. It does not pay for pain and suffering, and it does not repair your vehicle. Those losses require a separate claim, which is where uninsured motorist coverage comes into play.
Uninsured motorist (UM) coverage is included in your policy and responds when the at-fault driver carries no coverage. It also applies when a driver flees the scene and cannot be identified.
Every policy issued in the state includes UM coverage at the minimum limits, and no one can waive it. Those minimums match the $25,000 and $50,000 figures that apply to liability coverage.
Supplementary uninsured/underinsured motorists (SUM) coverage is the optional upgrade. Drivers may purchase it up to the bodily injury liability limits on their own policy, and it also responds when the at-fault driver carried a policy too small to cover the harm. Checking the declarations page for SUM limits is one of the first things we do on a new case.
A UM or SUM claim places you and your insurance company on opposite sides of the same file. The adjuster evaluating your injuries works for the company that would pay them.
Many policies route these disputes to arbitration rather than to court, which changes how evidence gets presented and how quickly the matter moves. Notice requirements here are contractual, and they typically run much shorter than the deadline for filing a lawsuit. Our attorneys review the policy language early so that nothing gets forfeited through silence.
If you are unsure what your own policy includes, call our team at (917) 809-7014, and we will read the declarations page with you.
Some injured people have no policy to turn to at all. Pedestrians, cyclists, and passengers without household auto coverage fall into this group.
The Motor Vehicle Accident Indemnification Corporation (MVAIC) exists for that gap. Created by the Legislature in 1958, it provides no-fault and bodily injury benefits to eligible injured people when no other insurance applies.
Eligibility is narrow. The MVAIC criteria exclude anyone with other coverage available, including a policy held by a relative in the same household, and exclude the owner of the uninsured vehicle involved in the crash.
The clocks are unforgiving. Police must receive a report of the collision within 24 hours. A notice of intention must then reach MVAIC within 90 days after the vehicle was identified, or within 180 days after the vehicle was identified.
A lawsuit against the driver personally remains available, and the filing deadline for most injury claims is three years from the date of the crash under CPLR 214(5). Two practical questions decide whether that route is worth pursuing.
The first is whether your injuries clear the statutory threshold for pain and suffering damages. The second is whether the driver holds assets or income worth pursuing, because a judgment against someone who could not afford a policy often collects nothing. We evaluate both before recommending a course of action.
Pain and suffering damages in motor vehicle cases require a serious injury as defined by the statute. Fractures, significant disfigurement, dismemberment, permanent loss of use, and significant limitation of use of a body function or system all still qualify.
One category disappeared. Reforms described in Insurance Circular Letter No. 3 (2026) removed the former 90/180-day category, which had allowed people with non-permanent injuries to satisfy the threshold. The change took effect on May 26, 2026, and applies to actions and proceedings commenced on or after that date.
Medical documentation therefore carries more weight than it did a year ago. Our team works with treating physicians to document objective findings that fall within the remaining categories.
Coverage lapses happen, and being uninsured yourself does not erase your claim. It does change the arithmetic in two ways.
Non-Economic Damages Cap: Insurance Law § 5104(d) imposes a $100,000 cap on non-economic damages (such as pain and suffering) for an at-fault injured person who was operating an uninsured vehicle they were legally required to insure. This cap applies to actions commenced on or after May 26, 2026, but contains an exception if the lapse in coverage was for fewer than 30 days (and does not apply to wrongful death actions).
Modified Comparative Fault Bar: A new subsection under CPLR § 1411(b) bars an injured claimant from recovering damages in a motor vehicle case if their share of culpable conduct is greater than the culpable conduct (or combined culpable conduct) of the party or parties against whom recovery is sought.
The hours and days after the collision shape everything that follows. Several actions preserve the options described above:
Each step preserves evidence or protects a deadline, and both become harder to recover once time passes.
No. Fault depends on how the crash happened, not on whether a driver complied with insurance requirements.
Your own no-fault benefits pay first, up to $50,000 per person. We help clients submit that claim and then pursue further recovery through uninsured motorist coverage.
Uninsured motorist coverage generally applies to unidentified drivers. Report the crash to police within 24 hours, because that report supports both a UM claim and an MVAIC claim.
Possibly, because eligibility turns on relatives in your household rather than unrelated roommates. We review all household coverage before filing.
Three years from the date of the crash for most injury claims. Claims against your own insurer follow the policy terms, which often require notice much sooner.
The required coverage applies to bodily injury, not vehicle damage. Collision coverage on your policy usually pays for repairs.
Layered coverage only helps when someone files the right claim before the deadline expires. If an uninsured driver caused your collision, that clock started the moment the vehicles collided.
The Law Offices of Darren T. Moore P.C. handles motor vehicle claims throughout the five boroughs. Our attorneys, Darren T. Moore and Nicholas Blatti, review your policy, identify every coverage layer available to you, and manage communication with the adjusters so that you can concentrate on treatment.
We offer a free case evaluation, and we can explain what your claim involves before you commit to anything. Call MooreJustice Accident & Injury Lawyers at (917) 809-7014 to discuss your uninsured driver accident claim in New York, or reach us through our contact page.
Business Name: MooreJustice New York City Accident & Injury Lawyers
Business Address: 171 Madison Avenue, Suite 305, New York, NY, USA
Business Phone Number: +1 (917) 809-7014
Darren Moore is the founder of The Law Offices of Darren T. Moore, P.C. and a dedicated New York personal injury attorney. Known for his relentless advocacy and client-focused approach, he has spent his career helping injury victims pursue justice and recover the compensation they deserve. Darren handles a wide range of personal injury matters and is committed to delivering personalized representation for every client.
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