Short answer
Short answer. Oklahoma's bodily injury minimums are $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident; if the at-fault driver's limits are less than your claim, your uninsured motorist coverage can act as underinsured coverage. Notify your UM insurer before accepting them; policies issued, renewed or reinstated after November 1, 2014 don't stack unless the policy expressly allows it.
What "too low" means in Oklahoma
For policies issued or renewed on or after April 1, 2005, Oklahoma's minimum liability limits are (47 O.S. § 7-103(2)(b)):
| Coverage | Minimum |
|---|---|
| Bodily injury or death, one person | $25,000 |
| Bodily injury or death, two or more people in one accident | $50,000 total |
| Property damage | $25,000 |
Two things catch people off guard. First, the per-accident number is shared. If three people are hurt by a driver with minimum limits, $50,000 is the most that policy pays for all of them together, and no one person can get more than $25,000 of it. Second, those limits cap what the other driver's insurer has to pay. They don't cap what your injury is worth, and they don't cap your own coverage.
Find out the other driver's limits
Ask the at-fault driver's adjuster, in writing, for the bodily-injury limits on the policy. Keep the answer. The crash report may also list the other driver's insurer. Our Oklahoma crash reports guide shows how to request it. If the adjuster won't disclose limits, write that down. A lawyer can press the issue.
Also ask whether more than one policy covers the driver or the car. A borrowed car, a work vehicle or a rideshare trip can bring in another insurer. See delivery driver crashes and rideshare accidents.
Your own UM coverage is the next layer
Oklahoma's uninsured motorist law treats an underinsured driver as "uninsured" for this coverage. The statute says the term includes "an insured motor vehicle, the liability limits of which are less than the amount of the claim" (36 O.S. § 3636(C)).
What that means for you:
- You probably have it unless someone turned it down. An Oklahoma auto liability policy must include UM coverage, and a named insured has "the right to reject uninsured motorist coverage in writing" (§ 3636(A), (G)). Check your declarations page for UM or UIM.
- It's for injuries, not your car. The coverage is for "bodily injury, sickness or disease, including death resulting therefrom" (§ 3636(B)).
- It can follow you. The UM disclosure form in the statute says the coverage, "unless otherwise provided in your policy," protects you and family members who live with you "while riding in any vehicle or while a pedestrian" (§ 3636(H)). Your policy wording controls.
- One exclusion to know. There's no UM coverage while you're in a vehicle you or a resident relative own if that vehicle isn't insured (§ 3636(E)).
For how UM claims work in general, see uninsured and underinsured motorist claims.
Stacking: what Oklahoma allows now
"Stacking" means adding together UM limits from more than one vehicle or policy. Oklahoma changed the rule in 2014. The statute now says: "Policies issued, renewed or reinstated after November 1, 2014, shall not be subject to stacking or aggregation of limits unless expressly provided for by an insurance carrier" (§ 3636(B)).
So for most current policies, the starting point is no stacking. That doesn't end the question. Some insurers do provide it, and that would show up in the policy itself. Whether a second household policy, such as a spouse's or a parent's you live with, can also apply depends on each policy's terms. Gather every declarations page in the household before anyone tells you what's available.
Other places the money can come from
- MedPay on your own policy, if you bought it, pays medical bills under its own terms. Oklahoma law limits your insurer's right to recover MedPay paid to you or a household relative (36 O.S. § 6092).
- Health insurance, Medicare or SoonerCare pay bills under their rules and may ask to be repaid from a settlement. See medical bills after a wreck.
- Another responsible party, such as an employer whose driver was working. See commercial and work-vehicle crash records.
Before you accept the other driver's limits
If the at-fault insurer offers its full limits and you have UM coverage, slow down. Oklahoma law says that once a tentative agreement to settle for liability limits is reached, written notice goes to your UM insurer by certified mail, with your medical bills and records authorizations. Your UM insurer then has 60 days to respond, and the other driver's payment "shall not reduce or be a credit against" your UM limits (§ 3636(F)). The full step is in the underinsured settlement notice guide.
How a lawyer helps when limits are too low
These claims turn on paperwork: every policy in the household, the exact limits, the release language, the certified-mail notice and the 60-day clock. A lawyer can track down the coverage, handle the notice and keep a quick limits payment from closing the door on your own coverage. See what to check before accepting a settlement.
Common questions
Does my uninsured motorist coverage help if the other driver had some insurance?
It can. Oklahoma counts a driver whose liability limits are less than your claim as "uninsured" for UM purposes (36 O.S. § 3636(C)). Your UM coverage may pay after the other driver's limits, up to your own UM limits. Before accepting their limits, § 3636(F) requires certified-mail notice to your UM insurer.
Can I stack uninsured motorist coverage in Oklahoma?
For policies issued, renewed or reinstated after November 1, 2014, stacking isn't allowed unless the insurer expressly provides it (36 O.S. § 3636(B)). Check your policy, and gather every household policy before deciding what applies.
What if several people were hurt by the same driver?
The at-fault driver's per-accident limit is shared among everyone hurt, with a per-person cap. Under Oklahoma's minimums that's $50,000 total and $25,000 per person (47 O.S. § 7-103(2)(b)). Each injured person may also have their own UM coverage to look to.
Talk with us
If the driver who hit you doesn't have enough insurance, call (405) 759-0515 or send us a message before you accept any limits offer. Jason Hicks personally reviews every 405 inquiry. We handle cases on a contingency fee. If there's no recovery, there's no fee. We front the case costs. See fees and costs.
Information, not legal advice.