West Virginia car insurance: required uninsured motorist coverage, lapse notices and costs

West Virginia's uninsured motorist requirement

Every West Virginia auto policy must include uninsured motorist (UM) coverage at no less than the state's liability minimums, under W. Va. Code 33-6-31. UM pays for your injuries and, up to its limits, your property damage when a driver with no insurance causes the crash.

There is one catch on the property side. The law lets insurers exclude the first $300 of property damage caused by an uninsured driver. In practice it works like a deductible. For example, if an uninsured driver causes $2,000 of damage to your car, a policy using that exclusion pays the amount above it, and you cover the excluded part yourself or through your collision coverage.

West Virginia's estimated uninsured rate of 7.8% is well below the national 15.4%, so most crashes involve an insured driver. The bigger risk can be a driver who is insured, but only at the minimum.

Higher limits you can ask for

The law also requires insurers to offer you more protection than the minimum, at an adjusted premium:

• Optional UM coverage: Up to $100,000/$300,000 bodily injury and $50,000 property damage.
• Underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage: insurers must offer it up to at least your own bodily injury liability limits. UIM pays when the at-fault driver's insurance is too small for your injuries.

For example, if a driver carrying the $25,000 per-person minimum injures you and your losses are much higher, their insurer stops at that limit. UIM is what can pay the difference, up to the UIM limit you bought. Without it, your remaining options are your own health insurance, savings, or suing the other driver personally. Our uninsured motorist coverage guide compares UM and UIM, and the coverage checklist helps you decide which optional coverages to price.

Insurance lapses: how the DMV finds them

West Virginia no longer relies on insurers mailing cancellation notices to the DMV. Instead, participating insurers send their current policy data, and the West Virginia Division of Motor Vehicles checks registered vehicles against it. If your car cannot be matched, here is what happens:

1. The system runs a wider search to see whether any insurer covers your vehicle's VIN.
2. If it still cannot confirm coverage, you get a first letter. You have 30 days to resolve it, usually by showing proof of insurance.
3. After that, the system checks again. Vehicles that are still unconfirmed get a certified notice, with another 30 days to fix the problem.
4. If it is not resolved, your driving privileges and the vehicle's registration can be suspended, and the DMV is authorized to collect the license plate.

If you drop insurance for any reason, for example because you sold the car or put it in storage, the plate must be returned to the DMV. Our posts on car insurance lapses and insuring a stored car cover the options.

How much West Virginians pay

West Virginia is below the national average on both NAIC measures. Your own price depends on rating factors such as your driving record, age, vehicle and where the car is garaged. Neighboring Virginia recently raised its minimums, and Pennsylvania (Choice no-fault) and Kentucky (Choice no-fault) use different injury systems, which matters if you move across a state line.

Crash risk in West Virginia

IIHS counted 256 crash deaths in West Virginia in 2024.

Both death rates are above the national figures, and so is the share of deaths on rural roads. Serious crashes are where minimum limits and the $300 UM exclusion matter most. Knowing what to do after a crash helps protect a claim.