Hit by an Uninsured Driver in Des Moines: Your Rights and Next Steps

UM coverage steps into the shoes of the at-fault driver's nonexistent insurance. When someone hits you and they have no policy, your UM coverage pays what their liability insurance should have paid: your medical expenses, lost income, pain and suffering, and other damages, up to your policy limits. Iowa Code § 516A.1 requires every auto insurer in Iowa to offer UM coverage to every policyholder. If you have it, this is your most direct path to compensation.

Underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage is the companion to UM. UIM applies when the at-fault driver has insurance, but their limits are too low to cover your actual damages. Iowa's minimum bodily injury liability is $20,000 per person — not much if you are hospitalized. If you carry UIM coverage and your damages exceed the at-fault driver's limits, your UIM policy pays the difference up to your UIM limits.

To use your UM coverage, notify your insurer promptly after the crash, provide a copy of the police report, and submit your medical records and bills. Your insurer will investigate the claim and may dispute your damages — they are still an insurance company, and their interests are not perfectly aligned with yours. If there is a significant dispute about the value of your claim, a personal injury attorney can negotiate on your behalf.

Step one is reporting the crash to your insurer as soon as possible — the same day if you can. Most Iowa auto policies require prompt notice of any accident that may give rise to a UM claim. Delay gives the insurer grounds to argue prejudice and, in some cases, to deny the claim. Tell your insurer that the at-fault driver had no insurance or that their insurance status is unknown.

Your insurer will open a UM claim file and assign an adjuster. You will need to provide: the police report from the crash, the other driver's name and information (even without insurance), documentation of your medical treatment, medical bills, proof of lost wages if applicable, and photographs of vehicle damage and your injuries. The adjuster will evaluate your claim against your UM policy limits.

Iowa follows a direct-action rule for UM claims — you make the claim directly against your own insurer, not the at-fault driver. However, your insurer may have a right of subrogation, meaning that if you later recover money from the uninsured driver through a lawsuit, your insurer may be entitled to reimbursement for what they paid under your UM coverage. Understand this before settling anything with the at-fault driver directly.

If you believe your insurer is undervaluing your UM claim, you can invoke your policy's arbitration clause (most Iowa UM policies include one), file a complaint with the Iowa Insurance Division, or consult a personal injury attorney who handles UM disputes.

Iowa requires every driver to carry minimum liability insurance under Iowa Code § 321.20B. The minimums are: $20,000 bodily injury per person, $40,000 bodily injury per accident, and $15,000 property damage. These are called 20/40/15 limits. An uninsured driver is someone who has no policy at all, or whose policy has lapsed or been cancelled.

Iowa is not a no-fault state. Iowa follows a traditional fault-based system, meaning the driver who caused the crash is responsible for the other party's damages. When that driver has no insurance, the fault-based system puts you in the difficult position of either relying on your own UM coverage or pursuing the uninsured driver directly.

Iowa does not require uninsured motorist coverage — you can reject it in writing. But carrying UM coverage at limits that match or exceed your own liability limits is one of the most practical protections you can buy, given that more than one in ten Iowa drivers is uninsured. If you rejected UM coverage when you bought your policy, you may want to review your options going forward, though that does not help for the current crash.

If you rejected UM coverage or let it lapse, your options are narrower but not zero. Your first step is to check all of your policies carefully — auto, health, and any umbrella policy. Your health insurance will cover medical bills regardless of who caused the crash. If your health insurer or any government program (Medicaid, Medicare) pays your medical bills, they will have a subrogation right against any recovery you make from the at-fault driver.

Your collision coverage, if you have it, pays for your vehicle repairs minus your deductible — and unlike UM coverage, collision coverage does not depend on the other driver having insurance. Your collision insurer may pursue the at-fault driver for reimbursement through subrogation, but that does not require your involvement.

Suing the uninsured driver directly is your remaining option for bodily injury damages. Iowa civil court allows you to pursue a personal injury claim against the at-fault driver regardless of their insurance status. The challenge is collection — most uninsured drivers lack insurance because they lack assets. However, a court judgment in Iowa is collectible for up to 20 years, and tools like wage garnishment and property liens remain available. If the driver ever acquires assets, your judgment can be enforced.

Filing a personal injury lawsuit against an uninsured driver in Iowa civil court follows the same process as any personal injury claim. You must file within 2 years of the date of injury under Iowa Code § 614.1(2). You file in Iowa District Court in Polk County (for Des Moines crashes). Your complaint alleges negligence — the driver failed to operate their vehicle with reasonable care, and that failure caused your injuries and damages.

Winning the lawsuit is generally straightforward when you have police reports, medical records, and witness testimony establishing fault and damages. The uninsured driver's lack of insurance is not admissible at trial on the question of fault, but it is relevant to the collection phase. An uncontested default judgment is possible if the driver does not respond to the lawsuit.

Collecting the judgment is the harder part. Iowa law allows wage garnishment up to 25% of the defendant's disposable weekly earnings (Iowa Code § 642.21). You can place a lien on any real property the driver owns in Iowa. You can execute against non-exempt personal property. Iowa does have exemptions — a homestead exemption, vehicle exemptions, and others — that protect certain assets from collection. If the driver has genuinely no assets or income, collection may not be practical in the short term, but the judgment remains enforceable.

One additional avenue: if the uninsured driver was working at the time of the crash, their employer may be liable under the doctrine of respondeat superior. If they were driving a vehicle owned by someone else, the vehicle owner may have exposure under Iowa's owner-consent statutes. An attorney can assess whether any third-party liability applies to your specific situation.

At the crash scene, you can ask the other driver directly for their insurance card. Iowa law requires drivers to carry proof of insurance and to provide it when asked following an accident. The card lists the insurer name, policy number, and effective dates. Photograph it with your phone. If the driver claims they have insurance but cannot produce the card, note that — it may mean the policy has lapsed.

The Des Moines Police report will typically include the insurance information provided by both drivers. Request a copy of the police report from Des Moines Police Records Division. The report may also flag if the other driver's insurance information could not be verified.

Your own insurer can run an insurance verification search once you open a UM claim. Iowa has an electronic insurance verification system that insurers and law enforcement can access. If the other driver's policy does not appear in the system or comes back as lapsed, that confirms their uninsured status for your UM claim.

If the other driver gave you insurance information that turns out to be false or for a lapsed policy, that matters — deliberately providing false insurance information is a criminal offense in Iowa. It does not put insurance back in place, but it strengthens your civil case and may result in additional criminal charges against the driver.

Iowa uses modified comparative fault under Iowa Code § 668.3. Your damages are reduced by your percentage of fault. If the crash was entirely the other driver's fault — they ran a red light, rear-ended you, or crossed the centerline — your percentage of fault is zero and you recover 100% of your damages. If you were partly at fault, your recovery is reduced proportionally.

The 51% bar in Iowa means that if you are found 51% or more at fault, you recover nothing. For UM claims, your own insurer may raise comparative fault arguments to reduce what they pay — for example, claiming you were speeding or failed to signal. Document the crash scene thoroughly, because your evidence against your own insurer in a UM dispute is the same evidence you would use against the at-fault driver.

When suing an uninsured driver directly, Iowa courts apply comparative fault to the judgment. If you were 20% at fault and your total damages were $50,000, you recover $40,000. The comparative fault analysis is the same whether the defendant is insured or not.

Were you hit by an uninsured driver in Des Moines? Get your free Injury Claim Check. You will answer four questions about your crash and injuries, and receive a personalized report covering your UM coverage options, Iowa's relevant statutes, your filing deadline, and whether connecting with a Des Moines personal injury attorney makes sense for your situation.

Dealing with an uninsured driver is more complicated than a standard at-fault crash, but it is not hopeless. Your UM coverage, your right to sue, and Iowa's long judgment-enforcement window all give you real options. Understanding those options costs nothing, and the free Injury Claim Check takes less time than a single phone call to an insurance adjuster.