IOWA GUIDE 05
Iowa Uninsured & Underinsured Motorist Coverage
Iowa law requires motor-vehicle liability policies to include uninsured and underinsured motorist protection unless rejected as permitted by statute. Coverage analysis should address insured status, applicable limits, policy priority, offsets, exclusions, settlement effects and the statutory treatment of multiple policies.
- Obtain every declarations page and UM/UIM endorsement that may apply.
- Identify every person who qualifies as an insured under each potentially applicable policy.
- Review policy priority and the Iowa statutory rules governing recovery when more than one policy provides UM/UIM coverage.
- Do not execute a liability release until its effect on first-party UM/UIM rights has been evaluated.
Primary Iowa Source
Iowa Code ch. 516A — Uninsured, Underinsured, or Hit-and-Run Motorists
Current-law review: September 16, 2026. Coverage depends on the governing policy, insured status, liability payments and current Iowa law.
VictimsGuide 