STATE LAW – RHODE ISLAND LIBRARY – GUIDE 06
Rhode Island UM/UIM Coverage, Offers, Elections, Reductions & Rejection Rules
Rhode Island currently regulates uninsured/underinsured-motorist coverage through R.I. Gen. Laws §27-7-2.1 and 230-RICR-20-05-1. Coverage analysis should distinguish the law in effect on the policy’s issue or renewal date from amendments that have been enacted but are not yet effective.
Begin with the bodily-injury liability limits
Under the presently posted §27-7-2.1(a), the insurer provides uninsured-motorist coverage equal to the insured’s bodily-injury liability limits unless the named insured makes a permitted written lower selection. The statute includes underinsured motorists within its current definition of uninsured motorists. Collect the declarations, full UM/UIM endorsement and election documents rather than assuming that the liability limit and UM/UIM limit are identical in every issued policy.
A lower election and a zero election have different conditions
The named insured may select lower limits in writing, subject to the statutory minimum. Reducing bodily-injury UM/UIM to zero is limited to a purchaser of minimum compulsory bodily-injury liability coverage and requires the approved advisory notice about uninsured and underinsured risks. The regulation describes the written rejection form and recognizes electronic writings and signatures when the parties have agreed to transact electronically. Whether a particular election satisfies the requirements needs document-specific review.
Keep uninsured property damage and collision separate
Subsection (b) addresses rejection of uninsured-motorist property-damage protection, and the regulation separately explains the effect of purchasing collision coverage. For an insured without collision, the rule requires a written property-damage rejection; if a rejection is sent but not returned, it directs inclusion of the $25,000 minimum protection. Identify which coverage and election are actually at issue. Do not treat rejection of property-damage coverage as automatic rejection of bodily-injury UM/UIM.
Review renewal notices and later changes
The statute and regulation require notice of available UM coverage or optional limits when specified policy changes or renewals occur. The regulation explains how earlier selections carry forward and how matched limits respond to later bodily-injury liability-limit changes. It also permits the insured to request a change in writing. Preserve the original selection, renewals, notices and later requests; neither a changed vehicle nor a renewal alone answers every question about the operative coverage.
Investigate the uninsured or underinsured event
The current statute addresses underinsured drivers, hit-and-run vehicles and an insurer’s insolvency. Determine insured status, legally recoverable damages, liability coverage and the applicable UM/UIM terms. Give notice promptly, preserve the crash and damages evidence, and examine settlement-consent, arbitration and limitation provisions before proceeding. The existence of a low-limit liability policy is a starting point for the analysis, not a guarantee of any particular first-party payment.
Enacted change: April 1, 2027
Chapter 388 of the 2026 Public Laws, enacted June 19, 2026, amends §27-7-2.1 and expressly takes effect April 1, 2027. Among its changes, insurers must offer underinsured-motorist property-damage coverage for private passenger automobiles, with specified rejection language. This is future-effective law as of October 21, 2026. Keep the act’s amended wording and subsection numbering separate from the currently effective statute, and review policy and event dates before applying the change.
Authorities and source notes
- R.I. Gen. Laws §27-7-2.1 — Current posted text, especially (a)–(d) and (f)–(i); distinguish the future amendment.
- 230-RICR-20-05-1 — UM/UIM Insurance — Official active rule, effective January 4, 2022, §§1.3–1.6 and1.9; original four-page regulation preserved.
- 2026 R.I. Public Laws ch.388 — H7520 Substitute A — Enacted June 19, 2026; §2 makes the act effective April 1, 2027. Future law as of this review.
Cited passages checked October 21, 2026. These summaries do not certify comprehensive later-law or case-history review. Verify the policy, event-date law and controlling decisions before legal reliance. Public-interest legal education; no attorney-client relationship is created.