What Does 'Full Coverage' Mean in Mississippi?

You're standing in a parking lot on Old Fannin Road with a crumpled bumper. The other driver is apologizing and says they don't have insurance. You're rattled, but you're not panicking, because you have full coverage. At least that's what you've been telling people for years.

A week later, you find out what "full coverage" actually meant on your policy. Sometimes the news is good, and sometimes it isn't. It all comes down to what's printed on a page most people have never read — or don't understand.

"Full coverage" isn't a type of insurance policy. You won't find it as a coverage on your declarations page — the one or two pages near the front of your policy that list what you bought. It's a casual way of saying "I have more than the bare minimum," and it usually means some combination of the coverages below.

The trouble is that "more than the minimum" can mean very different things. Two neighbors on the same street can both say they have full coverage and be protected very differently after the same wreck.

This is the part of your policy that generally pays for injuries and property damage you cause to other people. It protects the other driver and their passengers, and it protects you from paying for that harm out of pocket. It generally does not pay to fix your own car or cover your own injuries.

Mississippi requires every vehicle on the road to carry liability insurance. Miss. Code Ann. § 63-15-4. The minimum limits are $25,000 for injuries to one person, $50,000 for injuries to two or more people in the same wreck, and $25,000 for property damage. Miss. Code Ann. § 63-15-3(j). You'll often see that written as 25/50/25. Those numbers are the floor, not a measure of what you actually need. A serious wreck can quickly exceed $25,000 in medical bills.

This helps pay to repair or replace your own vehicle after a crash, usually after a deductible.

This helps with damage to your vehicle that doesn't come from a collision with another car: theft, hail, flooding, a limb through the windshield, and — under many policies — a deer strike. It also usually comes with a deductible.

Mississippi law requires liability coverage. It does not require collision, comprehensive, or medical payments coverage. Under state law, those are optional. Miss. Code Ann. §§ 63-15-4, 83-11-1. If you financed or leased your car, the loan or lease contract may require collision and comprehensive to protect the lender's interest in the vehicle. That's a contract requirement, not a state law.

This is the coverage that protects you, your family, and your passengers when the driver who caused the wreck has no insurance or not enough of it. In the kind of wreck described at the top of this post, it's often the coverage that matters most.

In Mississippi, every auto policy has to include uninsured motorist coverage unless someone named on the policy rejects it in writing. Miss. Code Ann. § 83-11-101. The insurer has to explain the coverage on a form approved by the Department of Insurance, and the rejection has to be signed. If there's no valid signed rejection, the law reads the minimum UM coverage into the policy anyway. This leads to some people having UM coverage and not realizing it, while others signed it away without realizing what they gave up.

Here's what trips people up. Under Mississippi law, the other driver counts as "underinsured" only if their liability limits are lower than your total UM coverage. Miss. Code Ann. § 83-11-103(c)(iii). It's a comparison of insurance limits, not of how badly you're hurt. If your total UM coverage is $25,000 and the driver who hit you carries $25,000 in liability, your UM coverage doesn't come into play — even if your medical bills are $100,000. The UM limit you choose matters as much as having UM at all.

Mississippi generally lets you add together, or "stack," the UM coverage for each vehicle on your policy and across more than one policy. The rules, though, depend on your status under the policy and what the policy says. Households with four or more vehicles may be offered a single non-stacking UM limit. Ask your agent whether your UM coverage stacks. UM coverage can also pay for damage to your car unless it was rejected in writing. A UM claim normally excludes the first $200 of damage (Miss. Code Ann. § 83-11-101), which is why the deductible for a UM claim is ordinarily $200.

If uninsured motorist coverage isn't listed on your declarations page, ask your agent whether anyone signed a form rejecting it — and ask for a copy.

This helps pay your own medical bills after a wreck, often regardless of who was at fault, up to a fairly modest limit.

This is what I'd want every reader to remember: "full coverage" describes which boxes are checked, not how much protection is behind each one.

A policy can include liability, collision, comprehensive, and UM and still leave a family badly exposed if the limits are low. A policy can also be missing a coverage entirely without the policyholder ever noticing, because nobody reads the declarations page until after a wreck.

During my years of practice, many of the hardest conversations after a crash start with some version of "but I thought I had full coverage." By the time that question comes up, it's too late to change the answer for that wreck.

You can check your own coverage in about ten minutes.

First, find your declarations page. It's usually in your insurer's app, your online account, or the front of the paper policy.

Second, look for each coverage by name: bodily injury liability, property damage liability, collision, comprehensive, uninsured/underinsured motorist, and medical payments. Check the limit listed next to each one. For collision and comprehensive, review the deductible. Consider whether you can comfortably afford this amount should you need to make a claim. The deductible can be increased or decreased — speak with your agent to determine how much your premium would change if it's adjusted.

Third, look for what's missing. If one of these coverages isn't listed, it probably isn't on your policy.

Fourth, ask questions in writing. Email your agent, ask what each limit means in plain English, and ask what it would cost to raise the limits that look low. A written answer gives you a record.

Fifth, look again whenever life changes: a new car, a new teenage driver, a payoff on a loan, or a move.

"Full coverage" is a comfortable phrase, but it isn't a promise. The only way to know what your policy will do after a wreck is to read what it says before one. Ten minutes with your declarations page this week could save you from the worst surprise of your year.

If you're taking the time to read this, you're either in this situation or you have real questions, and I'm happy to talk with you about it at no charge. Our number is (769) 208-5683. Feel free to reach out.

This article provides general information for educational purposes only and is not legal advice about any specific situation. Insurance policies vary, and the law can change. Reading this article does not create an attorney-client relationship between you and The Stutzman Law Firm. If you have questions about your specific situation, please consult a licensed Mississippi attorney.