Uninsured Motorist Claims in California

All of the rules on this page come from one statute, Insurance Code section 11580.2, unless another law is named. For the rest of an injury claim after a crash, see our auto accidents page.

How does an uninsured or underinsured motorist claim work, step by step?

Find your coverage. The declarations page of your auto policy shows your uninsured and underinsured motorist limits, or a written agreement deleting or lowering them.
Report the claim to your own insurer and keep the claim number and every letter.
If the driver fled, make sure the crash was reported within 24 hours and file a sworn statement with your insurer within 30 days.
If the driver had some insurance, claim against that policy first. Underinsured coverage starts only after every at-fault policy has paid its limits and you send proof to your insurer.
Get your insurer's written consent before you settle with, or take to judgment, anyone who may be responsible.
Protect the two-year deadline by filing suit against the at-fault driver, reaching an agreement with your insurer, or starting arbitration by certified mail.
Settle or arbitrate. If you and your insurer cannot agree whether you are entitled to recover or how much, a single neutral arbitrator decides (subdivision (f)).

Who counts as an uninsured driver?

The law defines an "uninsured motor vehicle" more broadly than the name suggests. It includes a vehicle:

with no bodily injury liability insurance or bond at the time of the crash;
whose insurer denies coverage, or will admit coverage only conditionally or with a reservation;
that is underinsured, as explained below;
used without the owner's permission, when no liability insurance applies to the owner or driver;
whose owner and driver are unknown, as in a hit-and-run, if extra conditions are met;
whose insurer cannot pay because it is insolvent.

Some vehicles never count as uninsured: a vehicle owned or driven by you or someone in your household, a vehicle owned by the United States, Canada, a state or a local government, and off-road equipment except while it is on a public road. If a government vehicle hit you, the claim usually runs against the government agency instead, and a written claim is due within six months. Our guide on crashes with a county vehicle, a public bus or a dangerous road explains that claim.

Am I covered if I was walking or riding a bike?

Often, yes. When the policy is in a person's name, the protected "insured" includes that person, their spouse and relatives who live in the same household, whether they were in a vehicle at the time "or otherwise." Anyone else is covered while in or getting into or out of your insured vehicle. That matters for people hit while walking or cycling, the cases on our pedestrian and bicycle accidents page.

When is a driver "underinsured"?

A driver is underinsured when their vehicle is insured, but for less than the uninsured motorist limits on the injured person's own vehicle. Underinsured coverage is included in every policy issued or renewed since July 1, 1985 that carries uninsured motorist coverage. Three rules shape how it pays:

It does not apply until the liability limits of every insured vehicle that caused the injury have been paid out, by judgment or settlement, and you send proof of that payment to your insurer.
Your insurer's share is capped at your underinsured limit, minus what you received from anyone legally responsible for the injury.
Limits for two or more vehicles or policies cannot be added together or "stacked."

For example, if the at-fault driver carried $30,000 per person and your underinsured motorist limit is $100,000, your own insurer would owe at most $70,000, and only after the other driver's insurer pays its full $30,000. If you sue the other driver, you must give your own insurer a copy of the complaint by personal service or certified mail.

What are the minimum insurance limits in California?

Vehicle Code section 16056 sets the minimum liability limits a policy must carry:

Policy issued or renewed	Injury or death, one person	Injury or death, two or more people	Property damage
Before January 1, 2025	$15,000	$30,000	$5,000
On or after January 1, 2025	$30,000	$60,000	$15,000
On or after January 1, 2035	$50,000	$100,000	$25,000

The 2035 figures reflect the increase written into the law: $20,000 more for one person, $40,000 more for two or more people and $10,000 more for property damage. If you carry uninsured motorist coverage, its limits cannot be lower than these minimums. Insurers must offer it at the same limits as your own bodily injury coverage, but they are not required to offer more than $30,000 per person and $60,000 per crash. Underinsured coverage is offered at your uninsured motorist limits and may be offered higher.

Uninsured motorist coverage is part of every auto liability policy unless you and the insurer agreed in writing, in the form the statute sets, to delete it, to exclude a named driver, or to carry lower limits, never below the Vehicle Code 16056 minimums. That written agreement binds everyone the policy covers and carries over to renewals and replacement policies from the same insurer (subdivision (a)(1)).

What if it was a hit-and-run?

A crash with an unknown driver qualifies only if all of these are true:

The injury came from physical contact between the other vehicle and you or the vehicle you were in.
You, or someone for you, reported the crash within 24 hours to the police of the city where it happened or, outside city limits, to the Sheriff of that county or the local CHP office.
Within 30 days after that, you filed with your insurer a statement under oath that you have a claim against someone whose identity cannot be found, with the facts that support it.

Our guide on how to get the crash report in Sonoma County lists the CHP and city offices that take these reports. The other options after a driver flees, including restitution and victim compensation, are in our guide on what to do after a hit-and-run in Sonoma or Marin County.

What deadline protects the claim?

Within two years from the date of the crash, one of three things must happen for the claim to go forward:

a lawsuit for bodily injury is filed against the uninsured driver;
you and your insurer agree on the amount owed; or
you formally start arbitration by written notice to your insurer, sent by certified mail, return receipt requested.

An arbitration must then be finished within five years of starting it. If you also have a workers' compensation claim from the same crash, the arbitration can run until three years after that claim ends, if that is later. While your claim is pending, your insurer must warn you in writing at least 30 days before the time limit runs out, unless it knows a lawyer represents you. California's fair claims rules repeat that 30-day warning for uninsured motorist claims (California Code of Regulations, title 10, section 2695.7(f)). The other injury deadlines are in our guide to California personal injury deadlines.

Can I recover pain and suffering if I had no insurance myself?

Usually not. Under Civil Code section 3333.4, an uninsured vehicle owner, a driver who cannot show the financial responsibility the law requires, or a driver convicted of DUI for that crash cannot recover non-economic losses such as pain and suffering, and no liability or uninsured motorist policy has to pay them. The rule reaches only non-economic losses. There is one exception: an uninsured owner hurt by a driver who is convicted of DUI for that crash can still recover them. Our guide on pain and suffering when you had no car insurance covers that rule in detail.

What changes the answer?

You settled without your insurer's consent. The coverage does not apply to an injury for which you, without the insurer's written consent, settle with or take to judgment anyone who may be legally liable (subdivision (c)(3)). Ask first, in writing.

You were hurt at work. The amount your insurer owes may be reduced by workers' compensation benefits paid or payable, and an arbitration waits until your condition is stationary and ratable (subdivisions (f) and (h)(1)).

You were riding in a car you own that is not on the policy. The coverage does not apply to injury while occupying a vehicle owned by an insured, or leased for six months or more, unless that vehicle is an insured vehicle (subdivision (c)(6)).

You were a passenger in someone else's insured car. The coverage this statute requires does not apply, as primary or as excess coverage, to an injury while you are in a vehicle other than the one your policy describes if that vehicle's owner has similar coverage (subdivision (c)(2)). The claim then starts with that car's policy.

Someone died. The coverage pays what the insured's heirs or legal representative are legally entitled to recover for bodily injury or wrongful death, within the limits (subdivision (a)(1)). Our guide on what a family can recover in a wrongful death case explains those damages.

The other vehicle belonged to a government agency. It does not count as uninsured, so the claim goes to the agency, with its six-month written claim.

What could this look like? An example

For example, imagine a cyclist in Cotati hit by a driver who carries the $30,000 per-person minimum. Her medical bills alone pass that amount. Her household's auto policy carries $100,000 in uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage, and because she is a relative living in the policyholder's home, she is covered "or otherwise," even on a bike.

She claims against the driver's policy first. When that insurer offers its full $30,000, she asks her own insurer for written consent before accepting, sends proof of the payment, and then asks her insurer for the underinsured benefit, which is capped at $70,000, the $100,000 limit minus the $30,000 paid. Her insurer asks for medical record releases and wage information, which she sends within 15 days. They cannot agree on the amount, so before two years have passed since the crash she starts arbitration by certified mail. This example is made up to show how the rules fit together; it predicts nothing about any real case.

What mistakes do people make?

Accepting the other driver's limits and signing a release without their own insurer's written consent.
Assuming the two years are protected because a claim is open with their insurer.
Missing the 24-hour report or the 30-day sworn statement after a hit-and-run.
Not checking whether they signed an agreement lowering or deleting their coverage.
Ignoring the insurer's request for records or a medical examination, which can delay the arbitration.
Thinking a crash with a government vehicle is an uninsured motorist claim and missing the six-month claim to the agency.

What should I do this week?

Find the declarations page of your auto policy and note your uninsured and underinsured motorist limits.
Tell your insurer about the crash and keep the claim number and every letter, with the date it arrived.
Check whether your own medical payments or collision coverage can pay now; our guide on claiming through your own insurance or the other driver's explains how the claims fit together.
If the driver fled, make sure the 24-hour report and the 30-day sworn statement are done.
Write down the date two years from the crash and mark it on your calendar.
Talk to a lawyer before you sign a release with the other driver's insurer, because your own insurer gets credit for what that insurer pays and must consent to the settlement.
If the other car was a rideshare vehicle, read who pays when a rideshare car crashes, since company coverage may come first.

For the steps that come right after a crash, see what happens in the first 30 days after a car accident in Sonoma County.

Frequently asked questions

Does an arbitration award bind the driver who hit me?

No. An award, or a judgment confirming it, is not conclusive in any case between you or your heirs and the uninsured driver over the same crash (subdivision (f)).

Can I stack the coverage from two cars or two policies?

No. However many vehicles, policies or premiums are involved, the limits for two or more vehicles or policies cannot be added together or stacked (subdivision (q)).

Who decides if my insurer and I disagree?

A single neutral arbitrator decides whether you are legally entitled to recover and how much, unless you reach an agreement (subdivision (f)).

What can my insurer ask me for?

Wage loss information, releases for medical records and a medical examination it arranges. If you do not provide them in time, the arbitration can be delayed for at least 30 days after you comply (subdivision (o)).

Does uninsured motorist coverage pay for my car?

Not under this statute. The coverage in section 11580.2 does not apply to property damage the insured suffers (subdivision (c)(1)); vehicle damage is handled under other parts of a policy.

Does the coverage pay for a brain injury or other serious injury?

It pays the damages you are legally entitled to recover for bodily injury, up to your limits. Our guide on how a traumatic brain injury is proven and valued explains how those damages are measured.

If you or a loved one was hurt by a driver with no insurance or too little, contact Young Law Group today at (707) 343-0556 or through our contact page to schedule your free consultation and learn how we can help.

The driver who hit me had no insurance or too little: how does uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage work in California?