Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Claims in California
About one in six California drivers carries no insurance at all, and a much larger share carries the state minimum. So the most common serious problem in a California injury claim is not proving who caused the crash. It is finding a policy large enough to pay for what happened to you.
That is what uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage is for. It is also the part of your own policy with the most traps in it, including a deadline that ends claims quietly and an offset rule that routinely surprises people who thought they were fully covered. If the crash was not your fault, start with what to do after a car accident that was not your fault, then come back here for the coverage question.
What UM and UIM coverage actually are
Uninsured motorist coverage (UM) is part of your own auto policy. It pays you for bodily injury caused by a driver who had no liability insurance, whose insurer denied coverage, or who cannot be identified after a hit and run.
Underinsured motorist coverage (UIM) covers the gap when the at-fault driver had insurance, but not enough. In California the two are sold as a single coverage.
In both cases you are making a claim against your own insurance company, on a policy you paid for, for injuries somebody else caused you.
You probably have it, even if you do not remember buying it
Insurance Code section 11580.2(a) requires every auto liability policy issued in California to include uninsured motorist coverage. The only way it is not in your policy is if you and your insurer signed a written agreement deleting it or reducing it below the standard limits.
Look at your declarations page for a line marked UM, UMBI, or uninsured motorist bodily injury. People are often told on the phone that they “don’t have that” when the declarations page says otherwise.
What the coverage pays, updated for 2025
Senate Bill 1107 raised California’s minimum limits effective January 1, 2025, and the uninsured and underinsured motorist minimums rose with them:
- $30,000 for bodily injury or death to one person
- $60,000 for bodily injury or death per accident
These figures replaced the old $15,000 and $30,000 minimums, which still appear on a great many law firm and insurance websites. The limits rise again on January 1, 2035, to $50,000 and $100,000.
Your UM limits are frequently higher than the minimum, because many carriers write them to match your liability limits by default. This is one of the few genuinely cheap things in an auto policy, and raising it is the single most useful change most California drivers can make to their coverage.
The offset rule that surprises everyone
This is the part almost nobody is told, and it decides how much money is actually available.
Your UIM limit minus what the at-fault carrier already paid — not stacked on top of it. And a vehicle only counts as underinsured if its limits are lower than yours, so two drivers who both carry the 30/60 minimum produce no underinsured motorist claim at all.
California underinsured motorist coverage is reduced, not stacked. Under Insurance Code section 11580.2(p), your insurer’s maximum liability is your UIM limit less the amount already paid by or for the party who caused the crash. If you carry $100,000 in UIM and the at-fault driver’s carrier tenders its $30,000 limit, what remains available to you is $70,000, not $100,000. Limits from two or more vehicles or policies cannot be added together.
And there is a threshold question before that one. Section 11580.2(p) defines an underinsured motor vehicle as one whose liability limits are less than your uninsured motorist limits. So if the at-fault driver carries the 30/60 minimum and you also carry 30/60, their vehicle is not underinsured as the statute defines it, and you have no underinsured motorist claim at all. Two drivers who both bought the legal minimum produce a claim with a $30,000 ceiling and nothing behind it.
That single sentence is the reason to look at your declarations page today rather than after a crash.
Hit and run, and the physical contact requirement
A driver who hits you and leaves is an uninsured motorist under the statute, but Insurance Code section 11580.2(b) attaches three conditions, and all three are strictly applied:
- Physical contact. The unidentified vehicle must actually have struck you or your vehicle. A car that swerved into your lane and forced you into a barrier without ever touching you is a “phantom vehicle” and does not qualify.
- A report within 24 hours to the police department where the accident happened.
- A sworn statement to your insurer within 30 days of the accident.
The 24 hour report is the one people miss, usually because they went to a hospital first and filed a report two days later. If that has already happened to you, it is worth a conversation rather than an assumption.
The two year deadline that is not a statute of limitations
This is the provision that ends more good uninsured motorist claims than any other, and it does not behave the way people expect a deadline to behave.
Within two years of the accident you must file suit against the uninsured driver, conclude a written agreement on the amount, or formally institute arbitration by written notice sent by certified mail. Miss all three and no cause of action ever accrues.
Insurance Code section 11580.2(i)(1) provides that no cause of action accrues at all under a UM endorsement unless, within two years from the date of the accident, one of the following has happened:
- Suit for bodily injury has been filed against the uninsured motorist; or
- An agreement as to the amount due has been concluded; or
- The insured has formally instituted arbitration proceedings by notifying the insurer in writing, sent by certified mail.
Read that third item carefully. Negotiating with the adjuster does not satisfy it. Sending a demand package does not satisfy it. A letter saying you intend to arbitrate has been held technically insufficient. What the statute wants is a formal institution of arbitration, in writing, by certified mail, inside two years.
Because this is written as a condition of accrual rather than as a limitations period, the usual arguments for extending a missed deadline are much weaker here. The practical rule: if an uninsured or underinsured driver is anywhere in your facts, the certified mail goes out well before the two year mark, not on the last day.
Once arbitration is instituted, it generally has to be concluded within five years, with a longer window where a workers’ compensation claim is involved.
Why a UM claim goes to arbitration, not court
Under Insurance Code section 11580.2(f), whether you are legally entitled to recover and how much are decided by agreement or, failing that, by arbitration before a single neutral arbitrator. You are not filing a lawsuit against your own insurer to establish the underlying claim.
Practically, that means a compressed proceeding with narrower discovery than a civil case, decided by one person. It is faster than trial and the rules are different enough that the preparation is different too.
Damage to your car
Uninsured motorist property damage is separate coverage and it is small. Insurance Code section 11580.26 caps it at the actual cash value of your vehicle or $3,500, whichever is less. If you also carry collision coverage, collision pays for the loss and the UMPD coverage only covers your deductible, up to that same $3,500. It does not pay for loss of use.
For anything beyond minor damage, collision coverage is the realistic route to getting the car fixed.
Your own insurer is now the other side
This is the part clients find hardest. On a UM claim, the company you have paid premiums to for years is the company that owes you money, and it evaluates your claim the same way any carrier evaluates a claim it has to pay.
Two things follow. First, your duty to cooperate is real. It runs to your own insurer under your own policy, which is exactly the opposite of your position toward the other driver’s carrier. Second, California recognizes a duty of good faith and fair dealing that your own insurer owes you, and a UM claim handled in bad faith can expose the carrier to liability beyond the policy limits. Those are fact-specific and worth evaluating rather than assuming.
About NMF Law Group
Joshua B. Adelpour spent the early part of his career defending insurance companies, including on coverage questions like these. He now represents only injured people.
NMF Law Group handles motor vehicle accidents, premises liability, slip and fall, and dog bite cases throughout California. Consultations are free and there is no fee unless we recover for you.
(213) 800-0706 | Info@NMFLawGroup.com
21051 Warner Center Lane, Suite 210, Woodland Hills, CA 91367
Hablamos español.
Frequently asked questions
How long do I have to file an uninsured motorist claim in California?
Two years from the date of the accident, and the deadline is stricter than an ordinary statute of limitations. Under Insurance Code section 11580.2(i)(1), no cause of action accrues at all unless, within those two years, you have filed suit against the uninsured driver, concluded a written agreement on the amount due, or formally instituted arbitration by written notice sent to the insurer by certified mail. A demand letter or a phone call does not count.
Do I have uninsured motorist coverage?
Almost certainly, unless you signed it away. Insurance Code section 11580.2(a) requires every California auto liability policy to include uninsured motorist coverage unless you and the insurer executed a written agreement deleting or reducing it. Check your declarations page for a line reading UM or UMBI.
If the other driver has insurance, can I still make an underinsured motorist claim?
Only if your own underinsured motorist limit is higher than their liability limit. Under Insurance Code section 11580.2(p), an underinsured vehicle is one whose limits are less than your UM limits. If you both carry the 30/60 minimum, there is no underinsured motorist claim available to you at all.
Does underinsured motorist coverage stack on top of what the at-fault driver paid?
No. California underinsured motorist coverage is reduced, not stacked. Your insurer’s maximum exposure is your UIM limit minus what the at-fault party already paid. If you carry $100,000 in UIM and the at-fault driver’s carrier paid its $30,000 limit, $70,000 remains available, not $100,000.
Can I make an uninsured motorist claim after a hit and run?
Yes, but the statute is strict. Insurance Code section 11580.2(b) requires actual physical contact between the unidentified vehicle and you or your vehicle, a report to the police within 24 hours, and a sworn statement filed with your insurer within 30 days. A driver who forced you off the road without touching your car does not qualify.
Will making an uninsured motorist claim raise my rates?
It should not. The Proposition 103 rating rules only allow an insurer to count accidents where you were principally at fault, defined by 10 CCR section 2632.13(b) as at least 51 percent of the legal cause. Being hit by an uninsured driver is not that.
Do I have to give my own insurance company a recorded statement?
Generally yes, and this is where a UM claim differs from a claim against the other driver. Your policy carries a duty to cooperate with your own insurer. That duty is real, but it is not unlimited, and on a UM claim your insurer is also the party that will be paying you.
What if my medical bills exceed my uninsured motorist limits?
Then the search moves to other sources: a second responsible party, a commercial policy if anyone involved was working, an umbrella policy, or resident-relative coverage under a household policy. Finding those layers is most of the work in a serious case.
Uninsured driver? The clock is shorter than you think.
The two year deadline on a UM claim is a condition of the claim existing at all, and informal negotiation does not satisfy it. Tell us what happened and we will tell you what has to be filed, and by when.
Get My Free Case ReviewOr call (213) 800-0706 — free consultation, and no fee unless we recover for you.
This page is general information about California law and is not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney client relationship. Coverage turns on the wording of your own policy and every case turns on its own facts. For advice about your situation, call (213) 800-0706 for a free consultation.
Reviewed by Joshua B. Adelpour, Esq., California State Bar No. 318226. Last updated August 18, 2026.