An Uninsured Driver Hit Me. Now What?

Roughly one in six California drivers is uninsured, according to Insurance Research Council estimates, and many more carry only minimum limits. In California’s working-class and immigrant communities the rate is higher. When an uninsured driver causes a crash, the at-fault driver’s insurance—the usual source of recovery—does not exist. What remains depends almost entirely on your own policy.

Uninsured motorist (UM) coverage

UM bodily injury coverage pays for your injuries when the at-fault driver is uninsured, as if you were claiming against their insurer, up to your UM limits. California requires insurers to offer UM/UIM coverage equal to your liability limits; it can be rejected or reduced only in writing (Insurance Code § 11580.2). If you did not sign a rejection, you likely have it. UM also covers you as a pedestrian or cyclist struck by an uninsured driver, and household family members. UM property damage coverage ($3,500 maximum) is available if the uninsured driver is identified.

Underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage

UIM applies when the at-fault driver has insurance but not enough. California UIM is offset: if you have $100,000 UIM and the at-fault driver pays their $30,000 limit, your UIM claim is capped at $70,000. UIM requires first exhausting the at-fault driver’s limits, and you must obtain your insurer’s consent before settling with the at-fault driver or risk losing UIM benefits.

Hit-and-run drivers

An unidentified driver is treated as uninsured for UM purposes, but California imposes conditions: the crash must be reported to police within 24 hours and to your insurer within 30 days, and (for bodily injury) there must have been physical contact between vehicles, or an independent witness, in the standard policy. A phantom driver who runs you off the road without contact is often not covered without a witness. See hit-and-run accidents.

Making a UM/UIM claim against your own insurer

Your insurer steps into the shoes of the at-fault driver and may dispute fault, causation and damages the same way. Disputes are resolved by arbitration, not a jury, under the policy. The insurer owes you a duty of good faith, which gives you leverage that you do not have against the other driver’s insurer. UM claims typically must be made, and arbitration demanded, within two years of the crash. Insurers sometimes argue that a UM claimant’s rates will rise; California law prohibits rate increases for not-at-fault claims.

If you have no UM coverage

• Med-pay on your policy covers medical bills up to its limit regardless of fault.
• Health insurance covers treatment, with reimbursement rights from any recovery.
• Suing the uninsured driver is possible, and a judgment leads to DMV license suspension until paid (Vehicle Code § 16370), but collection from someone who could not afford insurance is often impractical.
• Other liable parties: the vehicle owner if different from the driver (Vehicle Code § 17150, liability up to $15,000/$30,000), an employer if the driver was working, a bar that over-served an obviously intoxicated minor, or a public entity if road design contributed.
• Victim compensation: the California Victim Compensation Board can help with medical and funeral expenses for victims of crimes, including DUI and hit-and-run.

Proposition 213: if you were the uninsured one

Civil Code § 3333.4 bars an uninsured vehicle owner or driver from recovering non-economic damages (pain and suffering) in a crash, even one entirely the other driver’s fault. Medical bills and lost wages remain recoverable. The bar does not apply to passengers, to pedestrians or cyclists, or where the at-fault driver was convicted of DUI for the crash. Insurers apply it aggressively; whether a lapse in coverage was effective at the time of the crash is sometimes contested.

Where uninsured crashes concentrate

The Inland Empire and parts of Los Angeles County have the region’s highest uninsured rates. See our uninsured motorist accidents page and the city pages for San Bernardino, Fontana and Moreno Valley.

Common questions

How do I know if I have UM/UIM coverage?

Check your declarations page for “Uninsured Motorist Bodily Injury” or “UM/UIM.” If it is absent, ask your insurer for the signed rejection form; without one, coverage is generally deemed included.

Will claiming UM against my own insurer raise my premiums?

California law prohibits rate increases for accidents where you were not principally at fault, including UM claims.

The driver gave me an insurance card but the policy was cancelled. What now?

Treat the driver as uninsured. Document the attempt to claim and the denial, then open a UM claim with your insurer. The driver may also face misdemeanor charges for presenting false evidence of insurance.

Sources and official resources

• Insurance Code § 11580.2 (uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage)
• Civil Code § 3333.4 (Proposition 213 limits for uninsured drivers)
• Vehicle Code § 16056 (minimum liability insurance limits)
• Vehicle Code § 20001 (hit-and-run involving injury or death)
• California DMV — insurance requirements
• California Department of Insurance — auto claims help

Links go to official government, court and public-health sources. Laws change; verify current text before relying on it.