Uninsured motorist coverage

What it is

Uninsured motorist (UM) coverage lets an injured driver, passengers and household members claim against their own policy when the at-fault driver has no liability insurance. It stands in for the coverage the other driver should have carried, up to the UM limit.

The California rule

Insurance Code 11580.2 requires auto policies issued in California to include UM bodily injury coverage unless the named insured waives it, or agrees to lower limits, in writing. A hit-and-run vehicle counts as uninsured only if the injury arose from physical contact with the insured or the insured's vehicle, the accident was reported to police within 24 hours, and a sworn statement was filed with the insurer within 30 days. Disputes over fault or the amount owed go to arbitration rather than a jury. Within two years of the accident, the insured must sue the uninsured motorist, reach agreement with the insurer, or formally begin arbitration, or the UM claim is lost.

Why it matters to a plaintiff firm

A UM claim is a claim against the client's own carrier, which still defends it like any other bodily injury claim. The two-year rule in 11580.2 runs alongside the statute of limitations and is easy to miss, so firms calendar it at intake. Ask every client at the first meeting for the declarations page of their own policy, and of any policy covering the car they were in.