Hit by an Uninsured Driver in California With No UM Coverage? Your Options (2026)
- Tom Feher, Esq.
From Tom Feher, Esq. “The first thing people say after a crash with an uninsured driver is that nothing can be done. That is almost never true. Before anyone gives up, we pull every policy that could touch the crash, including ones the client forgot about, and we calendar the deadlines the day they call.”
Short answer: you still have options. If the driver who hit you has no insurance and your own policy has no uninsured motorist (UM) coverage, you can sue the driver personally within two years, search for other policies that may cover you (a household member’s policy, the policy on the car you were riding in, or the vehicle owner’s coverage), and use medical payments coverage and health insurance to pay bills in the meantime. If you owned or drove an uninsured vehicle yourself, Proposition 213 bars pain and suffering damages, but not your medical bills or lost income.
Key Takeaways
- Check every policy before assuming you have no UM: California insurers must include UM coverage in each auto bodily injury liability policy unless the named insured agreed in writing to delete or reduce it (Insurance Code 11580.2), so pull your declarations page and any household policy.
- Two clocks run at once: a lawsuit against the at-fault driver is due within two years (Code of Civil Procedure 335.1), and a UM claim needs a lawsuit, an agreement, or formal arbitration notice by certified mail within two years of the accident (Insurance Code 11580.2(i)).
- Do not settle behind your insurer’s back: settling with the at-fault driver, or suing that driver to judgment, without your UM insurer’s written consent can cost you UM benefits.
- Hit-and-run claims have strict steps: physical contact, a police report within 24 hours, and a sworn statement to your insurer within 30 days when the driver is unknown.
- Uninsured yourself? Civil Code 3333.4 (Proposition 213) bars pain and suffering damages if you owned or drove an uninsured vehicle, but economic losses such as medical bills and lost wages are still recoverable.
Free Case Evaluation – No Fee Unless You Win
If the driver who hit you had no insurance and you are not sure what coverage you have, Feher Law will track down every policy that could apply in a free consultation. Call (424) 622-3350 – You pay nothing unless we win.
What Can I Do If the Driver Who Hit Me Has No Insurance and I Have No UM Coverage?
You have more routes than most people expect, and the order matters. Work through them in this sequence:
- Confirm what coverage you really have. Request the declarations page for every policy in your household. Under Insurance Code 11580.2, UM coverage is part of each auto bodily injury liability policy unless the named insured agreed in writing to delete it or to carry less than the standard limits. People often have UM they do not remember, or limits higher than they assumed.
- Look for other policies. A relative who lives in your household, or a person riding in an insured vehicle, can be an insured under that vehicle’s or household’s UM coverage, subject to the policy exclusions.
- Identify everyone legally responsible. The driver is liable whether or not they are insured. The owner of the car, and the driver’s employer if the driver was working, may also be responsible.
- Use medical payments coverage and health insurance now. Treatment should not wait for the liability fight.
- Protect the deadlines. Both the lawsuit deadline and the UM deadline are two years from the accident, covered below.
Even when an at-fault driver has no policy, the driver is still legally responsible for the harm. The practical question is where the money will come from, which is why the coverage search comes first. For how fault is decided, see our guide to how fault is determined in a California car accident.
Is It Illegal to Drive Without Insurance in California, and What Are the Minimum Limits?
Yes. Vehicle Code 16020 requires every driver and owner of a motor vehicle to be able to establish financial responsibility at all times and to carry evidence of it in the vehicle. The minimum liability limits that satisfy the financial responsibility laws are set by Vehicle Code 16056, and they rose for newer policies:
| Policy Issued or Renewed | Bodily Injury, One Person | Bodily Injury, All Persons | 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 | Scheduled to rise by $20,000 (to $50,000) | Scheduled to rise by $40,000 (to $100,000) | Scheduled to rise by $10,000 (to $25,000) |
Those are floors, not what a serious injury costs. A driver who carries only the minimum can leave you with medical bills far above their coverage, which is where your own underinsured motorist coverage comes in. For how fast bills and treatment add up, see our guide to what doctor to see after a car accident in California.
How Does Uninsured Motorist (UM) Coverage Work in California?
UM coverage pays what you are legally entitled to recover from the owner or operator of an uninsured vehicle, up to your policy limits. Under Insurance Code 11580.2, an “uninsured motor vehicle” is broader than a car with no policy. It also includes a vehicle whose insurer denies or conditionally accepts coverage, a vehicle whose insurer is insolvent, an underinsured vehicle, and a vehicle whose owner or operator is unknown if the hit-and-run rules below are met.
Key rules that decide whether a UM claim succeeds:
- Disputes go to arbitration. If you and the insurer disagree on fault or the amount, a single neutral arbitrator decides.
- Your own insurer needs to consent to a settlement. Settling with, or prosecuting to judgment, an action against the at-fault person without the UM insurer’s written consent is an exclusion in the statute.
- No stacking. The statute bars adding together limits from multiple vehicles or policies.
- Underinsured claims come after the other policy is paid. UIM coverage applies only after the at-fault driver’s liability limits are exhausted by judgment or settlement, with proof submitted to your insurer.
- Medical payments can reduce UM. A policy may reduce UM damages by amounts paid under automobile medical payment coverage.
Insurers must offer UM limits equal to your liability limits, but are not required to offer more than $30,000 per person and $60,000 per accident. If an insurer is slow-walking a UM claim, see our guide to why a California car accident settlement takes so long.
Not Sure What Coverage You Have?
Send us your declarations pages and the police report and we will tell you what applies, at no cost. Call (424) 622-3350 – You pay nothing unless we win.
What If the Driver Who Hit Me Fled? Hit-and-Run and UM Claims
A driver who leaves the scene of an injury accident commits a crime under Vehicle Code 20001: the driver must stop immediately and fulfill the duties to identify themselves and render aid. Punishment ranges up to state prison, or county jail of up to a year, and a fine of $1,000 to $10,000. For the criminal side, see our guide to fleeing the scene of an accident in California.
For your own recovery, a hit-and-run driver is an uninsured motorist only if you meet the conditions in Insurance Code 11580.2 for an unknown owner or operator:
- Your injury must arise out of physical contact between the unknown vehicle and you, or between it and a vehicle you were occupying.
- You, or someone for you, must report the accident to police, the county sheriff, or the California Highway Patrol within 24 hours.
- You must file a sworn statement with your insurer within 30 days saying you have a cause of action against an unidentified person, with supporting facts.
Missing the 24-hour report or the 30-day statement can sink an otherwise valid claim, so do both even if you are in the hospital and have someone act for you.
What If I Was Uninsured Too? Proposition 213 Explained
Civil Code 3333.4, added by Proposition 213 in 1996, says a person cannot recover non-economic losses (pain, suffering, inconvenience, physical impairment, disfigurement, and similar damages) in a motor vehicle action if either of these applies:
- The injured person owned a vehicle involved in the accident and it was not insured as the financial responsibility laws require.
- The injured person was the operator of a vehicle involved in the accident and cannot establish financial responsibility.
What stays recoverable: economic losses, such as medical expenses and lost income. There is also an exception. If the injured owner was hit by a driver who was driving under the influence and was convicted of that offense, the injured person is not barred from non-economic damages. The same statute says an insurer is not liable under a liability or UM policy for non-economic losses of a person barred this way.
The rule is about the injured person’s own vehicle and status, so a passenger who did not own the uninsured vehicle is analyzed differently. Tell your lawyer exactly whose car it was and what coverage existed on the date of the crash.
Where the Money Can Come From When the At-Fault Driver Has No Insurance
| Possible Source | When It Can Apply |
|---|---|
| Your own UM / UIM coverage | If your policy includes it. Covers uninsured, qualifying hit-and-run, and underinsured drivers, up to your limits. |
| Another policy that covers you | Resident relatives of a named insured, and people in or upon an insured vehicle, can qualify as insureds under that policy’s UM coverage, subject to its exclusions. |
| The at-fault driver personally | You can sue within two years. A judgment is only as good as the driver’s assets and income, so we look at collectability before filing. |
| The vehicle owner | If the driver borrowed the car, the owner’s liability under the permissive-use statute is capped at $15,000 per person and $30,000 per accident (Vehicle Code 17151), unless the driver was acting as the owner’s agent or employee. The owner’s own policy may also cover the driver. |
| The driver’s employer | If the driver was working when the crash happened, the employer may share responsibility and may carry commercial coverage. |
| Your medical payments coverage | Pays your medical bills regardless of fault, up to the policy limit. The policy may reduce UM damages by what it pays. |
| Your health insurance | Pays treatment now. It may have repayment rights against your eventual recovery, so we track every payor. |
No single source usually tells the whole story. A common pattern is a small UM limit plus a separate policy found through a household member, plus medical payments for the early bills. For what to expect from the overall claim process, see our overview of the average personal injury settlement in California and our car accident settlement calculator.
Deadlines: The Two-Year Clocks You Cannot Miss
Two separate time limits apply, and they are easy to confuse:
- Lawsuit against the at-fault driver: Code of Civil Procedure 335.1 sets two years for an action for injury to, or the death of, an individual caused by another’s wrongful act or neglect.
- Your UM claim: under Insurance Code 11580.2, no cause of action accrues under your UM coverage unless, within two years of the accident, you (1) filed suit for bodily injury against the uninsured motorist, (2) reached an agreement with the insurer on the amount due, or (3) formally started arbitration by written notice to the insurer sent by certified mail, return receipt requested.
Once arbitration starts, the statute requires it to be concluded within five years of its institution (with a longer period in some workers’ compensation situations), subject to excuses such as estoppel and futility. Separately, an insurer with a pending UM claim must warn you in writing at least 30 days before the limitation period ends unless you are represented by an attorney. Do not count on that notice. Calendar the two-year date the day of the crash. The deadline can be much shorter if a government vehicle is involved, so ask a lawyer right away if one was.
What to Do in the First Days After a Crash With an Uninsured Driver
- Get medical care and keep every record. Treatment gaps give insurers an argument that you were not hurt.
- Call the police and get a report number. If the driver fled, the report must happen within 24 hours to protect a hit-and-run UM claim.
- Document the scene. Photos, plate numbers, witness names, and any proof the other driver had no insurance.
- Report to the DMV if required. Vehicle Code 16000 requires a driver involved in an accident causing bodily injury or property damage over $1,000 to file a report within 10 days.
- Notify your own insurer, then ask for your policy documents. Request the full declarations page and any UM rejection or reduction form you signed.
- Do not sign a release or accept a payment from the at-fault driver before your lawyer and your UM insurer’s consent are sorted out.
What to Expect When You Work With Feher Law
- Free Case Evaluation: You speak with our team, we review the crash facts, your injuries, and whatever insurance information you have, and we give you a straight read on your options. No fee, no obligation.
- Coverage Search: We collect declarations pages for your household, check for any signed UM waiver or reduction, identify the vehicle owner, and look for employer or other policies that could apply.
- Evidence and Notice: We preserve evidence, confirm the police report, send written notice to your insurer, and calendar the two-year lawsuit and UM deadlines so nothing lapses.
- Demand, Arbitration, or Suit: We present a documented UM or liability demand. If the insurer will not pay fair value, we start arbitration properly, by certified mail, or file suit before the deadline.
- Resolution and Your Settlement Statement: Before anything is final you receive a line-item statement showing the fee, each cost, each lien payoff, and your net. You pay nothing unless we win.
Why California Clients Choose Feher Law
Thomas Feher, Esq. has taken more than 50 jury trials to verdict, and that trial record is what moves settlement math, because insurers pay real value to firms they know will pick a jury. The results are public: a $20.7 million brain injury verdict against a hotel defendant in July 2026, a $14.6 million verdict in Simone v. Estate of Bruce Jameson for a catastrophic spine injury, an $8.5 million recovery for a T-boned worker, and more than $170 million recovered for California clients overall. From offices in Torrance and Huntington Beach, the firm serves clients throughout Los Angeles County, Orange County, San Bernardino County, and Riverside County, in English and Spanish. Every case is handled on contingency – you pay nothing unless Feher Law wins for you. See our guide to what a personal injury lawyer costs in California.
Frequently Asked Questions
Ready to Talk to a California Personal Injury Lawyer?
Feher Law offers free, confidential consultations – no upfront fees. Find out which policies apply to your crash. Call (424) 622-3350 – You pay nothing unless we win.
Last reviewed by Thomas Feher, Esq. – October 2026
