California Uninsured & Underinsured Motorist Claim Attorney

California requires auto insurers to offer uninsured motorist (UM) and underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage; insureds may reject in writing. UM applies when the at-fault driver has no liability insurance (or is unidentified — hit-and-run). UIM applies when the at-fault driver has liability insurance but the limits are insufficient to fairly compensate your injuries. UM/UIM coverage operates as first-party insurance — your own carrier pays — but the relationship is functionally adversarial because the carrier evaluates the claim against its own balance sheet.

Governed by Cal. Ins. Code § 11580.2, California’s uninsured and underinsured motorist statute. Key features:

• Limits: UM/UIM limits are typically equal to your liability limits unless you separately reduced them in writing.
• Offset: UIM coverage typically pays the difference between the at-fault driver's available limits and your UIM limits — not the full UIM limits in addition.
• Demand and arbitration: California UM/UIM disputes are typically resolved through binding arbitration if the carrier and insured cannot agree. The arbitration clause is built into the policy.
• Statute of limitations: UM/UIM claims must typically be filed (or arbitration demanded) within two years of the accident (Cal. Ins. Code § 11580.2(i))

• Hit-and-run accidents
• At-fault driver has no insurance (~13–15% of California drivers)
• At-fault driver has only minimum-limits coverage ($30K/$60K — California’s minimums since January 1, 2025) but caused catastrophic injuries
• Cycling and pedestrian accidents where the cyclist/pedestrian's own auto policy provides UM/UIM
• Passenger injury claims where the passenger's own UM/UIM applies
• Multi-vehicle pile-ups with insufficient at-fault-driver coverage

California recognizes a bad-faith tort against insurance carriers that unreasonably delay or deny first-party claims (Brandt v. Superior Court, 37 Cal.3d 813; Egan v. Mutual of Omaha, 24 Cal.3d 809). Insurers owe their insureds a duty of good faith and fair dealing — a higher duty than they owe to third-party claimants. When a UM/UIM carrier stonewalls, lowballs, or fails to investigate, bad-faith damages may include the original UM/UIM benefits, attorney's fees (Brandt fees), emotional distress, and punitive damages.

We pursue UM/UIM claims through demand, settlement negotiation, and (where necessary) binding arbitration. We document bad-faith conduct throughout. Where the carrier's behavior crosses the line, we evaluate whether to file a separate civil bad-faith action — which can multiply the recovery significantly.