For an uninsured motorist claim, one of three things must happen within two years of the crash: a lawsuit is filed against the uninsured driver, an agreement on the amount is reached with your insurer, or arbitration is formally started in writing by certified mail.Cal. Ins. Code § 11580.2(i)
Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage
Every auto liability policy includes uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage unless the insurer and a named insured removed or reduced it in a signed written agreement.Cal. Ins. Code § 11580.2(a)
An auto policy in Texas must include uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage unless a named insured rejected it in writing. If you never signed a rejection, you may have this coverage without knowing it.Tex. Ins. Code § 1952.101
A new auto policy must include underinsured motorist coverage, which in Washington also covers uninsured, hit and run and phantom vehicles, unless the named insured or spouse rejected it in writing.RCW 48.22.030
Your own policy takes the other driver's place
A driver with no insurance is still responsible for the harm they cause. The trouble is collecting. Someone who could not afford insurance rarely has money to pay a judgment.
That is what uninsured motorist coverage is for. It is part of your own auto policy, and it pays what the other driver's insurance would have paid, up to your limit. Underinsured motorist coverage does the same when the other driver has insurance but not enough.
It applies in three situations:
The driver at fault has no insurance.
The driver at fault has less insurance than your losses.
The driver left and was never identified.
Do you have the coverage?
More people have it than realize it. All three states require insurers to include or offer it, and to get a written rejection before leaving it off.
Uninsured motorist coverage and required liability minimums
California
Texas
Washington
Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage
Every auto liability policy includes uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage unless the insurer and a named insured removed or reduced it in a signed written agreement.Cal. Ins. Code § 11580.2(a)
An auto policy in Texas must include uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage unless a named insured rejected it in writing. If you never signed a rejection, you may have this coverage without knowing it.Tex. Ins. Code § 1952.101
A new auto policy must include underinsured motorist coverage, which in Washington also covers uninsured, hit and run and phantom vehicles, unless the named insured or spouse rejected it in writing.RCW 48.22.030
Minimum liability insurance drivers must carry
$30,000 for the injury or death of one person, $60,000 for two or more people, and $15,000 for property damage, for policies issued or renewed since January 1, 2025. The older figures of $15,000, $30,000 and $5,000 no longer apply.Cal. Veh. Code § 16056(a)(2)
$30,000 for the injury or death of one person, $60,000 for two or more people, and $25,000 for property damage, in one collision.Tex. Transp. Code § 601.072(a-1)
$25,000 for the injury or death of one person, $50,000 for two or more people, and $10,000 for property damage, in one accident.RCW 46.29.090
To find out, read the declarations page of your policy and look for uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage and its limits. If it is not listed, ask your insurer for a copy of the signed rejection. If there is none, ask what that means for your policy under your state's law.
Other coverage may apply as well. Uninsured motorist coverage often follows you when you are a passenger in someone else's car or on foot. A policy held by a relative you live with may cover you. And medical payments coverage or PIP pays medical bills regardless of who was at fault.
Personal injury protection (PIP) is part of every auto policy unless it was rejected in writing. The statute does not require an insurer to provide more than $2,500 per person, and PIP pays no matter who was at fault.Tex. Ins. Code §§ 1952.152, 1952.153, 1952.155
Insurers must offer personal injury protection (PIP) with every auto policy, and it can only be declined in writing. The minimum benefits are $10,000 for medical and hospital care, plus limited amounts for lost income, household services and funeral costs.RCW 48.22.085; RCW 48.22.095
If the driver left the scene
A hit and run is treated as an uninsured motorist claim, with extra conditions meant to prevent false claims. These are strict, and some of them are measured in hours.
Rules for claims against an unidentified driver
California
Texas
Washington
Hit and run and unidentified drivers
To use uninsured motorist coverage for a driver who was never identified, there must have been physical contact with that vehicle, the crash must be reported to the police within 24 hours, and a sworn statement must be filed with your insurer within 30 days after that.Cal. Ins. Code § 11580.2(b)
To use uninsured motorist coverage for a driver who was never identified, Texas requires actual physical contact between that driver’s vehicle and you or your property, such as your vehicle.Tex. Ins. Code § 1952.104(3)
When the other vehicle never touched yours (a phantom vehicle), your claim needs evidence beyond your own account, and the crash must be reported to law enforcement within 72 hours.RCW 48.22.030(8)
Call the police immediately in every case. In California and Texas, be ready to show that the other vehicle made physical contact: photos of the damage and paint transfer help. In Washington a vehicle that never touched yours can still be covered, but then you need evidence other than your own account, such as video or a witness who has no claim of their own from the crash. More on a driver who left and was never found.
Deadlines that are not the lawsuit deadline
This is the part most people get wrong. The time limit for a claim under your own policy is not the same as the time limit for suing the other driver, and it is not always longer.
The clocks that can be running
More than one deadline can apply to the same event. The bars share one scale: the full width is 3 years.
Notice to your own insurer
Right away Policies require prompt notice of a crash.
Claims against a government agency
California
6 monthsfor a written claim or notice
Texas
6 monthsfor a written claim or notice. A city can set a shorter period.
Washington
60 day waitafter the form, before a lawsuit
Deadline to sue for an injury
California
2 years
Texas
2 years
Washington
3 years
Deadline for a claim under your own policy
Its own deadline It runs on your policy’s terms and on rules of its own, and it is not always longer than the lawsuit deadline.
A written claim must be presented to the city, county, state agency or other public entity within six months. If the entity sends a proper written rejection, a lawsuit generally has to be filed within six months of that notice. A request to file late must be made within a reasonable time, not to exceed one year after the claim arose. The statute leaves a few narrow kinds of time out of that year.Cal. Gov. Code §§ 911.2, 911.4, 945.6
A city, county, school district or state agency must receive notice of the claim within six months of the incident. The notice describes the injury or damage, the time and place, and what happened. A city’s charter can set its own notice period, which may be shorter, so do not assume you have the full six months.Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 101.101
Before suing a city, county or other local government, you must present a tort claim form to its designated agent and then wait 60 calendar days. Claims against the State go to the Office of Risk Management with the same 60 day wait. The form has to be presented within the normal limitation period, and that period is paused during the 60 days.RCW 4.96.020; RCW 4.92.100; RCW 4.92.110
Deadline to sue for an injury
Generally two years for an injury caused by someone else’s wrongful act or carelessness.Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 335.1
For an uninsured motorist claim, one of three things must happen within two years of the crash: a lawsuit is filed against the uninsured driver, an agreement on the amount is reached with your insurer, or arbitration is formally started in writing by certified mail.Cal. Ins. Code § 11580.2(i)
California's rule is the strictest. Within two years of the crash, a lawsuit must be filed against the uninsured driver, or the amount must be agreed with your insurer, or arbitration must be formally started in writing. Talking to an adjuster does not count as any of those.
In Texas the claim against your own insurer is a contract claim. The Supreme Court of Texas has also held that an insurer has no contractual duty to pay underinsured motorist benefits until a judgment establishes the other driver's liability and underinsured status, which shapes how these claims are pursued there.
Your policy has its own conditions too, including prompt notice. Tell your insurer about the crash right away, even if you are not yet sure the other driver was uninsured.
If you had no insurance yourself
Being uninsured does not make the crash your fault, and it does not excuse the driver who caused it. But in California it limits what you can recover.
Effect of the injured person having no insurance
California
Texas
Washington
If you had no insurance yourself
If you owned or drove a vehicle in the crash that was not insured as the law requires, you can still recover your medical bills and lost income from the driver at fault, but not damages for pain and suffering. There is an exception for an uninsured owner who was hit by a driver later convicted of driving under the influence.Cal. Civ. Code § 3333.4
No rule published here for this state. Ask us.
No rule published here for this state. Ask us.
This is a California rule, adopted by voters as Proposition 213. Driving without insurance has its own penalties in every state, but those are separate from your injury claim.
Why your own insurer may push back
It can be a surprise to find your own insurance company arguing with you. In an uninsured motorist claim, your insurer is paying what the other driver would have owed, so it is entitled to raise what that driver could have raised: that you were partly at fault, that your injuries are not as serious as you say, or that they came from something else.
It is still your insurer, and it still owes you fair dealing under your policy. But on the question of how much the claim is worth, it is on the other side.
Steps to take
Call the police and make sure there is a report. For a hit and run, do it at once.
Get medical care.
Notify your own insurer promptly, in writing if you can.
Ask for a complete copy of your policy, including the declarations page and any signed rejection of coverage.
Keep evidence of the other vehicle: photos, paint transfer, witnesses, video.
Do not let the two year mark approach without advice, especially in California.
The driver is still responsible, but collecting from someone with no insurance is hard. The claim usually moves to the uninsured motorist coverage on your own auto policy, which pays what the other driver’s insurance would have paid, up to your limit. Medical payments coverage or PIP can pay medical bills regardless of who was at fault.
How do I know if I have uninsured motorist coverage?
Read the declarations page of your policy and look for uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage and its limits. In California, Texas and Washington the coverage is part of an auto policy unless it was rejected or removed in writing, so more people have it than realize it. If it is not listed, ask your insurer for a copy of the signed rejection.
I had no insurance but the crash was not my fault. Can I still recover?
Being uninsured does not make the crash your fault. In California it does limit what you can recover: you can still recover medical bills and lost income from the driver at fault, but not damages for pain and suffering, with an exception for an uninsured owner hit by a driver later convicted of driving under the influence. That is a California rule. Driving without insurance has its own penalties in every state, separate from your injury claim.
What should I do after a hit and run?
Call the police at once and tell your own insurer promptly. A hit and run is treated as an uninsured motorist claim with extra conditions. In California and Texas there must have been physical contact with the other vehicle, and California also requires a police report within 24 hours and a sworn statement to your insurer within 30 days after that. In Washington, when the other vehicle never touched yours, the claim needs evidence beyond your own account and a report to law enforcement within 72 hours.
How long do I have to make an uninsured motorist claim?
It is not the same as the deadline to sue the other driver. In California, within two years of the crash a lawsuit must be filed against the uninsured driver, the amount must be agreed with your insurer, or arbitration must be formally started in writing. In Texas a claim against your own insurer is a contract claim, generally subject to a four year limit, while the deadline to sue the driver is still two years. This site does not publish a Washington rule on this point, so ask us.
Why would my own insurance company fight my uninsured motorist claim?
In an uninsured motorist claim your insurer pays what the other driver would have owed, so it is entitled to raise what that driver could have raised: that you were partly at fault, or that your injuries are not as serious as you say. It still owes you fair dealing under your policy. But on the question of how much the claim is worth, it is on the other side.
Can I sue an uninsured driver personally?
A driver with no insurance is still responsible for the harm they cause. The trouble is collecting, because someone who could not afford insurance rarely has money to pay a judgment. In California, filing a lawsuit against that driver within two years is also one of the ways to protect a claim under your own policy.
Sources
Primary sources for the rules on this page. Checked on the dates shown.
This site gives general legal information. It is not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney client relationship. Deadlines depend on the facts. Some are much shorter than the general rule. Do not rely on this page to decide how long you can wait.
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