Uninsured & Underinsured Motorist Claims
The driver who hit you may carry minimal coverage — or none. Your own policy may be the real source of recovery, and your own insurer will not make it easy.
Serious Injuries, Minimal Limits
A driver carrying California minimum coverage can cause a six-figure injury — and their insurer's obligation stops at the policy limit.
We see it constantly: a badly injured client, a clearly at-fault driver, and a policy that doesn't begin to cover the harm. The at-fault carrier tenders its small limits quickly and considers the matter closed. For many firms, that's the end of the case. For us, it's the midpoint — because the client's own uninsured/underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) coverage is often worth far more, if it's handled correctly.
A Representative Example
A bicyclist we represented was struck by a car making an illegal turn and suffered multiple fractures and a collapsed lung. The at-fault driver carried minimal limits, which we collected. We then pursued our client's underinsured motorist coverage — his own carrier's first offer was roughly half of what the claim ultimately resolved for. After more than a year of supplemental demands, updated medical evidence, and preparation for arbitration, the UIM claim settled for $300,000. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
How UM/UIM Coverage Works
- Uninsured motorist (UM): applies when the at-fault driver has no insurance or flees the scene (qualifying hit-and-run)
- Underinsured motorist (UIM): applies when the at-fault driver's limits are less than your UM/UIM limits — in California, your recovery is generally the difference between your UIM limit and what the at-fault carrier paid
- It follows you, not just your car: UM/UIM coverage can apply when you're a passenger, a pedestrian, or riding a bicycle
- Disputes go to arbitration: UM/UIM claims that can't be settled are decided in arbitration rather than a jury trial — a process with its own strategy and deadlines
Traps That Can Destroy a UM/UIM Claim
- Settling with the at-fault carrier without your insurer's written consent. Doing so can forfeit your UIM coverage entirely. We sequence the claims correctly.
- Assuming your insurer is on your side. In a UM/UIM claim, your own carrier evaluates the claim the way a defendant would.
- Leaving medical payments coverage on the table — or not knowing how MedPay reimbursement affects your net recovery. In one matter we negotiated a full waiver of the carrier's MedPay reimbursement claim on top of the UIM settlement.
- Missing the long game. Serious injuries evolve. We've used updated imaging and surgical recommendations months into a claim to move an insurer's number substantially.
Your Insurer Will Negotiate Like an Opponent. So Do We.
UM/UIM negotiations are often slower and more grinding than third-party claims — rounds of offers, requests for more records, and adjusters hoping you'll wear down. We respond with documented supplemental demands, comparable verdict research, lost earning capacity analysis where it applies, and a clear willingness to take the claim to arbitration. Carriers track which firms follow through.