Uninsured versus underinsured motorist coverage
Uninsured motorist coverage may address a qualifying crash with a driver who has no applicable insurance. Underinsured motorist coverage raises questions when the other driver’s liability limits are too low under the policy and statute. Each coverage has conditions, and a damages claim is separate from an available payment source.
Sources: Insurance Code section 11580.2 ↗ · California DMV insurance requirements ↗
Why policy limits may not add together
Ask for the full policy, endorsements, coverage letters, and information about any payment already offered. Do not assume two policy limits stack. Before a release is signed, a lawyer can check whether it could affect other rights, required consent, or a claim involving your own insurer.
Sources: Insurance Code section 11580.2 ↗ · California DMV insurance requirements ↗
Records to check before signing a settlement release
For a useful review, keep the following information together. You do not need to enter it on this website.
- The sequence of the crash and what you personally saw.
- Report, witness, photo, and lawful video information.
- Policies, coverage letters, and any release or offer you received.
Sources: Insurance Code section 11580.2 ↗
READ THE DECISIONS
Court decisions relevant to san jose uninsured and underinsured motorist claims
Hartford Fire Ins. Co. v. Macri
(1992) 4 Cal.4th 318, pp. 323–329
No insurance and too little insurance are different problems. The court held that some coverage rules differ too.
Limits of this decision: Read the current law and policy. Do not assume the same steps apply to both kinds of coverage.
Read the opinion ↗Bouton v. USAA Casualty Ins. Co.
(2008) 43 Cal.4th 1190, pp. 1193–1202
Some coverage questions belong in court. They differ from the fault and money issues a policy sends to arbitration.
Limits of this decision: This does not prove that a given person is covered. The policy, law, and kind of dispute matter.
Read the opinion ↗Review information for this guide is recorded above. Read each decision with its stated limits.
Legal and agency sources for this page
Use the sources to read the underlying rule or current official process. A source link is not personal legal advice.
- Insurance Code section 11580.2 ↗
- California DMV insurance requirements ↗
- Hartford Fire Ins. Co. v. Macri (1992) 4 Cal.4th 318 ↗
- Bouton v. USAA Casualty Ins. Co. (2008) 43 Cal.4th 1190 ↗
Reviewed by Andrew Ronald Gillin · 2026-11-05 · Review and correction process