If a driver hit you and drove off, the coverage most likely to pay for your injuries is the uninsured motorist coverage on your own auto policy. In California a hit-and-run driver who cannot be identified is treated as an uninsured driver, so the same coverage that protects you from a driver with no insurance protects you from one who fled. Your insurance company is obligated to handle the claim fairly even though it is the one writing the check.
There are conditions. The crash has to be reported to police within 24 hours, you have to be able to show that another vehicle was involved, and the claim has to be made within the time limits in your policy. This guide explains how the coverage works, how to read your declarations page, and what to do in the first day so the claim is not lost on a technicality.
Why a hit and run becomes a claim against your own insurer
California drivers are required to carry liability insurance, and since January 1, 2025 the minimums are $30,000 per person, $60,000 per accident and $15,000 for property damage under Vehicle Code 16056. Liability insurance pays the people the policyholder hurts. It does nothing for you when the policyholder cannot be found.
That is what uninsured motorist coverage is for. Insurance Code 11580.2 requires every insurer selling auto policies in California to offer uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage, and most drivers have it, often without remembering that they said yes. The statute includes hit-and-run drivers in the definition of an uninsured motor vehicle. If the driver is never identified, your uninsured motorist bodily injury coverage stands in for the liability insurance the fleeing driver should have had. If the driver is later found with a minimum policy, your underinsured motorist coverage can pay the difference between their limits and yours.
Your own insurance company then becomes the party evaluating your injury claim. The company has a financial interest in paying less, and the same rules about recorded statements and early offers apply, covered in our guide on recorded statements to insurance companies. At the same time, the company owes you the duties it owes every policyholder, including the duty to investigate and to accept or deny the claim within 40 days of receiving proof of the claim under the Fair Claims Settlement Practices Regulations (10 CCR 2695.7).
The hit-and-run conditions that trip people up
The uninsured motorist statute sets specific requirements for hit-and-run claims, and insurance companies enforce them strictly.
First, the accident must be reported to the police or the California Highway Patrol within 24 hours. On surface streets in the Valley that means LAPD, usually the Devonshire, Topanga, West Valley or Van Nuys divisions. On the 118, the 101 or the 405 it means the CHP. A report filed three days later gives the company an argument that the claim does not qualify.
Second, there must be physical contact between the unidentified vehicle and you or your car, or, in some situations, evidence corroborating that the other vehicle existed. A driver who swerved at you and caused you to hit a pole without touching your car is a harder claim. Paint transfer, damage to your bumper, dash camera footage, a witness who saw the other car, and debris on the road all help.
Third, you must be able to show that the other driver was at fault. The fact that they fled helps, but it is not proof by itself. The police report, the damage pattern and any witnesses do that work.
Fourth, if the company disputes the claim, the dispute generally goes to arbitration rather than to a jury, and most policies require you to demand arbitration within two years of the accident, which lines up with the general two-year limit under Code of Civil Procedure 335.1. Missing that date can end the claim.
Read your declarations page
Before you call anyone, find your declarations page. It is the one- or two-page summary that comes with every policy renewal, usually available in your insurance company’s app under documents. Here is exactly what to look for.
- The uninsured motorist bodily injury line, often labeled UM, UMBI or UM/UIM. It will show two numbers, for example 30/60 or 100/300. The first is the most the policy pays to one injured person; the second is the most it pays for everyone hurt in one accident. This is the coverage that pays for your injuries after a hit and run.
- The underinsured motorist line, sometimes combined with the line above. It matters if the driver is later identified and has too little insurance.
- Uninsured motorist property damage, labeled UMPD. This coverage is generally limited to a modest set amount, and for a hit and run it usually requires that the driver be identified. Check whether you have it and what it says.
- Medical payments coverage, labeled Med Pay. This is optional coverage that pays medical bills for you and your passengers regardless of fault. It pays quickly and does not wait for the injury claim to resolve.
- Collision coverage and its deductible. If the other driver is unknown, collision is what repairs your car. You pay the deductible up front, and the company may recover it later if the driver is found.
- The named insureds and listed drivers. Uninsured motorist coverage typically follows the people on the policy, which matters if you were hit as a pedestrian or while riding in someone else’s car.
- The policy period. Confirm the accident date falls inside it.
If your declarations page shows no uninsured motorist line at all, look for a signed waiver. The coverage can only be dropped in writing, and companies sometimes cannot produce the waiver when asked.
What to do in the first 24 hours
The order of operations after a hit and run is different from an ordinary crash because the report deadline is short and the evidence disappears fast.
- Call 911 from the scene if you can, even if you think you are not badly hurt. The call log becomes proof that you reported the crash on time.
- Write down everything you remember about the other vehicle: color, type, any part of the plate, direction of travel, damage you saw.
- Photograph your vehicle, the debris, the skid marks, and the intersection, including any traffic or business cameras pointed at the scene.
- Ask nearby businesses to preserve their video. Gas stations along Devonshire and the shopping centers on Topanga Canyon Boulevard in Canoga Park routinely have cameras facing the street, and the footage often overwrites within days.
- Get seen the same day. Providence Holy Cross, Northridge Hospital and West Hills Hospital all have emergency departments, and urgent care works if the injuries are minor. Tell the provider it was a hit and run.
- File the police report within 24 hours if you did not do it at the scene.
- Notify your own insurance company that you are making an uninsured motorist claim. Give the basic facts and decline a recorded statement until you have talked to a lawyer.
- File the DMV SR-1 within 10 days if anyone was injured or damage exceeds $1,000, as Vehicle Code 16000 requires.
How the claim is valued and paid
An uninsured motorist claim covers the same categories of loss as a claim against an at-fault driver: medical expenses, lost wages, future care, and compensation for pain and the effect of the injury on your life. The cap is your policy limit. A driver with 30/60 uninsured motorist coverage and a serious injury can recover at most $30,000 from that coverage, no matter how strong the case. That is the reason to check the number on your declarations page today and to consider raising it. The cost of moving from minimum limits to 100/300 is usually modest.
Med Pay payments may be offset depending on the policy, and medical bills are measured by what was actually paid or owed, not the amount billed, under the rule from Howell v. Hamilton Meats, which our guide on who pays medical bills after a car accident explains in more detail.
If the company and the injured person cannot agree on value, the dispute goes to arbitration. Arbitration is faster than a lawsuit and private, but it is still a contested proceeding decided by a neutral arbitrator on medical evidence and testimony. We prepare an uninsured motorist claim the same way we prepare a case for trial, because the company decides its offer based on what it expects to happen if the claim does not settle.
When the driver is found
Police identify hit-and-run drivers more often than people expect, usually through plate fragments, camera footage or a body shop report. If the driver has insurance, the claim proceeds against their policy first, and your underinsured motorist coverage fills the gap if their limits are too low. If the driver has no insurance, the claim stays with your own company.
Our post on what happens when the driver who hit you has no insurance walks through that path, and our article on a Chatsworth hit and run resulting in a wrongful death claim covers the hardest version of these cases, where the family’s own uninsured motorist coverage becomes the source of recovery.
The Valley angle
In the northwest Valley the hit-and-run calls we get come from the Topanga Canyon Boulevard corridor through Canoga Park and Chatsworth, the Roscoe and Sherman Way intersections near the 405 ramps, and the transition roads onto the 118. Pedestrians and cyclists on Sherman Way and Vanowen are hit at night by drivers who do not stop. If the crash was in Canoga Park, our Canoga Park injury page covers the local police division and hospitals. Cases that involve an identified driver are generally filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, at the Van Nuys or Chatsworth courthouse for this part of the county.
How Manoukian Law Firm handles a hit-and-run claim
The first call is about deadlines: confirming the police report was made within 24 hours, locating the declarations page, and putting the insurance company on written notice. Then the evidence work begins, with preservation letters to businesses with cameras, a request for the police report, and medical documentation from the first visit forward. Every case is prepared as if it will be tried, and the firm helps clients in English, Spanish and Armenian. Meetings take place at the Chatsworth office, by phone or video, or in the hospital. Our car accident page describes the full process.
Key points
- A hit-and-run driver who cannot be identified is treated as an uninsured driver, so your own uninsured motorist coverage pays for your injuries.
- The crash must be reported to police within 24 hours, and there generally must be physical contact or other evidence that another vehicle was involved.
- Your declarations page shows your UM/UIM limits, Med Pay, and collision deductible; the UM limit is the most you can recover from that coverage.
- Your insurance company is still evaluating an injury claim, so decline a recorded statement until you have advice.
- Uninsured motorist disputes go to arbitration, usually with a two-year deadline to demand it.
- Business and traffic camera footage overwrites within days, so preservation requests need to go out immediately.
Frequently asked questions
Will my rates go up if I make an uninsured motorist claim?
California law generally prohibits an insurer from raising your rates or treating you as at fault for an accident in which you were not principally at fault. A hit and run where the other driver fled is the classic example. Ask the company in writing if you are told otherwise.
I did not report it to the police the same day. Is the claim gone?
Not automatically, but the 24-hour rule in Insurance Code 11580.2 gives the company a defense. Report it now, explain the delay, and gather every other piece of evidence you can. Whether the claim survives depends on the policy language and the facts, and it is worth having a lawyer review it before you accept a denial.
I was hit while walking. Does my car insurance still apply?
Usually yes. Uninsured motorist coverage typically follows the named insureds and resident relatives whether they are in a car, on a bicycle or on foot. If you do not have a policy, a relative you live with may have one that covers you.
The other driver swerved at me but never touched my car. Can I claim?
It depends on your policy and the evidence. Some policies require physical contact for a hit-and-run claim; others accept independent corroboration such as a witness or video. Dash camera footage makes a large difference in these cases.
If you were hurt in a hit and run in Canoga Park, Chatsworth or anywhere in California, call Manoukian Law Firm at (818) 818-5031 or reach us through our contact page. Consultations are free and there is no fee unless we win.
