Uninsured or hit and run driver
The driver had no insurance, or drove off.
The short answer
- Look at your own declarations page for uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage. In all three states it is part of the policy unless someone rejected it in writing.
- Underinsured is the common case. The other driver had the legal minimum and your injuries cost more. Your coverage pays the difference up to its limit.
- Hit and run has conditions. California: physical contact, police report within 24 hours, sworn statement within 30 days. Texas: actual physical contact. Washington: a vehicle that never touched you needs outside proof and a police report within 72 hours.
- Your insurer is now the other side. It is still an insurer that pays less when it can, and it has the right to see your medical records and take your statement.
- Separate clocks. California’s uninsured motorist claim has a two year rule of its own. Texas treats the claim as a contract claim with four years. The suit against the driver still has the ordinary deadline.
The coverage you probably have
Every one of these states makes uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage part of an auto policy by default. California includes it unless the insurer and a named insured removed or reduced it in a signed writing. Texas includes it unless a named insured rejected it in writing. Washington’s underinsured motorist coverage, which also covers uninsured, hit and run and phantom vehicles, is in a new policy unless the named insured or spouse rejected it in writing. If you never signed a rejection, you have it.
Uninsured means the other driver had no liability policy at all, or the insurer denies the policy was in force. Underinsured means the other driver had a policy, but a small one: the legal minimum is $30,000 per person in California and Texas and $25,000 in Washington, and a hospital stay passes that. Your coverage pays the difference between what the other driver’s insurer paid and your actual loss, up to your own limit. If your own policy carries only low limits there is less room here, which is one reason to buy more than the minimum.
The driver who did not stop
A driver who flees is treated as an uninsured driver, and your coverage applies, with conditions that exist to stop invented crashes. California requires physical contact between the unidentified vehicle and you or your car, a report to the police within 24 hours, and a sworn statement to your insurer within 30 days after that. Texas requires actual physical contact with the unidentified vehicle; being forced off the road by a car that never touched yours is not enough. Washington is the most generous: a phantom vehicle that never made contact is covered, but only with evidence beyond your own account, and the crash must be reported to law enforcement within 72 hours.
The lesson across all three: call the police from the scene, even if the other car is gone and even if you feel fine.
Making the claim against your own insurer
The claim is made under your contract, so the policy’s words control. Expect your insurer to ask for medical records, a recorded statement and sometimes an examination by a doctor of its choosing. It is entitled to much of that under the policy, and it will use the answers to argue the injuries are smaller than claimed, exactly as the other driver’s insurer would. Having a lawyer in the conversation does not make your insurer the enemy; it makes the conversation even.
The clocks differ. In California one of three things must happen within two years of the crash: suit is filed against the uninsured driver, you and the insurer agree on the amount, or arbitration is formally demanded in writing by certified mail. In Texas the claim against your own insurer is a contract claim with a general four year limit, while the claim against the driver stays at two years. Washington has no separate statute on the point that this site has verified; the ordinary three year rule and the policy’s terms govern.
Medical bills in the meantime: Texas and Washington personal injury protection and California medical payments coverage, where you have them, pay regardless of fault. The who pays the bills page covers the order, and the deadlines page has every limitation period.
The rules, with their sources
These are the rules of law this page relies on. Each one is a general statement with exceptions that are not shown, and each links to the statute, regulation or court decision it comes from.
| Topic | 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. [1] | 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. [2] | 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. [3] |
| 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. [4] | 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. [5] | 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. [6] |
| Deadline for a claim under your own policy | 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. [7] | A claim against your own insurer for uninsured or underinsured motorist benefits is a contract claim, generally subject to a four year limit. The deadline to sue the driver who caused the crash is still two years. [8] | This state has no separate rule on this point that the site has verified. |
| 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. [9] | This state has no separate rule on this point that the site has verified. | This state has no separate rule on this point that the site has verified. |
| Coverage for your own medical bills | California does not require drivers to carry coverage for their own medical bills. Medical payments coverage is optional. Where a policy has it, it can pay for immediate medical care no matter who was at fault. [10] | 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. [11] | 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. [12] |
| Deadline to sue for an injury | Generally two years for an injury caused by someone else’s wrongful act or carelessness. [13] | Two years from the day the claim arises. For most crashes and falls that is the day of the injury. [14] | Three years for most injury claims. [15] |
Sources
- Cal. Ins. Code § 11580.2(a)
- Tex. Ins. Code § 1952.101
- RCW 48.22.030
- Cal. Ins. Code § 11580.2(b)
- Tex. Ins. Code § 1952.104(3)
- RCW 48.22.030(8)
- Cal. Ins. Code § 11580.2(i)
- Franco v. Allstate Ins. Co., 505 S.W.2d 789 (Tex. 1974); Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.051
- Cal. Civ. Code § 3333.4
- California Department of Insurance, Automobile Insurance Information Guide
- Tex. Ins. Code §§ 1952.152, 1952.153, 1952.155
- RCW 48.22.085; RCW 48.22.095
- Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 335.1
- Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.003(a)
- RCW 4.16.080(2)
The rules on this page were last checked against these sources on October 3, 2026. Laws change, so follow the link before you rely on a rule.
Attorney review in progress. Responsible attorney: Emery Brett Ledger. Page last updated October 26, 2026.