When you bought your current auto policy, there’s a good chance you signed a stack of forms without reading every page. One of those pages may have been a written agreement to remove or reduce uninsured motorist coverage. California requires insurers to include this protection unless you decline it in writing, and many drivers don’t remember making that choice at all.
Three Related Coverages, Explained
- Uninsured motorist bodily injury
- Helps with injuries to you and your passengers when an at-fault driver has no insurance. In California, it can also apply to certain hit-and-run crashes, generally when there was physical contact with the other vehicle.
- Underinsured motorist coverage
- Built into California’s uninsured motorist coverage, it helps when the at-fault driver has some insurance but lower limits than your own coverage.
- Uninsured motorist property damage
- A separate, more limited coverage for damage to your car. It typically requires that the uninsured driver be identified.
Why a Waiver Is Worth Revisiting
Liability coverage only protects other people when you cause a crash. It does nothing for your own injuries when someone else is responsible and can’t pay. For drivers logging long miles on Highway 99, Highway 132, and the commute over the Altamont, that gap can matter.
How to Check Your Own Policy
- Find “Uninsured Motorist” on your declarations page
- Compare those limits to your bodily injury liability limits
- If it’s missing or lower, ask whether a written waiver is on file
- Remember that a waiver generally carries forward at renewal until you change it
Changing Your Mind Is Allowed
Declining this coverage years ago doesn’t lock you in. Coverage can usually be added back at your request, often effective at renewal or sooner, depending on the carrier.
Giddings Specialty Insurance Services has helped drivers across Modesto, Ceres, Riverbank, Salida, Oakdale, and Turlock review the fine print since 2016. Learn more about our auto insurance options, or reach out through Giddings Specialty Insurance Services in Modesto, CA to see whether your uninsured motorist coverage is where you want it.
