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Sunset West Legal Group, PC represents people hit by uninsured and underinsured drivers across Los Angeles and California, and has recovered over $150 million for injury clients. Founding partner Payton Kashani handles the UM/UIM claims and arbitration that these cases turn on, forcing your own insurer to pay what it owes. We work on a no win, no fee basis and offer free consultations. Available 24/7. Hablamos Español.
When the driver who hurt you has no insurance, or not enough, the fight often shifts to your own insurance company, and it will not simply hand over what you are owed. Sunset West Legal Group knows how to pursue these claims and how to win them at arbitration when an insurer refuses to be fair.
These are among the most technically complex injury claims, because the compensation comes through insurance rules rather than a straightforward claim against an at-fault driver. Handled well, that coverage can be the difference between full recovery and financial hardship.
Over $150 million recovered. More than 200 five-star reviews. No fee unless we win. Available 24/7. Hablamos Español.
California’s Insurance Code defines an uninsured vehicle as one not covered by a liability policy. That includes several situations beyond a driver who simply carries no insurance.
A vehicle is treated as uninsured where coverage is denied, such as for an excluded driver, or where the vehicle was stolen. A hit-and-run vehicle whose owner cannot be identified counts as uninsured. So does a vehicle whose insurer goes out of business while your claim is still pending.
Around one in six California drivers is uninsured, so this is a far more common problem than most people expect.
Uninsured motorist coverage comes in two forms, and the difference matters.
Uninsured motorist bodily injury, or UMBI, covers injuries to you and anyone in your vehicle when an uninsured, at-fault driver causes the crash. The benefit cannot exceed your own personal liability limit.
Uninsured motorist property damage, or UMPD, pays for damage to your car in the same situation, but it is capped at $3,500 and only applies when the uninsured driver has been identified.
This coverage is offered to every California motorist, but it is optional. A driver can decline it, though only in writing, and declining it is a decision many later regret.
California law requires every driver to carry insurance, but many carry only the legal minimum. As of January 1, 2025, under Senate Bill 1107, those minimum limits are $30,000 for injury or death to one person, $60,000 for injury or death to more than one person, and $15,000 for property damage.
Even these raised limits often fall short of what a serious injury actually costs. A single herniated disc can generate more than $30,000 in medical bills alone, before lost wages and future care.
That is the gap underinsured motorist coverage fills. It covers your injury costs when the at-fault driver’s insurance is not enough to pay for the harm they caused, up to your own policy limit. This protection has grown even more important since a 2026 change reduced the uninsured motorist coverage that Uber and Lyft carry during a trip.
To bring an uninsured motorist claim, you must establish that the other driver was at fault and was uninsured. That makes prompt notice to your insurer essential, and prompt notice is required for an underinsured claim too, within a limited window.
An uninsured claim resembles an ordinary car accident claim in one respect: the insurer will often open with an immediate offer for as little as possible. Where a fair settlement cannot be reached, these claims are resolved through formal arbitration, and we are well equipped to serve a demand and present your case. If arbitration does not resolve the matter, a hearing before an arbitrator produces a binding decision.
Insurers count on claimants not knowing this process. We use it to hold them to account.
Sunset West Legal Group has recovered over $150 million for clients across California, including a $2 million full-policy recovery in a collision that required a comparative-fault rebuttal. Founding partner Payton Kashani has been licensed in California since 2012 and named to Super Lawyers’ Rising Stars list every year from 2018 to 2022. Attorney Josh Teller supports the firm’s cases and holds Rising Stars recognition for 2025 and 2026.
We advise you at every step, negotiate hard with your insurer, and take a case to arbitration or trial when that is what fair compensation requires.
Your consultation is free, and you pay nothing unless we win. Our team is available 24/7 to review your case and explain your options.
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At Sunset West Legal Group, we understand that every injury case is different. We have recovered millions for our clients by advising them on the next steps, negotiating on their behalf with powerful insurance companies, and even representing clients in court in front of a jury. Your free consultation is the first step in letting us help you get the justice and compensation you deserve.
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Not without your own insurer’s consent first, and this is the single most common way people lose an underinsured motorist claim by accident. When your insurer later pays a UIM claim, it gains the right to recover that money from the at-fault driver. If you sign a release with the at-fault driver’s insurer before your own carrier consents in writing, you can wipe out that right, and your insurer can then deny your UIM claim because of it. Before you accept any offer from the other driver’s insurance, notify your own insurer and get their consent in writing.
Generally, no. California law typically caps your recovery at the highest single applicable UM/UIM policy limit, rather than adding together the limits from every vehicle or policy in your household. If you and two vehicles each carry $50,000 in coverage, that usually doesn’t add up to $100,000 available for one accident. There are narrow exceptions depending on specific policy wording, so it’s worth having every policy in your household reviewed rather than assuming the answer either way.
Possibly, and many people never check. UM/UIM coverage isn’t limited to the person whose name is on the policy – it generally extends to resident relatives in the same household, and often to passengers riding in the insured vehicle at the time of the crash. That means a pedestrian or cyclist without a car of their own may still have a valid claim through a parent’s, spouse’s, or roommate’s auto policy. Don’t assume you have no coverage just because you weren’t driving or don’t own a vehicle. We check every policy that might apply.
Not every hit-and-run automatically qualifies, and the requirements catch people who wait too long. California generally requires some form of physical contact between your vehicle and the one that fled, or independent corroborating evidence like a witness if there was no contact, along with a prompt police report – commonly expected within 24 hours. These rules exist to guard against fraudulent claims, but they also mean a genuine hit-and-run victim can run into trouble if they didn’t report right away. Call the police at the scene, every time, even if the damage looks minor.
These are two different clocks, and the notice one is the one people miss. California doesn’t set a fixed number of days to notify your own insurer of a UM/UIM claim – your policy instead requires notice “as soon as practicable,” and a long delay lets the insurer argue it was harmed by the wait, even with no hard deadline in sight. Separately, the broader claim, whether that’s a lawsuit against the at-fault driver or a formal arbitration demand, generally has to proceed within two years of the crash. Don’t wait for that two-year window to feel urgent. Notify your insurer right away regardless.
WHY YOU NEED US NOW
I am very pleased by his work ethic and professionalism.
“I met and became acquainted with Mr. Kashani after my previous attorney was not capable of continuing my case to a trial. Mr. Kashani was able to step in and not only settle my case before trial, but he was able to secure a much larger settlement for me. I would certainly recommend him to my friends and family”
Los Angeles, CA - Car Accident
I am very pleased by his work ethic and professionalism.
“I met and became acquainted with Mr. Kashani after my previous attorney was not capable of continuing my case to a trial. Mr. Kashani was able to step in and not only settle my case before trial, but he was able to secure a much larger settlement for me. I would certainly recommend him to my friends and family”
Los Angeles, CA - Car Accident
I am very pleased by his work ethic and professionalism.
“I met and became acquainted with Mr. Kashani after my previous attorney was not capable of continuing my case to a trial. Mr. Kashani was able to step in and not only settle my case before trial, but he was able to secure a much larger settlement for me. I would certainly recommend him to my friends and family”
Los Angeles, CA - Car Accident
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