Uninsured Motorist Coverage Without a Signed Rejection

Attorney Answer

If you never signed a rejection of uninsured motorist coverage, that coverage is very likely in your policy whether or not the declarations page shows it. In California the coverage is included by law unless the insured deletes it in writing, and an insurer that says "you only bought liability" is making a claim it has to be able to prove with a document.

Cal. Ins. Code § 11580.2(a)(1) requires bodily injury liability policies issued or delivered in this state to contain uninsured motorist coverage, or to have it added by endorsement, at limits at least equal to those set in subdivision (m). Coverage can be deleted only by written agreement, on the forms the statute prescribes. The minimum limits in subdivision (m) have changed over time, so what applies to a given policy depends on when that policy was issued or renewed — a point worth pinning down with a lawyer rather than reading off a current summary.

Two California decisions put real weight behind the writing requirement. In Mission Insurance Co. v. Brown, 63 Cal. 2d 508 (1965), the Supreme Court treated the statutory waiver as something that has to be made completely and in the form the statute requires; a partial or informal cutting-back of the coverage is not effective. In Dufresne v. Elite Insurance Co., 26 Cal. App. 3d 916 (1972), the Court of Appeal held that a broker signing on the insured's behalf with only oral authority did not produce a valid written rejection, so the uninsured motorist coverage remained in force. Dufresne discusses an earlier version of the statute — the current text governs your policy — but the principle holds: the rejection has to be the insured's own, and it has to be in writing.

Suing is usually the second step, not the first. The ordinary route is to press the claim under the policy as it stands, and the regulations give you leverage. Under Cal. Code Regs. tit. 10, § 2695.7(b), an insurer must accept or deny a claim within 40 calendar days of receiving proof of claim. Under § 2695.7(b)(1), a denial of a first-party claim must be in writing and must state every basis for it, including the policy provision relied on and how it applies. Under § 2695.7(b)(3), that written denial has to tell you that you may have the matter reviewed by the California Department of Insurance, and give you the unit's address and telephone number. And under § 2695.7(f), before relying on a time limit to deny an uninsured motorist claim, the insurer must give you at least 30 days' advance written notice of the expiration date. A claim against a broker for failing to obtain coverage you asked for is a separate theory with its own requirements, and it belongs in a conversation with a lawyer, not in a call with the insurer.

What you can do

1. Ask the insurer in writing for a complete certified copy of the policy — declarations, endorsements and application — and for any signed uninsured motorist rejection form it claims to hold. Ask for the denial in writing too, with each basis stated.

2. Gather your own papers: the original application, anything the broker gave or emailed you, premium notices, and any earlier declarations pages. An uninsured motorist premium line on an older page is a useful thing to find.

3. Under Cal. Code Regs. tit. 10, § 2695.5(b), a licensee must respond to a claimant's communication within 15 calendar days, so put every request in writing and date it.

4. File a complaint with the California Department of Insurance. It is free, and under Cal. Code Regs. tit. 10, § 2695.5(a) the insurer has 21 calendar days to give the Department a complete written response about the claim.

5. Do not sign a release, cash a settlement check marked final, or give a recorded statement about coverage before a lawyer has read the policy file.

6. Ask a local attorney about both routes at once — the claim under the policy and a claim against the broker. The evidence for each is in the same file.

Most lawyers offer a brief initial call at no cost, and a few minutes on your specific facts is worth more than any general guidance, including this page.

⏱ Time limits apply. An injury claim in California runs on the two years given by Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 335.1, and an uninsured motorist claim carries additional timing requirements under Cal. Ins. Code § 11580.2 and under your own policy, which are not the same dates. A claim against a broker has its own period again. Nothing on this page computes yours. Take the policy, the denial and your dates to a local attorney promptly.