Two policies, two directions

After a collision there are two insurance relationships, and they work differently:

  • Third-party claim — against the at-fault driver's liability policy. It pays only after fault and damages are established, and it pays what is owed, up to the policy limits.
  • First-party claim — against your own policy: collision coverage for the vehicle, medical payments coverage where carried, and uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage.

UM/UIM is the backstop

Uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage steps in when the at-fault driver has no coverage or too little. California requires it on auto policies unless the insured declines it in writing (Insurance Code §11580.2) — which is why the structure of a claim always asks two questions: what does the other driver carry, and what does your own policy carry.

The statutory minimums

SB 1107 — the Protect California Drivers Act — raised California's minimum liability limits for policies issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2025, to $30,000 for bodily injury per person, $60,000 per accident, and $15,000 for property damage (Insurance Code §11580.1b). Policies issued before that date may still carry the older 15/30/5 minimums until renewal.

A minimum-limits policy is a ceiling on what that policy pays — not a target, and not a statement about what an injury costs. When the at-fault policy is at the minimum, the difference between the policy and the loss is exactly the situation UM/UIM coverage exists for.

Causation is the spine of the claim

A soft-tissue claim turns on causation: that the injury came from the collision. Delayed onset makes that harder to see and easier to document — the contemporaneous record is what connects the crash to the complaint. The delayed-onset file and the documentation file are the causation file's two halves.

What this desk will not do

No settlement figures, no averages, no "what your case is worth" calculators. California applies pure comparative fault — recovery is reduced by the claimant's own percentage of fault, not eliminated by it (Li v. Yellow Cab, 13 Cal.3d 804) — and value is established from liability, documented damages, and negotiation, none of which can be computed from a web page.

The structure, not the outcome. This desk explains the frame. Whether to accept any offer, and what any specific claim is worth, are questions for a licensed attorney — this desk gives none of that advice.