Policy Limits & Policy-Limit Demands in California
Insurance policies have limits — a maximum the insurer will pay. When your injuries are worth more than the at-fault driver's coverage, the question becomes how to reach the available limits and whether any other source can help.
What policy limits mean for you
Every driver's liability coverage caps what their insurer will pay, and some carry only the minimum required. When your losses exceed that cap, the coverage alone may not make you whole, which makes finding every available source of recovery important.
The policy-limit demand
In a serious case, a well-supported demand for the full policy limits, made properly and with a deadline, can pressure an insurer to pay everything available rather than risk more. Handled correctly, it protects your interests and can matter later if the insurer refuses unreasonably.
Other sources when limits are not enough
When the at-fault coverage falls short, your own underinsured motorist coverage may help, and there may be additional responsible parties or policies — an employer, another driver, or an umbrella policy. Identifying these can meaningfully increase what is available.
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Frequently asked questions
What if my injuries are worth more than the driver's insurance?
You may still have options. Your own underinsured motorist coverage can help, and there may be additional parties or policies — an employer, another driver, or an umbrella policy — worth pursuing.
What is a policy-limit demand?
It is a properly supported demand for the full available limits, made with a deadline, that can pressure an insurer to pay everything available. Handled correctly, it also matters if the insurer unreasonably refuses.
The at-fault driver only had minimum coverage. Now what?
Look to your own underinsured motorist coverage and any other responsible parties or policies. Finding every available source is often the difference in these cases.
California law — what people ask
How long do I have to file an injury claim in California?
Generally two years from the date you were hurt. If a government entity is involved — a city vehicle, a public road, a public hospital — you usually have to present a formal claim to that agency within roughly six months before you can sue at all, which catches people out far more often than the two-year date.
Can I still recover if I was partly at fault in California?
Yes. California uses pure comparative negligence, so your recovery is reduced by your percentage of fault rather than barred — even if your share turns out to be the larger one. There is no cutoff percentage that ends a claim here.
Does California cap what I can recover?
Not in an ordinary injury case. Medical-malpractice claims are the main exception, where non-economic damages are limited by a cap that steps up over time. For most claims — car crashes, falls, defective products — there is no statutory ceiling.
What if more than one person was responsible?
California splits the analysis: defendants can be jointly responsible for your economic losses such as medical bills and lost income, while non-economic damages like pain and suffering are apportioned to each defendant by its own share of fault.
The driver who hit me had no insurance. What now?
Your own uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage is usually the answer, and it commonly applies to hit-and-run collisions as well. Check every policy in the household, not only the one covering the car you were in.
Will the jury hear that my health insurance paid my bills?
Generally not. California follows the collateral source rule, so a wrongdoer does not get credit for insurance you paid for. How your medical damages are measured is a separate and often contested question.
Injury law in California
California injury law shapes your case in a few specific ways worth knowing early.
- Filing deadline: You generally have two years from the date of the injury to file — and only about six months to put a government entity on notice before you can sue.
- Fault: California follows pure comparative negligence, so you can still recover even if you were partly — or mostly — at fault, with your recovery reduced by your share of the blame.
- Damage caps: An ordinary California injury case has no cap on damages; medical-malpractice claims are the main exception.
- Uninsured drivers: California sets minimum auto-insurance limits and uninsured/underinsured-motorist rules that affect what coverage is available.
Related car accident types
California injury law
This is general information about California injury law, not legal advice. Every case is different.
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