UM: when they have nothing
Uninsured driver, or a hit-and-run never solved — your UM coverage stands in their shoes. Conditions matter: hit-and-run claims typically require a prompt police report and sometimes physical contact (the reason the playbook leads with reporting). Damages are proven like any claim: records, wages, life impact.
UIM: when they have too little
Hypothetically: a driver T-boned on El Camino Real carries $110,000 in damages against the other driver's 15/30 minimum policy. UIM bridges from their $15,000 toward your own limits — after the underlying policy pays. The trap that voids these claims: settling with the at-fault insurer without your UIM carrier's written consent. Sequence matters; sign nothing before the coverage picture is read.
The military-town wrinkle: out-of-state policies
Half of Pendleton insures cars in Texas, Florida, or wherever home is — and those policies travel. A California crash claims against an out-of-state UM/UIM policy normally, under that policy's terms. Bring the declarations page to the consult; the coverage you have is often better (or worse) than you assume, and either answer matters.
Stacking, and who you're really negotiating with
Household policies count — a resident relative's UM, the vehicle's policy, multiple cars. Coverage-finding routinely turns token recoveries into real ones. And remember: a UM/UIM claim puts your own insurer across the table, with the same adverse math as any carrier — but owing YOU enforceable good-faith duties. When a fair claim stalls, that duty has teeth.
