If you are in a car accident in Los Angeles that is not your fault, you should be compensated. That is what the law says. You should be able to go the doctors you pick for treatment. You should receive your salary. You should be compensated for how the pain from your injuries impacts your life and restricts your activities. Maybe you cannot do your daily run, or bike ride. Maybe it hurts when you do your laundry or clean the kitchen, but it still has to get done. You are entitled to compensation.
But what if the person that hits you only has the minimum required liability policy, or worse, no insurance at all. That is where uninsured or underinsured motorist insurance can help protect you.
If the person that hits you and causes the accident does not have insurance, it is not likely that person will compensate you for your injuries. Typically if people do not have the money to pay for their insurance, they do not have any money to compensate you. Uninsured motorist insurance coverage replaces that insurance coverage that the person that caused the collision should have had. It stands in the place of insurance for the at-fault party so that you can recover if you are injured.