The one thing the insurer is hoping you never find out is that no plate number does not kill a Hawaii UM claim.

Before you know that, a passenger hurt in an Uber on Kamehameha Highway or the Likelike during storm flooding usually assumes the case is dead if the other car vanished.

After you know it, the job becomes proving three things: there was a real crash, the other driver caused it, and the at-fault vehicle was uninsured or unidentified.

The best proof is a same-day record. In Kaneohe, call HPD from the scene if you can. Get the police report number, the Uber trip screenshot, driver name, vehicle info, pickup and dropoff details, and exact location. If it happened during monsoon or hurricane-season rain, note road conditions like standing water, flash flooding, or storm debris because insurers love to shrug and say "weather," as if weather drives the car.

Then lock down outside evidence fast:

• Uber app records and ride receipt
• Photos of vehicle damage, roadway, skid marks, debris, flooding
• Names and numbers of witnesses
• ER/urgent care records tying injuries to that crash date
• Nearby business, home, or traffic camera footage
• Any dashcam from the Uber or nearby cars

For coverage, start with the Uber driver's policy and the rideshare company's policy. If the hit-and-run driver is never identified, a UM claim may be made under the applicable policy, and sometimes under your own auto policy too, even though you were just a passenger. If the other driver is found but only carries bare-minimum coverage, that can shift into UIM territory.

In Hawaii, notify insurers promptly. Do not sit on it. A passenger is rarely blamed, but Hawaii uses a 51% bar rule, so the clearer your evidence, the less room there is for an adjuster to invent fault.