What Are California’s Minimum Car Insurance Requirements?
Since January 1, 2025, California requires liability coverage of at least $30,000 per person and $60,000 per accident for injuries, plus $15,000 for property damage — double the old 15/30/5 limits. A second increase to 50/100/25 is already scheduled for 2035. Many websites still quote the outdated numbers.
Coverage questions after a crash? Ask — 24/7.
Se habla español — Llama Me. No out-of-pocket fees — we work on contingency.
What exactly is required right now?
Under SB 1107 (2022), effective 2025-01-01, every California driver must carry liability limits of at least $30,000 per person / $60,000 per accident / $15,000 property damage (Veh. Code § 16056). The same law schedules a further increase to $50,000 / $100,000 / $25,000 on January 1, 2035.
Is the minimum actually enough coverage?
For the injured person it’s often not: one ambulance ride, an ER visit, and an MRI can pass $30,000 before any treatment begins. That’s why your own uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage (Ins. Code § 11580.2) is the most important line on your own policy — it’s what protects you from other people’s minimal coverage. Insurers must offer it; declining it requires your signature. If you signed that waiver years ago, revisit it.
What happens if I drive without insurance in California?
Three separate consequences: a citation and fines (Veh. Code § 16029); license suspension if you’re in a reportable accident uninsured (§ 16070); and — least known, most expensive — Proposition 213 bars uninsured drivers from recovering pain-and-suffering damages even when the other driver was entirely at fault (Civ. Code § 3333.4).
The other driver only has minimum limits and my bills are bigger. Now what?
The usual sequence: collect the at-fault policy’s limits, then claim under your own underinsured motorist coverage for the difference up to your UM limits, and evaluate whether other policies apply — a household member’s policy, an employer’s policy if the driver was working, an umbrella policy. Chasing the driver personally is legally possible and usually not collectible. This stacking analysis is standard casework: is a lawyer worth it?
Do the new minimums apply to my existing policy?
Policies issued or renewed on or after 2025-01-01 must meet the new limits, so every active California policy has cycled up by now. If you carried exactly the old minimums, your insurer raised the limits (and likely the premium) at renewal. What the law did not raise is anyone’s UM coverage election — that’s still on you to review.
Not sure what coverage applies to your crash? We read policies for a living.
Se habla español — Llama Me. No out-of-pocket fees — we work on contingency.
