California's minimum limits went up in 2025, and they are still not enough for a serious claim.

California's minimum liability limits are $30,000, $60,000 and $15,000, written as 30/60/15 (California DMV, Insurance Requirements). SB 1107 made that section operative on January 1, 2025, and the same law adds another $20,000, $40,000 and $10,000 to those three figures on January 1, 2035, taking the statutory floor to 50/100/25 (SB 1107, 2021-22 Regular Session). The increase is already written into the Vehicle Code. If you are buying a policy today on the assumption that the minimum is settled, it is not.

The renewal that jumped, or the policy you inherited

Two things usually bring a California driver here. Either the renewal moved and you started shopping, or you are looking at a policy nobody has really read in years, often one that was set at the old minimum limits and never touched again.

Both deserve the same first question, and it isn't what does this cost. It is what happens if I am at fault in a bad accident on a California freeway. Medical bills, a totaled newer vehicle, and lost income for someone else add up past a minimum limit quickly, and whatever the limit does not pay, you do. That is the part of the conversation minimum-limit shopping skips.

If the renewal is what moved, our California insurance rate increase review covers how to read an increase on a California auto policy, which parts of it you can do something about, and which parts are the filing rather than your file.

What California requires, and what each coverage on the policy does

Liability is the required part. It pays other people when you are at fault. The three numbers split it: bodily injury per person, bodily injury per accident, and property damage. It doesn't pay for your own injuries or your own car.

Uninsured and underinsured motorist is optional and it's the coverage we most often find missing. Uninsured motorist bodily injury pays for injuries to you and the people in your car when an uninsured at-fault driver hits you, and the Department of Insurance notes its limits are the same as your liability limits. Uninsured motorist property damage is a separate coverage with a limit California sets at $3,500, and it only pays if the uninsured driver is identified. The Department also notes that your insurer must offer you uninsured motorist coverage, and that if you turn it down you have to sign a waiver saying so (California Department of Insurance, Automobile Insurance). That's why collision usually does the real work on your vehicle. If you don't remember being offered uninsured motorist coverage, there is probably a signed waiver in your file.

Comprehensive covers your vehicle for things that are not a collision: theft, fire, vandalism, glass, falling objects. Collision covers your vehicle in a crash regardless of fault. Both settle on the vehicle's value and both carry a deductible. Medical payments pays medical bills for you and your passengers up to a modest limit, without waiting for fault to be sorted out.

California doesn't use personal injury protection the way no-fault states do, so medical payments and health insurance carry that load. Our statewide auto insurance page goes through the coverages in more detail.

Where the California minimum leaves you exposed

That last row matters more than it looks. If you ever want a personal umbrella, the carrier will require your auto liability to sit at a certain level underneath it. A 30/60/15 policy generally won't qualify, so the minimum limit quietly closes a door you may want later.

What drives eligibility and price on a California auto policy

We don't publish premium figures we haven't quoted, and California averages found elsewhere won't tell you anything about your household. Here is what carriers actually rate and underwrite on.

Driving record. Violations, at-fault accidents, and how recent they are. Points matter, and so does the type.

Years licensed. How long each driver has held a license, which is also part of the Good Driver test below.

Household drivers. Everyone with access to the vehicles, including a teenager on a permit. Undisclosed drivers cause contested claims.

The vehicles. Make, model, year, safety features, repair cost and theft history.

Garaging address. The ZIP code where the car is actually parked overnight, not where you work or where you get mail.

Mileage and use. Annual miles, commute versus pleasure, and whether the car is ever used for delivery or rideshare work.

Limits and deductibles. What you choose to buy and what you choose to absorb.

Continuous coverage. Whether there is a gap in your insurance history. Gaps cost more to fix than they save.

This is the section that will carry real quoted California auto figures once we have our own to publish. For now, the only honest number is the one that comes back on your actual drivers and vehicles.

The California rules that sit behind your rate

The Good Driver rule, and the point people misread. Under California law, a Good Driver is a person who has been licensed for at least three consecutive years and has no more than one point on their driving record, and their rate must be at least 20% lower than a non-Good Driver's rate would be at the same insurance company (California Department of Insurance, Automobile Insurance). The Department's Bulletin 2023-7 adds the third element: the driver must not have been principally at fault in a motor vehicle accident that resulted in bodily injury or death of any person, and the obligation to write qualified Good Drivers applies to personal auto insurers subject to Proposition 103 (CDI Bulletin 2023-7, December 21, 2023).

So the test isn't a clean record. It is no more than one point. Drivers who assume a single ticket disqualifies them stop asking, and that is a mistake worth catching.

The minimum limits are on a schedule. 30/60/15 since January 1, 2025, up from 15/30/5. Then on January 1, 2035, SB 1107 adds $20,000 to the per person bodily injury limit, $40,000 to the per accident limit and $10,000 to property damage, which is 50/100/25 (SB 1107). The same bill also directs the Insurance Commissioner to solicit rate applications ahead of each change.

There is a state program for income eligible drivers. The DMV says that if you cannot afford liability insurance you may be eligible for the California Low Cost Automobile Insurance Program (California DMV). Eligibility rules apply. It's worth asking about rather than driving uninsured.

The gaps that show up after a California claim

The driver nobody listed. An adult child home for the summer, a partner who moved in, a teenager with a permit. Household drivers are an underwriting question, and leaving one off is one of the more common reasons a claim turns into an argument. See excluded and household drivers.

The car that lives somewhere else. Rating follows the garaging address. A student who takes the car to school in another county has changed the risk, and the policy should reflect it.

Delivery and rideshare work. Personal auto policies commonly limit or exclude coverage while driving for hire. If anyone in the household does it, even occasionally, say so before a claim rather than after.

Driving into Mexico. Many US auto policies limit or exclude coverage south of the border, and a separate Mexico policy is the usual answer. Confirm it with your carrier before the trip.

Limits that never grew. A policy written at the old 15/30/5 and rolled forward is the clearest example. It's legal on renewal terms in many cases and it's nowhere near what a serious California claim costs.

How we work a California auto file

We are independent, so we quote the household across several carriers rather than one. We list every driver and every vehicle up front, because that is what keeps a claim from being contested later. We check whether uninsured motorist coverage is actually on the policy, and we set the liability limit against what you'd need it to do, not against the statutory floor.

If you are already carrying an umbrella or want one, we make sure the auto limits underneath it qualify. If you have a violation or a coverage gap, we'll tell you which markets will look at it and which won't, without promising placement or acceptance.

Payment is either pay in full or financed, depending on what the carrier offers on that policy. Coverage is subject to policy terms, underwriting and availability.

What to send, and what to ask

• Your current declarations page, all pages
• Every driver in the household, with license numbers and dates first licensed
• Anyone on a learner's permit
• Every vehicle, with VIN, and the address where it is parked overnight
• Annual mileage and how each vehicle is used
• Violations and accidents in the last several years, with dates
• Any gap in coverage, and how long it lasted
• Whether anyone drives for a delivery or rideshare platform

And these are worth asking any agent, us included:

• What liability limit am I actually carrying, and what would it not cover in a serious at-fault accident?
• Is uninsured motorist bodily injury on this policy, and at what limit?
• Does anyone in this household qualify as a Good Driver, and is the discount applied?
• Do these limits qualify me for an umbrella if I want one?
• Which carriers did you quote, and what did each one come back with?

Richard Sweet, owner of Vantage Point Risk and an independent insurance advisor. Last reviewed August 4, 2026. How we review this.