Minimum California Liability Insurance Requirements
Financial responsibility (proof of automobile insurance) is required for any vehicle operated or parked in the state of California, and operators of any vehicle must be able to demonstrate financial responsibility as requested by law enforcement, as requested during vehicle registration renewal, at the time of an accident, within 30 days of registering a new vehicle, and within 45 days of cancelling an automobile insurance policy on a currently registered vehicle.
Financial responsibility may be demonstrated with a liability automotive insurance policy, $35,000 deposited in the DMV, a self-insurance certificate issued by the DMV, or a $35,000 California issued surety bond.
California residents are therefore required to provide $15,000 for the injury or death of one person, $30,000 for the injury or death of multiple persons, and $5,000 for damage to property.
Liability insurance pays for property damage, medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering incurred by another party only when the driver is the cause of an accident.
Acceptable Evidence of Vehicle Financial Responsibility
In most cases, automobile insurance companies provide financial responsibility for the drivers they protect. In other cases, drivers must demonstrate financial responsibility on their own. All drivers should therefore provide documentation or an insurance ID card for your automobile, an authorization letter from the DMV, a copy of a surety bond, or a California Proof of Insurance Certificate (SR-22).
(Note: trailers, off-highway vehicles, vehicles registered to the government, special equipment vehicles, and vehicles registered under a planned non-operation status do not have to demonstrate proof of liability insurance to DMV.)
Automobile Insurance Penalties
Failure to demonstrate financial responsibility or proof of automobile insurance will suspend driving privileges. Drivers who cannot demonstrate financial responsibility or proof of auto insurance, and who have an accident, lose driving privileges up to a year and are responsible for paying for injuries and damages if found to have contributed to the cause of an accident.
Starting October 1, 2006, vehicle registration may be additionally suspended if (1) liability insurance is cancelled and no replacement policy is put into place within 45 days or (2) a registrant’s automobile insurance company failed to electronically deliver proof of within 30 days of a new vehicle registration, or (3) registrants falsify proof of auto insurance.
In addition, a failure to demonstrate proof of automobile insurance may bring about a citation and a fine of $1,000 or more. (Once a citation is issued, it can be cleared through court only.) Vehicle impoundment is a also possibility.
