Like every other state in the United States of America, the state of California also has a set of minimum requirements when it comes to auto insurance requirements. The following are a list of the basic liability requirements in the state and the region of southern California in particular:
1. Bodily injury liability or BIL is the coverage per person for any injuries or death resulting from an accident. The minimum coverage required for bodily injury or death for an individual is $15000. But if you are labeled a safe driver with a high credit score, you can be eligible for a low cost auto insurance policy which will allow you to have a basic coverage of just $10000.
2. Total Bodily Injury Liability (per accident coverage) is $30,000 in the state of California. Again, with low cost auto insurance coverage you can get it to as low as $20000 per accident.
3. Property Damage Liability or PDL (which includes every non-medical expense like damage to public property, vehicles, and even buildings etc.) is $15,000.
In general, it is common to say that the liability coverage limits in southern California is 15/30/5 for short. And with the low cost auto insurance coverage program, it has now become 10/20/3. It really is not much of coverage if one looks into it in terms of the cost that one could incur in an accident scenario. A simple incident that happens in bumper to bumper traffic can itself cost you up to and beyond three thousand dollars for repairing your car. Hence if you are involved in a much serious incident with expensive cars, all of you will be in severe trouble.
It makes sense to bump up your coverage to adequate levels irrespective of the basic coverage recommended by the state of California. A proper coverage limit set would be like 100/200/40 for a mid range car and a person with a mid range salaries household with two cars and two earning members.
Comprehensive & Collision Insurance
There are two types of coverage policies are available in southern California when broadly classified. Apart from the above two coverage policies, there is also a third party coverage policy available in the region of southern California.
Collision coverage is for those incidents where your car is damaged or totaled in a road accident. This covers only those damages that happen due to a road accident. That is there should and must be a second car involved in the incident.
Comprehensive coverage or first party insurance is a full coverage insurance policy. It will cover collisions, theft, vandalism, natural disasters and also other acts of god. Basically if your car were to be damaged, you would get reimbursed for it.
It is advisable to go for either of the two which is comprehensive or collision coverage if you do not want to be in a fix if in case the other party does not have insurance coverage or is under insured.
Payment of the premium amount is usually bi annual or annual in most insurance companies. But in certain cases, they will also accept monthly payments.
Something to keep in mind while looking for auto insurance policies in southern California is to ask for corrosion coverage and treatment. Being a seaside area, your car is prone to fall apart in half the time that it would take for a car in the hinterlands of the country. Ask for a comprehensive treatment and painting program for your vehicle.
