California State Auto Insurance – What You Need Now & Savings on the Horizon
As with most states, California state auto insurance law requires all motorists to carry three fundamental liability components.
Bodily Injury Liability (i.e. BIL) of $ 15,000 per person
Total Bodily Injury Liability of $ 30,000 per accident
Property Damage Liability or PDL of $ 15,000 per accident
The insurance industry refers to this as 15/30/15.
But please understand that to rely on this coverage alone, would be asking for trouble. Multi-car accidents and ambulance chasing lawyers commonly drive the cost of an auto accident to several hundred thousand dollars. If you’re at fault and you’ve gone with the minimums, you personally, are now on the hook for the shortfall. Now you must re-mortgage your house, forfeit your savings & probably even more…sound good?
Based on experience, I recommend a bare minimum of 100/300/100 and more if you’re on the road often…particularly in the numerous elite communities of Southern California. Spending a few extra dollars here is money well spent.
Until now, we’ve talked about liability coverage only. That doesn’t cover injuries to you and/or damages to or loss of your automobile. The rest of what we will discuss is not required by CA law.
First, let’s take care of you. Personal Injury Protection (PIP) provides injury, death and disability coverage for you & your passengers. I suggest PIP coverage of no less than $ 100,000.
Next, your vehicle. To most of us, full coverage means having both collision and comprehensive.
There are 2 reasons for collision insurance; to cover the cost of repairs to your damaged auto or, if the vehicle is “totaled”, to compensate you in cash. You must pay for a predetermined deductible, & the insurer pays for the rest.
Comprehensive protects your auto for theft and vandalism and damages caused by Mother Nature, animal impact and fire.
Another important coverage is protection against uninsured or underinsured drivers. The accident is not your fault, but the guilty party can’t pay. Your uninsured driver coverage kicks in here.
Auto insurance in Southern California may offer “Pay-per-mile”.
California’s Insurance Commission has tabled a proposal allowing insurance companies to charge consumers based on actual miles driven. Similar to buying prepaid cell phone minutes…consumers would pay upfront for a specified number of miles to be driven over a limited period of time. A monitoring device installed in the car will allow insurance companies to observe a driver’s car usage and charge accordingly.
Consumer advocate groups are backing the plan because paying for miles traveled, instead of an insurer’s estimate, will provide savings for low mileage drivers.
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And possibly more important, it will serve as an incentive for drivers to stay off the road. Environmentalists say this type of auto insurance La Mesa will encourage motorists to drive less…leading to lower fuel usage, reduced pollution & less road congestion.
The plan looks good to me.
Related posts:
- Car Insurance Policies That Fit Your Needs
- Automobile Liability Insurance To Protect Your Assets
- When One Should Compare Auto Insurance Quotes
- Auto Insurance Coverage Estimate – Search Online And Then Help You Save Both Money And Time
- Car Insurance Policy – What To Know About Car Insurance Before You Shop
