California Auto Insurance Requirements    by Jaime Siddons

In California, liability insurance is the minimum requirement by law that a driver must have in their name. This falls in line with most states in the U.S. as far as minimum auto insurance requirements are concerned. Still, many drivers choose to pay for more insurance coverage to ensure that they are covered on all bases in case of an accident.

Liability insurance is pretty simple to understand. During an accident in which one driver is found to be at fault, that driver is responsible for all damage caused to the other vehicles and persons involved in the crash. Such insurance is designed to protect an at-fault but insured driver from paying for all of the damage involved in an accident - costs that could rise to hundreds or thousands of dollars easily. Of course, liability insurance has its limits, which will depend upon each individual policy.

There are plenty of other types of auto insurance offered by each company though. For instance, general vehicle insurance can protect a vehicle from theft, fire, or other damage. Rental insurance is obviously for rental vehicles. Also, underinsured motorist coverage takes care of insured drivers who get into an accident and are not at-fault, but the other driver doesn't have enough insurance. There are a great number of different auto insurance policies out there.

Of course, California only requires liability (collision) insurance for drivers with coverage of at least $5,000. Failure to have insurance in an accident or when pulled over by a police officer can result in citations. In most cases, a driver will lose their license for driving without insurance, and it's a pain to get a suspended license restored.

Drivers are required by law to provide proof of insurance in the presence of a requesting officer or at the scene of an accident in which they are involved. Of course, failure to do so is a crime in itself. All insurance companies provide proof of coverage for its policy holders, so this usually isn't a problem for people that actually have auto insurance.

It's still a good idea to get more insurance coverage in California, even though the state doesn't require it. Without a doubt, underinsured motorist insurance is a good idea because various reports have shown that 1 in 3 drivers might be driving around without auto insurance at any given time. The auto insurance company will take care of all damage and health bills from the insured motorist and then turn around to sue the money back from the underinsured driver.

In the end, California's minimum requirements for auto insurance are just like most other states. A driver must have liability (collision) coverage of at least $5,000. Other than that, there are no further requirements as far as auto insurance is concerned, but everyone could benefit from vehicle coverage or underinsured motorist coverage to protect from other auto accidents and incidents. Sure, it might cost more money, but it will protect drivers above and beyond the required insurance coverage by California law.