If you drive a car in California, state law dictates that you must be financially responsible for all of your actions. All drivers have to show their ability to pay for damages or injury to others resulting from the ownership or operation of a motor vehicle. California's Compulsory Financial Responsibility Law requires that every driver and owner of a motor vehicle has to be financially responsible for their actions. The statutory minimum limits of liability insurance in California are as follows: Bodily Injury $15,000 for death or injury of any one person, any one accident; and $30,000 for all persons in any one accident; Property Damage $5,000 for any one accident.
There are four ways that you can accomplish financial responsibility in California and they are: Coverage by a motor vehicle or automobile liability insurance policy; A cash deposit of $35,000 with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV); A certificate of self-insurance issued by DMV to owners of fleets of more than 25 vehicles; or A surety bond for $35,000 that is obtained from an insurance company licensed to do business in California. You might be wondering what could happen if you ignored this law. I will tell you what could happen if you ignored this law.
The most common way drivers choose to comply with the financial responsibility requirement is by purchasing a car liability insurance policy. What this means is that If you have an accident that is not covered by insurance, then your license may be suspended. It is your responsibility to provide all liability insurance for any vehicle you own regardless of who is operating the vehicle. It is illegal for those vehicles to be operated without meeting the requirements of this law. That is the least amount of coverage that California law allows you to have.
