Like all states, California has regulations for all types of insurance. When it comes to auto insurance, it’s the California Financial Responsibility Law that motorists have to abide by.
California Law requires that every car has a minimum insurance coverage. This minimum insurance coverage basically aims at covering the people that the driver may damage or injure while he is driving.
The specific minimum requirements are $15,000 dollars per person in a single accident, $35,000 dollars per two or more people in a single accident, and $5,000 for property damages.
However, it’s strongly advised to get extra insurance if you live or plan to live in the Golden State. Here are some reasons for it.
- Unfortunately, not everyone is a responsible driver and there are quite a few people that go around without insurance, hoping they don’t get caught. If they happen to crash into your car, they won’t be able to pay for the damages. Taking them to court will take a long time. And remember, in case of an accident, you may have some much more urgent things to pay attention to, like getting someone to the hospital.
- Basic coverage may be a bit too small for your needs. While it’s enough for most accidents, in case of a bad accident, it may fall a bit short of what you need.
- Basic coverage doesn’t cover any legal expenses in case you need to defend yourself in court. This leaves you exposed in case someone decides to sue you. And to make matters worse, the legal suits don’t have to be realistic. People may sue you for fake or imaginary charges. In fact, they may very well sue you knowing that they have no grounds just to buy time or make their claims appear valid to their insurance companies. In any case, you’ll be forced to hire an attorney by the hour.
- Non-accident events aren’t covered by basic insurance. If are driving around, and someone comes with a gun and demands you to surrender your car, then you’ve lost it. Car theft, vandalism, and other types of similar damage to your car aren’t covered in basic insurance.
Lastly, extra coverage isn’t really much more expensive than basic insurance. And really, for just a few extra dollars a month, you’ll feel much better driving around knowing that you, your loved ones, and your car are protected.