California State Auto Insurance – What You Need Now & Savings on the Horizon
As with most states, {California state car insurance} law requires all drivers to carry 3 fundamental liability components.
Bodily Injury Liability (i.e. BIL) of $ 15,000 per person
Total Bodily Injury Liability (Total BIL) 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.
To limit your coverage to these minimums, would be looking for trouble. Multiple pile-ups and ambitious lawyers often drive the cost of a vehicular accident to well beyond six figures. If you’re to blame and you’ve opted for the minimums, you personally, are now liable for the shortfall. As a result, you'll need to sell your home, empty your savings account and possibly more. How does that sound to you?
On the basis of experience, I recommend a minimum of 100k/300k/100k…more if you’re on the road often, particularly in the up-market communities of California. A few extra dollars spent here is money well spent.
So far, we’ve discussed only liability coverage and that doesn’t apply to injuries to you and damages or loss of your vehicle. The rest of what we will talk about is not required by California statute.
First, let's take care of you. Personal Injury Protection (PIP) covers injury to you and/or your passengers. I suggest PIP coverage of no less than $ 100,000.
Next, your vehicle. To most people, having both collision and comprehensive insurance is known as full coverage.
The purpose of collision insurance is two-fold; to cover the cost of the repair to your damaged vehicle or if “totaled” to make a cash settlement. You must pay for a predetermined deductible, & the insurer pays for the rest.
Comprehensive covers your ride for vandalism, theft and damages due to fire, animals and acts of God.
Another vital coverage is protection against uninsured drivers. It’s not your fault, but he can’t pay…your uninsured driver coverage kicks in.
{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 purchasing prepaid minutes for a mobile phone…the consumer would pay up-front for a fixed number of miles to be driven in a limited period of time. A device installed in the automobile will allow the insurance company to monitor a car's mileage and charge appropriately.
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.
And possibly more important, it will serve as an incentive for drivers to stay off the road. Environmentalists predict this type of {auto insurance in La Mesa and other California cities} will encourage motorists to drive less…meaning lower fuel usage, reduced pollution & less road congestion.
The program looks like a winner to me.
Tags: Auto insurance in Southern California, Auto insurance Southern California, California auto insurance, California state auto insurance, Car insurance in California, Southern California auto insurance