What Is the Legal Minimum?

Short answer: 30/60/15. California Insurance Code section 11580.1b sets minimum liability limits of $30,000 for injury or death of one person, $60,000 for injury or death of more than one person, and $15,000 for property damage.

What that actually buys

Coverage for harm you cause to other people. Nothing else. It does not repair your car, treat your injuries in an at-fault crash, or replace a stolen vehicle.

Where it runs out

Above those limits, the difference is your personal responsibility. A modern vehicle written off can exceed $15,000 of property damage by itself, and injury claims pass $30,000 without anything unusual happening.

What it doesn't include

Collision and comprehensive on your own vehicle are optional under the law — though a lender will require them as a condition of financing. Uninsured motorist coverage must be offered to you, and may be rejected in writing.

Is minimum enough?

It satisfies the law. Whether it protects you depends on what you could cover personally above the limits. For most people, that question argues for more — and moving up a tier often costs less than expected relative to the exposure removed.

Ask for minimum and higher limits priced side by side.

What the minimum does not include

Worth being explicit, because the word "minimum" invites the wrong assumption. It covers harm you cause to other people. It does not repair your own car, treat your own injuries in a crash you caused, replace a stolen vehicle, or respond when an uninsured driver hits you. Each of those needs a separate coverage. That is not a criticism of minimum coverage — it is simply what the number does and does not buy.