Twelve Minimum-Coverage Beliefs and the Statute That Settles Each One

This is a quick-reference page. Each entry gives the belief, the short answer, and where the answer comes from, so you can check it yourself rather than take anyone's word for it, including ours. Deeper pages are linked where they exist.

About the limits themselves

1. "The limits are per year." No. Vehicle Code 16430 sets them per accident: $30,000 for one person's injury or death, $60,000 for everyone hurt in one accident, and $15,000 for property damage resulting from any one accident.
2. "30/60/15 has been the minimum for years." It applies to policies issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2025, and is scheduled to rise again in 2035. See the 2035 increase.
3. "Minimum coverage pays for my car." No. Liability coverage pays for harm to other people and their property, and Insurance Code 11580.1 lets a policy exclude property in the charge of an insured, including the car the insured is driving.
4. "My insurer pays whatever a court awards." It pays up to the limits. Insurance Code 11580 lets a judgment creditor sue the insurer on the policy only subject to its terms and limitations. See whose name is on the lawsuit.

About uninsured motorist coverage

5. "Uninsured motorist coverage is an extra I would have had to ask for." The reverse. Insurance Code 11580.2 requires it in a bodily injury liability policy unless the named insured signs a written agreement to delete it or to take lower limits, never below the financial responsibility minimums.
6. "The rejection I signed years ago expired at renewal." Not with the same insurer. The statute makes that agreement binding for renewals, for policies that replace it from the same insurer, and for a reinstatement within 30 days of a lapse.
7. "Two cars on my policy double my uninsured motorist limits." No. Insurance Code 11580.2 says limits for two or more vehicles or policies may not be added together or stacked.

About drivers and proof

8. "A driver I excluded by name is still covered in an emergency." No. Insurance Code 11580.1 applies a named exclusion to any use or operation by that person, including negligent-entrustment claims, with only a narrow defense exception.
9. "A picture of my insurance card on my phone doesn't count." It does. Vehicle Code 16028 allows evidence of insurance to be shown on a mobile device, and the officer may view only that evidence.
10. "If I wasn't at fault, I don't have to report to the DMV." Wrong. The DMV says each driver files an SR-1 within 10 days when damage is over $1,000 or anyone is hurt, whether or not they caused it, even on private property.

About cancellation and penalties

11. "My insurer can cancel my policy whenever it likes." Not mid-term. Insurance Code 661 limits cancellation to listed reasons such as nonpayment, a license suspension, claim fraud or material misrepresentation, and Insurance Code 662 sets at least 10 days' notice for nonpayment.
12. "Driving without proof is a small fix-it ticket." Vehicle Code 16029 sets a fine of $100 to $200 plus penalty assessments for a first offense, $200 to $500 plus assessments after that, and lets the court order the vehicle impounded.

How to use this page

Read the entries that match what you believed last week. Then open your declarations page and check three lines: the bodily injury pair, the property damage figure, and the uninsured motorist line. If any of them surprise you, the beliefs above are usually why.

A few beliefs are not on this list because the answer depends on your own policy's wording rather than a statute, such as how a policy treats rental cars or which relatives count as insureds. For those, the honest answer is to read the definitions and exclusions sections, or ask your carrier in writing.

When you are ready to replace beliefs with numbers, get your current limits and the next step up priced here.