In California general auto insurance is available to everyone despite the type of risk they represent. In fact, if you have a car you must carry insurance. As a consumer, you need to learn about the minimum levels of coverage, as well as the suggested coverage you should carry in order to protect yourself from serious financial consequences.

Mandatory California General Auto Insurance

California has some of the lowest mandatory liability limits in the country. In order to legally operate a vehicle in the state, you simply need to carry $15,000 bodily injury liability per person, $30,000 bodily injury coverage per accident and a $5,000 limit for property damage per accident.

There are alternate limits for drivers with low incomes. The California Automobile Assigned Risk Plan mandatory limits are $10,000 for bodily injury coverage per person, $20,000 bodily injury coverage per accident and $3000 for property damage. These often tend to be the most high risk drivers.

These limits are embarrassingly low and would prove to be insufficient in most serious accidents. For this reason most insurance industry insiders recommend limits of $100,000 per person for bodily injury liability, $300,000 per accident for bodily injury liability and $100,000 property damage liability.

Optional But Recommended California General Auto Insurance

In the state of California industry professionals estimate that 15% of motorists are uninsured. There is a coverage that protects you if you are in an accident whereby the person at fault is uninsured. While it is not mandatory, Uninsured Motorist coverage is highly suggested.

While collision and comprehensive are very common auto coverage, not everyone carries it. For those who opt out of comprehensive coverage especially, this could be a costly mistake. 8 of the top 10 worst metropolitan areas for motor vehicle theft rates are in California. This means your risk of having your car stolen in CA is much higher than in other parts of the country. Consider carrying comprehensive coverage to protect you from theft if for no other reason.

Personal injury protection or medical payments is another type of coverage that is recommended by most people in the know. Essentially this coverage takes care of your bodily injury and should be mandatory for those with health insurance. It also covers expenses over and above traditional health insurance coverage.

Let InsuranceBestPrices.com find your general auto insurance quotes now so you can compare what’s out there and get the best car insurance for you.