Full coverage in California means liability plus collision and comprehensive. Liability-only pays other people and does not repair your own car. Since January 1, 2025 the legal minimum is 30/60/15 under SB 1107. Via Rapida Services, an independent insurance brokerage, quotes both, in writing. Call 209-670-1556.
California's standard auto minimum is 30/60/15: $30,000 for injury or death of one person, $60,000 when two or more people are hurt in the same accident, and $15,000 for property damage. It applies to policies issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2025. The California Department of Insurance January 2025 alert states those three numbers and says the old floor was $15,000 / $30,000 / $5,000. The statute is Vehicle Code §16056, amended by Senate Bill 1107 (2022).
The CDI automobile guide explains the per-accident cap in plain language: if two or more people are injured, the policy pays up to $60,000 in total and the injured people share that money. Anything above the limit you bought is still your responsibility. Liability also does not pay injuries to you or the people in your household. You need liability to register the car; the insurer reports the policy to the DMV.
The same statute schedules a later step. On January 1, 2035, §16056 raises the minimum by $20,000 per person, $40,000 per accident, and $10,000 for property damage, which is 50/100/25. That date is not the rule today.
One narrower program sits beside the standard minimum. The CDI January 2025 alert says the California Low Cost Automobile Insurance Program keeps limits of $10,000 per person, $20,000 per accident, and $3,000 property damage for drivers who meet the program's income rules. The program page is mylowcostauto.com. That is a separate product, not a discount on a standard 30/60/15 policy.
"Full coverage" is not a form the CDI sells. In everyday use it means the liability the law requires, plus collision and comprehensive. The CDI guide draws the line this way:
Both pay based on the car's market value, and both subtract your deductible. Neither one raises the 30/60/15 liability floor by itself. If you want a longer look at the liability piece alone, read liability-only car insurance and the 30/60/15 minimum. The statewide overview is on California auto insurance.
The state does not require collision or comprehensive. A lender or leasing company does, as a condition of the loan or lease. The CDI guide says physical damage coverage "is required by lenders or leasing companies," and it says this about a car loan: if you do not buy the insurance, the loan company may buy it and charge you, and it usually costs less to buy your own collision and comprehensive.
That lender-placed policy protects the lender's interest in the car. It is not a substitute you choose for comfort. Before you sign, read the contract for the deductible it allows and whether it requires you to name the lender. If the car is worth less than the payoff after a total loss, ordinary collision and comprehensive pay market value, not the loan balance. The CDI guide says dealers and lenders may offer GAP insurance for that gap. Our separate page is GAP insurance in California.
The CDI guide tells drivers to think about dropping comprehensive, collision, or both on an older car, because those coverages pay market value, not what you paid for the car years ago. Liability-only is usually the practical choice when three things are true at once: you own the car with no loan and no lease, you could repair or replace it without an insurance check, and you still keep the liability limits the law requires.
It is a poor fit when the car is financed or leased, or when losing it would leave the household without a way to get to work and without cash to replace it. Comprehensive can still be worth a separate look if theft or glass is the worry and collision is the part that no longer pencils out. The guide also says that if you drop collision, ask about uninsured motorist property damage. It lists that coverage at a $3,500 limit, and it pays only when the at-fault uninsured driver is identified.
A deductible is the amount of the loss you pay before the insurer pays. The CDI guide's glossary says only comprehensive and collision have deductibles. Liability does not work that way: the other person's claim is paid up to your limit, and you do not subtract a $500 deductible from their repair bill.
The guide's own example: comprehensive with a $500 deductible, and a storm that causes $1,500 of damage. You pay the first $500. Comprehensive pays the remaining $1,000. The same guide says you usually pay a lower premium if you choose a higher deductible. The trade is cash at claim time versus premium during the year. A lender's contract may cap how high that deductible can be, so the contract controls that choice until the loan is gone.
We do not print a Via Rapida price for "full coverage" or "liability-only." Two drivers on the same street can land far apart. What we can show is the statewide average the National Association of Insurance Commissioners published for 2023.
The NAIC 2023 Auto Insurance Database Average Premium Supplement marks the California figures as preliminary, because the Department of Insurance finishes its checks after the report is printed. For 2023 it reports:
| NAIC measure (California, 2023) | Amount | What it actually measures |
|---|---|---|
| Liability average premium | $660 | Average premium for the liability coverages in the report, divided by liability car-years. Not a 30/60/15 quote. |
| Collision average premium | $606.67 | Average only among vehicles that carried collision. |
| Comprehensive average premium | $150.05 | Average only among vehicles that carried comprehensive. |
| Combined average premium | $1,416.56 | The sum of those three averages. NAIC's picture of a car that carries all three. |
| Average expenditure | $1,223.16 | All three premiums divided by liability car-years, so cars with no physical damage pull this number down. |
Do not add $606.67 and $150.05 and call that "the extra" you will pay. Collision and comprehensive averages describe only the cars that bought those coverages. Average expenditure is lower than the combined average premium for that reason. NAIC also says many things move a state's numbers: where people drive, accident rates, traffic density, repair costs, theft, and the coverage the law requires.
On your own policy, the CDI application section says the insurer asks how you use the car, how many miles you drive, and the year, make, model, and VIN. A higher collision or comprehensive deductible usually lowers the premium. Limits above 30/60/15 cost more and protect wages and savings the minimum does not. For the fees that sit on top of the premium, see what a 6-month California policy actually costs.
Via Rapida Services is an independent brokerage (CA License #6003045) with offices at 956 W. Robinhood Dr, Stockton, CA 95207; 25 N. 14th St #125, San Jose; and 9 Vivian St, San Rafael. We quote liability-only and full coverage from more than one carrier and put the 6-month total in writing: premium, fees, deductible, and limits. There are no broker fees on standard policies at the Stockton and San Jose offices. At the San Rafael office a broker fee may apply, and we tell you the amount in writing before you sign. Call 209-670-1556.
Want both numbers for your car before you drop or add collision? We quote liability-only and full coverage on the same sheet.
Call 209-670-1556 Get a QuoteFor a standard auto policy issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2025, the minimum is $30,000 for injury or death of one person, $60,000 for injury or death of two or more people in one accident, and $15,000 for property damage (30/60/15). The California Department of Insurance stated those limits in its January 2025 alert. Vehicle Code §16056, as amended by Senate Bill 1107, is the statute. The prior minimum was 15/30/5.
Full coverage is a nickname, not a policy form. It means the liability the law requires, plus collision and comprehensive. The CDI automobile guide says collision pays for damage to your car from contact with another vehicle or object, and comprehensive pays for other damage such as fire, theft, vandalism, windstorm, flood, or falling objects. Both pay based on the car's market value, minus your deductible.
California law does not require collision or comprehensive. The CDI guide says physical damage coverage is required by lenders or leasing companies. If you have a loan and do not buy that insurance, the loan company may buy it and charge you, and the guide says it usually costs less to buy your own collision and comprehensive. The deductible and limits belong in your loan or lease contract.
The CDI guide says to think about dropping comprehensive and collision on an older car, because those coverages pay based on market value. Liability-only can fit when you own the car outright, you could repair or replace it without an insurance payment, and a lender or lease no longer has a claim on it. If you drop collision, the same guide says to ask about uninsured motorist property damage, which it lists at a $3,500 limit when the at-fault uninsured driver is identified.
A deductible is the part of the loss you pay before the policy pays. The CDI guide says only comprehensive and collision have deductibles, and a higher deductible usually means a lower premium. In the guide's example, a $500 comprehensive deductible on $1,500 of storm damage means you pay $500 and the policy pays $1,000. Liability coverage does not use that kind of deductible.
The NAIC 2023 Auto Insurance Database Average Premium Supplement, which marks California figures as preliminary, reports a liability average premium of $660, a collision average premium of $606.67, and a comprehensive average premium of $150.05. The combined average premium, the sum of those three averages, was $1,416.56. Average expenditure, which spreads all three premiums across every liability-insured car, was $1,223.16. These are 2023 statewide averages, not a quote. Your price depends on your record, miles, years licensed, vehicle, garaging address, deductible, and limits.
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