Car Insurance in California - Liability for Additional Drivers

Car Insurance in California - Liability for Additional Drivers
by Stacy Fox

In the state of California, you must have auto liability insurance. That applies to every driver in your household. If someone who lives in your house drives your car and gets into an accident, the insurance company will not pay the claim unless they have insurance.

There is a minimum level of coverage required in California. Liability insurance must pay $15,000 in medical damages if one person in the other car is hurt and $30,000 for two or more injuries. The insurance must also pay for $5000 in property damage including the repair of the car. Keep in mind that these figures apply only to the other car. Liability insurance does not cover damage done to your own vehicle.

Additionally, you should know that if you do not have liability insurance, the California Department of Motor Vehicles will suspend your license for a year. You will also be personally liable for any injury or damage done to the other car if you get in an accident.

Sometimes people in the household have their own car and insurance. In this case, you don't have to put them on yours. But, if they get into an accident using your car, their insurance policy will be the one covering the damage, not yours.

Additional driver insurance covers only your car or cars. The covered person has no protection when they drive other people's cars.

Your insurance premiums will go up when you add an additional driver to your policy. The amount of the increase depends on several factors including the age of the driver, their driving record, and increasingly their credit score.

Many parents are shocked to find out that adding a teen to their insurance skyrockets the cost, though good grades can help with the price. If the person has one or more claims, the insurance will also be high. And, insurance companies are starting to look at credit scores as a mark of how responsible a person is, and thus the risk they take in insuring them.

Every person in the household should be covered by liability insurance. It can be yours or their own. But, if you don't make sure that this occurs, lending your car to a relative or roommate could turn out to be more expensive than you ever realized.

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