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California car insurance: costs, Prop 103 and the 2025 minimums
How Proposition 103 shapes California car insurance prices, what the 30/60/15 minimums since 2025 mean, and where California ranks on cost.
California car insurance prices are shaped more by regulation than in almost any other state. proposition 103, approved by voters in 1988, requires insurers to get rates approved before using them and to base prices mainly on your driving record, miles driven and years of experience. In NAIC data California's average expenditure was $1,225.02 per vehicle in 2023, slightly below the national average, though rising repair and injury costs pushed it up 12.7% that year. Since January 1, 2025, the minimum liability coverage is 30/60/15, double the old limits for injuries.
Where California ranks on cost
The NAIC Auto Insurance Database Report puts California 18th of 51 (including D.C.) for average expenditure in 2023, at $1,225.02 against a U.S. average of $1,281.92. Its combined average premium for liability, collision and comprehensive was $1,417.94. The NAIC notes California's 2022 and 2023 figures are preliminary, pending the Department of Insurance's data checks.
Claims costs climbed sharply after the pandemic. California's auto liability loss ratio, losses as a share of earned premium before expenses, went from 51.9% in 2020 to 80.6% in 2022, and the average collision claim rose from $4,801 to $6,450 over the same two years (NAIC). Under prior approval, insurers had to file and justify rate increases before charging them, which slowed the response to those costs.
How Proposition 103 works
Under California Insurance Code 1861.02, auto rates must be determined by these factors in decreasing order of importance:
- Your driving safety record.
- The number of miles you drive each year.
- The number of years of driving experience you have.
- Other factors the Insurance Commissioner adopts by regulation that have a substantial relationship to risk of loss.
Using any criterion without approval counts as unfair discrimination. The law also says the absence of prior insurance cannot, by itself, be used to set rates or eligibility, which helps people who move to California or had a gap. Optional factors approved by regulation cover things such as the type of vehicle and claim experience where it is garaged, and marital status has been one since 1996; credit history is not used, and gender was removed by regulation effective January 1, 2019 (CDI). On September 16, 2026, Commissioner Ricardo Lara proposed removing marital status, an optional factor since 1996 (CDI).
Prop 103 also created the good driver discount. According to the Department of Insurance's auto guide, a Good Driver has been licensed at least three consecutive years with no more than one point on their record, and must be charged at least 20% less than a non-Good Driver at the same company.
More on the measure's history, the prior approval process and the role of consumer intervenors is in California Proposition 103 explained.
Rate review today
Every auto rate change in California must be approved by the Department of Insurance, and members of the public can intervene in rate proceedings and seek compensation for their participation. The department says its review saved Californians $6.6 billion in premiums from 2019 to 2025 and secured $3.3 billion in refunds for drivers during the COVID-19 pandemic (CDI, April 2026). New rules on intervenor compensation and transparency took effect in August 2026. Insurers argue that slow approvals keep rates below cost and reduce the availability of coverage; nationally, the Insurance Research Council found average approval times grew about 40% from 2010 to 2023.
The 2025 minimums
SB 1107 (Chapter 717, Statutes of 2022) raised California's minimum liability limits on January 1, 2025, and schedules another increase for January 1, 2035 (bill text).
| Coverage | Before 2025 | Since January 1, 2025 | From January 1, 2035 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Injury or death, one person | $15,000 | $30,000 | $50,000 |
| Injury or death, per accident | $30,000 | $60,000 | $100,000 |
| Property damage | $5,000 | $15,000 | $25,000 |
What this means in practice, using a hypothetical crash: say you cause a collision that injures one person, whose medical bills and lost wages total $45,000, and damages a $25,000 car beyond repair. Under the old 15/30/5 minimum, your policy would have paid $15,000 and $5,000, leaving $50,000 for you to cover. Under 30/60/15 it pays $30,000 and $15,000, leaving $25,000. Higher limits still leave real exposure, which is why many drivers choose 100/300/100 or more; the liability limits decoder and How much car insurance do I need? help compare.
Policies written at the old minimums had to be brought up to the new limits to satisfy the law, and higher limits generally cost more.
Help for lower-income drivers
The California Low Cost Automobile Insurance Program offers liability-only coverage with limits of $10,000/$20,000/$3,000 to good drivers whose household income is at or below 250% of the federal poverty level and whose car is worth $25,000 or less, according to the Department of Insurance guide. Premiums vary by county. See state low-cost auto insurance programs.
Coverage choices worth reviewing
- Uninsured motorist bodily injury: insurers must offer it; you must sign a waiver to decline.
- uninsured motorist property damage: pays up to $3,500 for damage caused by an identified uninsured driver if you lack collision coverage, according to the department.
- Collision deductible waiver: pays your collision deductible when an uninsured driver is at fault.
- Medical payments: available from $1,000 per person.
Key takeaways
- Proposition 103 requires prior approval of rates and bases prices mainly on driving record, mileage and experience.
- California does not use credit or gender in auto pricing, and a September 2026 proposal would end marital status rating.
- California's 2023 average expenditure was $1,225.02, slightly below the national average, per preliminary NAIC data.
- Minimum liability rose to 30/60/15 on January 1, 2025, and is scheduled to reach 50/100/25 in 2035.
- Good Drivers are entitled to rates at least 20% lower, and income-eligible drivers can use the state's low-cost program.