California Minimum Auto Insurance Limits: What Every Plaintiff Attorney Needs to Know in 2025

The New California Minimums Are Now in Effect

Effective January 1, 2025, California's minimum auto liability insurance requirements increased from 15/30/5 to 30/60/15. This is the first increase in California's minimum limits since 1967 — a long overdue adjustment that significantly changes the landscape for UM/UIM claims and policy limit demands.

Understanding the 30/60/15 Split Limits

$30,000 per person bodily injury liability. $60,000 per occurrence bodily injury liability. $15,000 property damage liability. For most minor-injury cases, the 30/60 BI limits may now fully compensate your client without the need to pursue UM/UIM coverage. However, for catastrophic injury cases, these minimums remain woefully inadequate.

Impact on UM/UIM Claims

Your client's own UM/UIM coverage stacks against the at-fault driver's limits. With the old 15/30 minimums, a client carrying 100/300 UM/UIM had an $85,000 gap to fill per person. Under the new 30/60 minimums, that gap narrows to $70,000 — still significant, but the dynamics of demand strategy change.

Tender Timing and the Exhaustion Requirement

To trigger UM/UIM coverage in California, the at-fault insurer must exhaust (tender) its policy limits. Under Insurance Code Section 11580.2, you cannot make a UM/UIM claim until the primary policy limits are tendered or a judgment exhausts them. The new higher minimums mean more cases will see primary carriers tendering limits quickly on clear-liability cases, which speeds UM/UIM activation.

Practical Recommendations for Your Firm

Update your intake questionnaire to capture your client's UM/UIM limits as of the accident date. For 2025 accidents, confirm whether the at-fault driver is carrying the new 30/60/15 minimums or an older policy with transitional limits. California allowed a phase-in for policies issued before January 1, 2025, so you may still encounter 15/30/5 minimums on policies issued before the change date.