Why It’s Important To Check Your Auto Insurance

November 13, 2026

Driving with inadequate automobile insurance is extremely risky. In California for example, a state with an estimated 20.2 million drivers, approximately 5.1 million of these people do not have automobile insurance. That’s right – a whopping 25% of all California drivers are uninsured.

What does this mean for those of us that are insured?

Take a good look at your current auto insurance coverage!

When it comes to automobile insurance, are you adequately covered? One of the biggest risks of driving is the possibility of getting injured in an accident. Besides the physical damage to your automobile, the potential damage to your body may be permanent. This risk can be severely compounded in the event you are involved in an accident with an uninsured or even an under-insured motorist. Did you know that in most circumstances where an insured driver is injured by an uninsured or under-insured motorist, the maximum damage recovery available to the insured driver will be the amount of his or her own under-insured or under-insured automobile insurance coverage? As unfair as this may seem, it is true.

Under California Law, all drivers must be “Financially Responsible” for damages resulting from ownership or operation of a motor vehicle and must be able to prove this if involved in an accident. The easiest way to meet this requirement is to purchase automobile insurance. The minimum limit required in California is:

– Bodily Injury (BI): $15,000 for each person injured or killed in an accident / $30,000 for injury or death to two or more persons in one accident.

– Property Damage (PD): $5,000

These limits are typically stated as 15/30/5 and, while they are the least expensive, they are far below amounts necessary for adequate protection.

Take for example a case that we recently had in our office: A married locomotive engineer was killed by a negligent uninsured motorist. At the time of the accident, our client’s deceased husband was earning $70,000 per year and had a 15/30/5 automobile insurance policy. The person who caused the accident, has no insurance, assets or money for which to pay a judgment. Therefore, the amount of recovery for the surviving spouse is limited to her husband’s uninsured motorist policy of $15,000. While this is an absolute tragedy, it could have been avoided.

Automobile insurance companies offer a variety of plans and coverage to consumers. Sifting through the choices can be confusing, but keep in mind insurance is there to protect you. While The Crow Law Offices is not an insurance agent and does not benefit from premiums paid to insurance companies, we do recommend that you contact your insurance provider and examine the types of options available. Automobile insurance is one of the most important matters of family protection that you can consider.