Aspet Bianslaw
At Babaians Law Firm, we see how often this gets misquoted in car accident claims, so it is worth stating plainly. According to the chaptered bill text published by the California Legislature, the Protect California Drivers Act is Senate Bill 1107, which took effect January 1, 2025 and amended Vehicle Code section 16056 to raise the state’s minimum liability limits to 30/60/15: $30,000 for the bodily injury of one person, $60,000 total for bodily injury per accident, and $15,000 for property damage. It was the first increase to these minimums since 1967, and it replaced the old 15/30/5 limits that had stayed unchanged for nearly six decades.
Under the Protect California Drivers Act, any policy issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2025 automatically reflects the new floors. That means the vast majority of California policies now carry 30/60/15 or higher, though confirming a specific driver’s actual declarations page is still the reliable way to know for certain, rather than assuming.
The numbers describe the at-fault driver’s liability coverage, meaning what their insurer pays on their behalf, not your own policy. The first number, $30,000, is the most that policy pays toward one injured person’s claim. The second number, $60,000, is the total cap across everyone injured in that same accident, so if three people are hurt, that $60,000 has to stretch across all three claims combined. The third number, $15,000, covers property damage, most often the other vehicle, but potentially fences, structures, or anything else damaged in the crash.
This is where the real claim math often changes. California requires insurers to offer uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage, matched to the same 30/60 bodily injury limits under the Protect California Drivers Act, though a driver can decline it in writing. If you carry underinsured motorist coverage, it can supplement your recovery once the at-fault driver’s policy limit is exhausted. Separately, an injured person can in some cases pursue a judgment against the at-fault driver’s personal assets beyond their insurance limits, though actually collecting on that judgment is a distinct legal challenge from winning it. Neither path is automatic, which is exactly why understanding what is actually available matters before accepting an early settlement offer.
Not sure what coverage is actually available in your case? Don’t guess based on outdated numbers. Call (818) 334-2981 for a free consultation with Babaians Law Firm. We can pull the real policy limits and underinsured motorist coverage into your claim math.
For years, demand letters and even some adjusters’ internal valuations were built around the assumption that a minimum-coverage driver carried only 15/30/5. That habit did not disappear the moment the law changed. Some injured people, and even some professionals reviewing their claims, are still working from a number that has not been accurate since January 1, 2025. Correcting that assumption matters because it changes the ceiling of what is realistically available from the at-fault driver’s insurer before underinsured motorist coverage or any other avenue even comes into play.
The Protect California Drivers Act does not stop at 30/60/15. Under the same statute, the minimum liability coverage is scheduled to increase again on January 1, 2035, rising to $50,000 per person, $100,000 per accident, and $25,000 for property damage, commonly shorthanded as 50/100/25. That increase is not relevant to a claim today, but it confirms the direction these minimums are heading and why relying on outdated figures, in either direction, is worth double-checking rather than assuming.
Founder Bianca Babaians, Esq. started this firm after watching her own mother get hurt and then abandoned by attorneys who would not fight for her, and that history still shapes how every case here is handled.
If you were hit by a driver you assume was minimally insured, do not accept an early offer based on old numbers. Speak with a Los Angeles car accident lawyer at Babaians Law Firm. Call (818) 334-2981 or contact us online for a free, no-obligation consultation. We will confirm the actual coverage available before you settle for less than the law now allows.
It is Senate Bill 1107, signed in 2022 and effective January 1, 2025, which raised California’s minimum car insurance limits to 30/60/15: $30,000 per person and $60,000 per accident for bodily injury, plus $15,000 for property damage.
The prior minimums were 15/30/5, in place since 1967. The Protect California Drivers Act raised them to 30/60/15, the first increase in nearly six decades.
Existing policies update automatically at their first renewal on or after January 1, 2025. By mid-2026 nearly every California policy reflects the new limits, though it is still worth confirming the specific declarations page in any claim.
Underinsured motorist coverage, which California insurers must offer at limits matching the Protect California Drivers Act’s minimums, can supplement your recovery once the at-fault driver’s policy is exhausted. In some cases a judgment against personal assets is also possible, though collecting on it is a separate challenge from winning it.
Under the same law, the minimums are scheduled to rise again on January 1, 2035, to $50,000 per person, $100,000 per accident, and $25,000 for property damage.
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Great female led personal injury firm with good results and settlements. I highly recommend this law firm for personal injury related matters in Los Angeles and California in general.
