JDM_JOE

I sold my car and am about to pick up a 06 s2k and was wondering what the lowest coverage you can have but still have full coverage. And will happen if you have liability on a car that your making payments on. I can afford the insurance already Im just trying to find a reasonable cost.

ECale3

well, if you get caught with liability on a car the bank has a lien against you are in deep shit.

The minimum full coverage you can have is the legally required amounts, which vary by state.

JDM_JOE

Would anyone know what the mimum requirement is for california?

NoRawkus305

As long as you have a loan on the car, you have to have full coverage.

Nate4635

Yea, as far as i know, the insurance company will notify the lien holder if the minimum coverage is not met. When i switched insurance to another company, I did not let my lien holder know and they called me saying they had been notified of a drop in coverage.

So......depending on your situation, I wouldnt try to drop below minimum. And like someone said before, it will depend on your state. However....think a little bit. I tried to do the same thing, just get insurance to be legal and try to save every buck I could. But....its surprising sometimes how raising your coverage really doesnt affect the premium as much as you would think...

Nate

ace123

neighborhood of 25/50/25 is my guess, but you could probably get the answer googling your local dmv.

vtec9

California DMV site should have all the information.

Sabre

Or if you want to get REALLY crazy, just call your insurance company and ask them for a quote with the minimum required insurance for a car with a lien for your state, since they would already know.

OR

Contact a local insurance broker and have them shop around for you.

And yes, your loan company will know if you have liability only and they will not be happy at all. Insurance companies keep record of your lienholder (you have to provide this info when you get your policy) so they can notify them if any problems arise.

FNR32

IN california, the lowest legal limits are $5,000 (property damage), $15,000 (Bodily Injury per person), $30,000 (Bodily Injury per acident).

If you have any assets, you may want to get some decent coverages becuase if you hit someone and the damage is over $5k, their insurance company will come after you for what's left. I understand insurance is high in Cali, specifically the bay area, but personally in that area anything less than 50K on property damage is not adequate.
If you finance, you will have to at least get the limits stated above, if you don't finance, you can get away with liability only as mentioned below

screaminyellow

Minimum for Cali is P.L.P.D., stands for personal liability and property damage.

But, and there is a BUT, that only covers the occupants of your car and whomever or whatever you hit. Even then, it is limited to a payout of $25k per person, $50k max and $25k for the property damage.

And for your car... you wont get crap, they wont even pay off the bank. This policy is only to protect people and the other parties property, Not yours. If your car gets stolen or broken into, sorry about your luck. you stil owe the bank for a broken car!

Now if you finance a vehicle, most banks require FULL coverage with no more than $1000 deductible per incident. But unless you always have a grand laying around I would never advise more than $500.