Wrongful Death | Bakersfield, California
California Minimum Auto Insurance and Wrongful Death: What Your Family Needs to Know
A minimum auto policy may pay far less than the losses in a fatal crash. Colvin Accident Lawyers helps families in Kern County and nearby communities understand their options.
By Donald Norman Colvin · Published November 3, 2026
If you are searching for California minimum auto insurance wrongful death information, start with the current numbers. For any policy or bond issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2025, if an accident results in bodily injury or death, California requires at least $30,000 for one person’s injury or death and $60,000 for two or more people in one accident. It also requires at least $15,000 for property damage. Those are the minimums a driver must carry. They are not the amount a family will receive.
What Is the Minimum Auto Insurance Coverage Required in California?
California’s current minimum is 30/60/15 for policies issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2025. The law requires bodily injury or death coverage of at least $30,000 for one person in any one accident. It requires at least $60,000 for two or more people. It also requires at least $15,000 for damage to other people’s property.
This coverage pays other people when the driver causes a crash. It does not pay the driver’s own injuries. The California Department of Insurance lists the same figures as basic automobile liability limits.
When a crash has taken someone you love and the insurance answers are unclear, you don't have to sort it out alone; our team is ready to talk. Talk it through with our team — the first consultation is free, confidential, and carries no obligation.
What Do the Numbers 30/60/15 Mean?
The first number is the per-person limit. The second is the per-accident limit. The third covers property damage.
- $30,000 per person: the most the policy pays for the injury or death of one person.
- $60,000 per accident: the most the policy pays in total for everyone hurt or killed in one crash.
- $15,000 property damage: the most the policy pays for damage to vehicles, fences, or other property.
Here is how that works. Say one crash injures three people. The per-person limit is $30,000 for each of them. But the three together cannot draw more than $60,000 from that policy. The per-accident number is the ceiling for the whole crash.
Why the Older 15/30/5 and $100K/$300K/$100K Figures Show Up in Searches
The 15/30/5 figures are the earlier California minimum. Older policies, articles, and quotes still list them. Under the earlier version of the law, the minimums were $15,000 for one person, $30,000 for two or more people, and $5,000 for property damage. That version applies to policies not issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2025, under Vehicle Code § 16056.
The $100,000/$300,000/$100,000 format is different. It is a higher-limit format some drivers choose for more protection. It is not the state minimum.
The limits that matter are the ones on the specific policy involved. The declarations page of a policy lists its limits. Old articles and online quotes cannot tell you what that policy actually carries.
How Minimum Limits Apply When a Crash Causes a Death
When a crash causes a death, a wrongful death claim is generally paid from the at-fault driver’s bodily injury liability coverage, up to the policy limits. This is the first number to understand in any California minimum auto insurance wrongful death case.
The per-person limit caps what the policy pays for any one death. A 30/60/15 policy pays no more than $30,000 for one person’s death. That cap stays the same no matter how many family members make a claim.
If one crash kills or injures more than one person, the claims may share the $60,000 per-accident limit. The more people hurt, the less may remain for each claim. That is why multi-victim crashes need careful review early.
The law also requires a driver in a crash that causes injury or death to report it to the state within 10 days. The driver must list each injured person by name and current residence address, if available. The report is Vehicle Code § 16000 and it can help document the crash.
Why a Minimum Policy May Not Cover the Full Losses in a Wrongful Death Case
A minimum policy may not cover every loss tied to a death. The policy limit caps only that policy. It is not a measure of what the family lost.
California law sets the rules for a wrongful death award. Under Code of Civil Procedure § 377.61, damages may be awarded that, under all the circumstances of the case, may be just, but may not include damages recoverable under Section 377.34. The court decides how the award is shared among the people entitled to it.
A separate claim for the decedent’s own losses works differently. Under Code of Civil Procedure § 377.34, that claim generally does not include damages for pain, suffering, or disfigurement. The statute has narrow exceptions tied to filing dates.
When the available coverage is less than the total losses, the family may look at other sources. One is uninsured motorist coverage on the family’s own policy. How much a claim is worth depends on the facts of the case and the policies involved.
Who Can Bring a Wrongful Death Claim in California?
Close family members can bring a wrongful death claim under California law. The people allowed to sue are listed in Code of Civil Procedure § 377.60.
The list starts with the decedent’s surviving spouse, domestic partner, and children. It also includes the issue of deceased children. If none of those people survive, the claim can be brought by those who would take the decedent’s property by intestate succession.
Other people who depended on the decedent may also sue. The statute lists a putative spouse, stepchildren, and parents. If the parents have died, legal guardians may sue. A minor who lived in the decedent’s household for the previous 180 days, and depended on the decedent for half or more of support, may also sue.
More than one family member can have a claim. That means an insurance payment may be shared among them. Identifying everyone who qualifies early helps the family plan.
Not sure what your next step is?
Talk it through with our team — the first consultation is free, confidential, and carries no obligation.
How Long Does a Family Have to File a Wrongful Death Claim?
California generally requires an action for a death caused by another’s wrongful act or neglect to be filed within two years. Code of Civil Procedure § 335.1 sets that two-year period.
Insurance claims and lawsuits run on different timelines. An insurer’s claim process can take months. Two years can pass faster than families expect, especially while they handle funeral arrangements, medical bills, and insurance calls.
Write down the date of death. Keep crash reports, letters from insurers, and medical and funeral bills in one place. A clear timeline makes it easier to see which deadlines apply to your family’s situation.
When the Driver Is Uninsured or the Coverage Is Unclear
If the at-fault driver has no insurance or too little, the family may have uninsured motorist coverage on its own policy. It covers, within the limits established by law, sums the heirs or legal representatives are legally entitled to recover for bodily injury, including death, from the owner or operator of an uninsured motor vehicle not owned or operated by the insured or a resident of the same household. Underinsured vehicles fall under the same section.
The same section allows written changes. An insurer and a named insured may agree in writing to lower this coverage, but not below the financial responsibility minimums. They may also delete coverage for a named driver. It helps to find out whether any written change applies to the family’s policy.
Insurance details usually come through the claims process. The insurer handling the claim is the source for a policy’s limits. For the claim path in this situation, see our uninsured driver wrongful death guide.
Crashes Involving Government Vehicles or Local Fatal Crashes
A claim against a public agency can have shorter deadlines than a claim against a private driver. For a death, the claim must be presented within six months after the cause of action arises, under Government Code § 911.2.
A lawsuit against a public entity generally cannot be brought until the written claim has been acted on or deemed rejected. Government Code § 945.4 sets that rule. Those steps come before a lawsuit, so families dealing with a government vehicle should act quickly.
Where a government vehicle is involved, insurance limits may not be the only source to consider. For that situation, see our police chase and government vehicle wrongful death page. Families dealing with a fatal crash on Highway 58 or Highway 99 near Bakersfield can read our Highway 58/99 fatal crash guide.
Talk With Colvin Accident Lawyers About Your Family’s Situation
Insurance limits are only one part of a wrongful death claim. Families often learn these rules while grieving and making hard decisions.
Picture one common situation. A loved one died in a crash, the other driver’s insurance is unclear, and the two-year deadline is already on the calendar (Code Civ. Proc. § 335.1). Questions like these are easier to answer with the facts in hand.
What is the minimum auto insurance in California?
Policies issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2025 must carry 30/60/15 limits under Vehicle Code § 16056. Older policies may still reflect 15/30/5.
Does the policy limit cap a wrongful death claim?
The per-person and per-accident limits cap what that one policy pays. Other coverage, such as uninsured motorist coverage, may apply depending on the facts.
How long does a family have to file?
A wrongful death lawsuit generally must be filed within two years under Code of Civil Procedure § 335.1. A claim against a public entity must be presented within six months.
If your family is sorting through a death in a crash and the insurance is unclear, you don’t have to work through it alone. Our team offers a free, confidential first consultation with no obligation to continue. Call Colvin Accident Lawyers or contact us here.
Donald Norman Colvin, Colvin Accident Lawyers, Bakersfield, California — responsible for this site.
How Colvin Accident Lawyers Helps
Review the policy
We look at the coverage limits on every policy that may apply, including the at-fault driver's policy and any other coverage available to the family.
Identify every source of coverage
Beyond the at-fault driver's liability limits, other coverage such as uninsured or underinsured motorist insurance may come into play. We review each one.
Focus on families
Wrongful death claims are brought by surviving family members. We explain the process in plain language and keep families informed at every stage.
Confidential, no-obligation start
Our free first consultation is confidential and comes with no obligation to continue.
Minimum limits may not be enough
Minimum coverage was set as a baseline, not as a measure of what a family loses when someone dies. Whether a policy's limits are enough depends on the facts of the crash, the insurance in place, and the losses the family suffered. Do not assume the at-fault driver's minimum policy is the full amount available.
Three Limits Every Policy Shows
Per-person bodily injury limit
The most the policy pays for bodily injury or death of one person. Under Vehicle Code § 16056, policies issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2025 carry at least $30,000 per person.
Per-accident bodily injury limit
The most the policy pays for all injuries and deaths in one accident, regardless of how many people are harmed.
Property damage limit
The most the policy pays for damage to property, such as vehicles.