I'm Griff Tonkin. I'm one of the partners here at the Arthofer and Tonkin Law Offices. We're exclusively a personal injury practice.
Today I want to talk to you about an exciting law change here in the state of California. Now I know I just said exciting and law change in the same sentence, but I really mean it. We have to start back at the beginning, and by that I mean with your insurance limits.
The minimum limits that you can have for auto insurance in the state of California right now has $15,000 of coverage if you cause an accident and injure someone else, or if you're hurt by someone, their insurance will cover you up to $15,000 for any individual. If there are multiple people in the vehicle in which you're a car, there are multiple cars involved, there's up to $30,000 in coverage for all injured parties. So, by way of brief review, $15,000 for any one person, $30,000 for everyone who's injured involved in the accident.
These are really small insurance limits. In fact, these limits have been in place under California law for over 55 years. They just haven't kept up with the expense of life.
If you're injured in an accident, an ambulance ride, and a trip to the emergency room, even if you're released the very same day, we'll likely have bills well above that $15,000 limit, which leaves nothing less for other medical treatment, wage loss, or compensation for what you've been through. So, these limits are just simply inadequate, but they are the minimum limits allowed under California law. That is until the end of this year.
I'm talking to you right now in December of 2024. But beginning with all policies that renew after January 1st, 2025 in the state of California, those limits double. So, we're going to increase the individual limit from $15,000 to $30,000, and the limit for anyone hurt in an accident that involves multiple injured parties from $30,000 to $60,000.
So, a really, really needful change. We've had the unfortunate situation where lots of clients have come in here to Arhover and Tompkins, and they've told us, oh, I have full coverage. And I have to break their hearts and explain that doesn't mean you have good coverage.
It just means you have coverage both if you cause an accident and if an accident is caused by the negligence of someone else. You can still have really minimal coverage under the old scheme. Now, at least, there'll be twice the amount of coverage, up to $30,000 per person.
This probably still isn't enough, and the California legislature has recognized this. In 10 years, the limits are going to increase to $50,000 and $100,000. That's probably more appropriate for today's economy, but at least it's a step in the right direction of ensuring that when you've been injured by the negligence of someone else, that there's at least some pool of resources to help you recover for what's happened to you, for your wage loss, for your medical bills, for the aggravation of having to go through all that you go through when you've been injured through the fault of someone else.
My name's Griff Tonkin. If you've been injured in a personal injury matter, call us here at Arthofer & Tonkin Law Offices. You'll speak to either myself or my business partner if we give you a consultation.
All of our consultations are free, no cost to you. Call us today.
