Motorcycle insurance requirements in California call for every rider to carry liability coverage of at least $30,000 per person for bodily injury, $60,000 per accident, and $15,000 for property damage, or to prove financial responsibility through an approved alternative. Those minimums took effect January 1, 2025. Riding without coverage is an infraction, triggers license suspension if you’re in a crash, and — under Proposition 213 — strips you of the right to collect pain-and-suffering damages even when another driver caused the wreck.
The 30/60/15 Minimums
Senate Bill 1107 raised the mandatory liability floor on January 1, 2025. Every motorcyclist now needs at least:
- $30,000 for bodily injury or death of one person
- $60,000 for bodily injury or death of two or more people in one accident
- $15,000 for property damage
Those figures doubled the old per-person bodily injury minimum and tripled the property damage floor.1California Department of Insurance. New Year Means New Changes for Insurance, Make Sure You Are Protected Insurers must bring existing policies up to the new minimums as they renew through the year.2California Legislative Information. SB 1107 – Vehicles: Insurance
Liability covers harm you cause to other people and their property when you’re at fault. It pays nothing toward your own injuries, your own bike, or losses from a crash someone else caused. A serious motorcycle accident can produce medical bills and vehicle damage well beyond 30/60/15, and any excess comes out of your pocket. The minimum is a legal floor, not a recommended level of protection.
How To Prove You’re Covered
You have to show proof of coverage when a peace officer requests it at a traffic stop, when you’re in a collision, and when you renew your registration. California specifically allows you to display your insurance card on a phone or tablet instead of a paper copy.3California Legislative Information. California Vehicle Code 16028 If you hand over your device, the officer is barred from viewing anything else on it, but you take on the liability if the device gets damaged.
A standard liability policy is the normal way to satisfy the law. California also recognizes three alternatives:
- A $75,000 cash deposit with the DMV
- A $75,000 surety bond from a company licensed in California
- A self-insurance certificate, available only if you have more than 25 motor vehicles registered in your name
The deposit and bond amounts rose alongside the new liability minimums.4California Department of Motor Vehicles. Auto Insurance Requirements For almost every rider, a policy is cheaper and simpler than tying up $75,000.
What Happens if You Ride Uninsured
Riding without proof of financial responsibility is an infraction under California Vehicle Code Section 16028. A first offense carries a base fine of $100 to $200, but with California’s penalty assessments stacked on top, the real cost runs around $400. A second offense carries a base fine of $200 to $500, with total assessments that can exceed $1,000.
The fines are the smaller problem. An uninsured crash sets off two consequences that are far worse.
License Suspension After an Uninsured Accident
When an accident report reaches the DMV showing you lacked coverage, the DMV mails a notice of intent to suspend. If you don’t prove within 30 days that you actually had insurance at the time, the suspension takes effect.5California Department of Motor Vehicles. Financial Responsibility (Insurance) It can last up to four years, and it applies no matter who caused the crash.6California Department of Motor Vehicles. California Driver’s Handbook – Financial Responsibility, Insurance Requirements, and Collisions
You can get your license back during the final three years of the suspension by filing a California Insurance Proof Certificate (SR-22 or SR-1P) with the DMV and keeping it in force for the full three years.6California Department of Motor Vehicles. California Driver’s Handbook – Financial Responsibility, Insurance Requirements, and Collisions An SR-22 is not a separate policy. It’s a form your insurer files to certify you carry at least the state minimum. Premiums are typically higher for riders who need one, and if the policy lapses while the SR-22 is active, the insurer notifies the DMV and your license is suspended again.
Proposition 213 and Pain-and-Suffering Damages
Most riders don’t learn about this one until it’s too late. Under California Civil Code Section 3333.4, passed as Proposition 213 in 1996, an uninsured vehicle owner or operator who gets hurt in a crash cannot recover non-economic damages — pain and suffering, disfigurement, loss of enjoyment of life — even if the other driver was entirely at fault.7California Legislative Information. California Civil Code 3333.4 You can still sue for economic losses like medical bills and lost wages, but non-economic damages often make up the bulk of recovery in a serious injury case. Losing access to them can be financially devastating.
There is one narrow exception. If the driver who hit you was convicted of DUI, Proposition 213 does not bar your non-economic damages, uninsured or not.7California Legislative Information. California Civil Code 3333.4 Outside that scenario, the rule applies.
Coverages Beyond the Minimum
Liability protects other people. Everything that protects you and your bike is optional, but motorcycle crashes tend to produce injuries and repair costs that dwarf a typical car accident, and a bare liability policy leaves all of that on you.
Collision pays to repair or replace your motorcycle after a crash with another vehicle or object, no matter who was at fault. Lenders almost always require it on a financed or leased bike. Comprehensive handles non-crash damage: theft, vandalism, fire, falling objects, weather. Riders with older bikes they could afford to replace sometimes drop both to lower premiums.
California insurers must offer uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage with every liability policy. You can decline it in writing, but doing so is a gamble. UM/UIM pays your losses when the other driver has no insurance or not enough to cover what they owe you. A meaningful share of California drivers remain uninsured, and others still carry the old 15/30/5 limits until their renewals catch up, so the gap is real — and it hits motorcyclists harder because injury severity in any given crash tends to be greater.
Medical payments coverage pays your medical bills after a crash regardless of fault, and it pays quickly, without waiting for a liability claim to sort out. It doesn’t cover lost wages or non-medical expenses, and it supplements rather than replaces your health insurance. It’s especially useful if your health plan has a high deductible or limited trauma coverage.
If you’ve modified your bike — aftermarket exhaust, custom paint, saddlebags, upgraded electronics — standard comprehensive and collision usually cover only factory value. A custom parts and equipment endorsement extends coverage to the add-ons. Some insurers bundle in a modest amount automatically; riders with extensive modifications should check the limit and raise it if needed. This coverage generally requires you to already carry comprehensive or collision on the bike.