Property Damage Limits Issues
Every motorist in California is required to have liability insurance. However, the minimum amount of insurance that is legally allowed* is $15,000 per person for bodily injury, $30,000 per occurrence for bodily injury, and $5,000 for property damage. What this means that when an incident happens, the most the insurance company will pay in those situations is $15,000 for injuries to any one person, and $30,000 total for injuries for the entire incident. Here we will only focus on the $5,000 property damage limit.
What that means is that if a person has the minimum amount of property damage coverage, the most that their insurance company will pay for the damages to your vehicle is $5,000. This includes towing, storage rental, etc.
With the current cost of repairing vehicles, even minor damages will easily reach this $5,000 threshold. If you choose to go through the at fault party’s insurance when there is only $5,000 in property damage coverage, you will have to pursue the at fault driver personally for anything above the $5,000. Unfortunately, the people that tend to only have $5,000 in property damage coverage don’t typically have enough money to pay for the repairs to your vehicle.
Also, the insurance company for the at fault party will not pay you anything unless you sign a release, meaning you cannot pursue the driver personally.
This is further complicated if there are multiple vehicles involved, as the insurance company cannot settle with each vehicle individually but has to settle all of the cases at the same time.
To avoid this hassle, it is best to pay your deductible and go through your own insurance coverage. Your insurance company will pursue recovery from the at fault party. Even if your own company cannot recover the full amount that they paid out in repairs, they must reimburse your deductible before taking any recovery themselves.
If you have any questions regarding the damages to your vehicle, reach out to Doherty Injury Law. We are here to help.
*In some instances, some California drivers can qualify for coverage of $10,000 per person for bodily injury, $20,000 per occurrence for bodily injury, and $3,000 for property damage. However, this is rare and it is typically safe to assume that the minimum a person with insurance will have is $15,000 per person for bodily injury, $30,000 per occurrence for bodily injury, and $5,000 for property damage.
