12 terms every California driver should understand before comparing quotes. Each definition cites its authoritative source.
- Bodily injury liability
- Bodily injury liability pays medical and legal costs when you are at fault and injure another driver, passenger, or pedestrian. California minimum is $15,000 per person and $30,000 per accident under CA Insurance Code 11580.1b. San Marino drivers with significant assets often carry 100/300 or 250/500 to match exposure.
- Source: CA Insurance Code 11580.1b
- Property damage liability
- Property damage liability pays vehicle and property repair costs when you are at fault. California minimum is $5,000 per accident. Most San Marino advisors recommend $50,000 or $100,000 because at-fault claims involving newer vehicles routinely exceed $25K in repair costs.
- Source: CA Insurance Code 11580.1b
- Collision coverage
- Collision coverage pays to repair or replace your vehicle after a collision with another car or object, regardless of fault. Lenders require it on financed vehicles. San Marino deductibles commonly run $500 or $1,000; affluent households often choose $1,000 to lower premium.
- Source: NAIC Auto Insurance Guide
- Comprehensive coverage
- Comprehensive coverage pays for non-collision vehicle damage — theft, fire, hail, falling objects, animal strikes. In San Marino, catalytic-converter theft and LA-area vehicle theft make comprehensive especially relevant for luxury vehicles parked in driveways.
- Source: NAIC Auto Insurance Guide
- Uninsured motorist coverage
- Uninsured motorist (UM) coverage pays your medical expenses when an at-fault driver has no insurance. California uninsured driver rate is approximately 16.6% per NAIC 2024. UM is especially practical for San Marino commuters on 110, 210, and 5 freeways.
- Source: NAIC 2024
- Umbrella policy
- An umbrella policy provides liability coverage above auto and home limits, typically starting at $1M. Required underlying auto liability is usually 250/500/100. San Marino households with significant assets ($1M+) commonly carry umbrella to protect equity.
- Source: NAIC Auto Insurance Guide
- Good-driver discount
- A mandatory CA discount of at least 20% for drivers licensed 3+ years with no at-fault accidents and at most one DMV point. Every California carrier must offer it under Prop 103 (CA Ins. Code 1861.025). San Marino clean-record drivers see this as the largest single discount.
- Source: CA Insurance Code 1861.025
- Territory rating
- Territory rating is the practice of filing different base rates for different geographic areas — typically ZIP code zones — with the CA DOI. Two San Marino drivers with identical profiles in different LA County ZIPs (91108 vs. 91030 South Pasadena) can receive different quotes.
- Source: CA DOI rate filing rules
- Named driver exclusion
- A named driver exclusion formally excludes a specific household member from coverage. In California, excluded drivers are not covered under any circumstance. San Marino households use exclusions to avoid pricing a high-risk teen or adult-child driver into a preferred-rate policy.
- Source: CA Insurance Code
- Lapse in coverage
- A lapse in coverage is any period — even one day — when a vehicle required to be insured had no active policy. Lapses appear on CLUE reports and can increase premiums, narrow carrier appetite, or trigger SR-22 in San Marino.
- Source: CA DOI
- Anti-theft device discount
- A 5-15% comprehensive credit for factory or aftermarket anti-theft devices — alarms, immobilizers, GPS recovery (LoJack), CatClamp. San Marino LA County theft exposure makes this discount commonly available and meaningful.
- Source: NAIC Discount Survey
- Declarations page
- The declarations page is the document — typically the first 1-2 pages of a policy — that summarizes coverage limits, deductibles, premium, covered vehicles, listed drivers, and policy dates. Comparing declarations pages is the most reliable way to verify equivalent coverage at a lower price per https://content.naic.org/consumer/auto-insurance.htm.
- Source: NAIC Consumer Guide
