SR-22 Insurance in California: Get Filed and Stay Filed

It has to come from an insurance company authorized to do business in California, and the policy behind it must meet the 30/60/15 minimum: $30,000 per person and $60,000 per accident for injuries, plus $15,000 for property damage. Our guide to California's minimum car insurance explains those limits.

The DMV will also take a $75,000 surety bond or a $75,000 cash deposit as proof. Tying up that much money isn't practical for most people, which is why the insurance certificate is the usual route.

• After a DUI. DMV handouts list proof of insurance (SR 22) as a requirement for the restricted licenses offered after a DUI, including one tied to an ignition interlock device, and again for full reinstatement. The first-offender handout says to maintain the SR 22 for 3 years.
• After an uninsured collision. If you're in a crash without insurance, the DMV can suspend your license for up to four years, whoever was at fault. You can get the license back for the last three years by filing an SR-22 and keeping it in place.
• Other financial responsibility actions. The DMV can require proof of insurance to end other suspensions, too. The notice names the requirement and the dates.

A crash with more than $1,000 in property damage, or with anyone hurt, also has to be reported to the DMV on an SR 1 within 10 days, no matter who caused it. Not filing is a separate reason for a suspension. Our guide on what to do after a car accident in California covers the rest of that checklist.

The uninsured-collision case works a little differently: the three years are the last three years of a suspension that can run as long as four. Whatever your situation, the dates on your DMV notice are the ones that count.

Once a California car policy is in force, the insurer can only cancel it for a few reasons: nonpayment, fraud or material misrepresentation, or a substantial increase in the risk. For nonpayment, it must give you 10 days' written notice after the due date. Treat those 10 days as your window, and call us the day a notice arrives.

• Set up automatic payments and keep the card on file current.
• Changing carriers? The new policy and its new SR-22 must start before the old policy ends.
• Call us before you sell or replace the only car on an owner's policy, so the coverage behind the SR-22 doesn't end with it.
• Keep your mailing address current with the insurer and the DMV, so notices reach you.

California's Vehicle Code describes an operator's policy as covering damages from your use of any motor vehicle not owned by you. It fits people who need their license back but have no car registered to them, such as someone who plans to buy a car later or occasionally borrows one.

It isn't coverage for a car you own. If you buy one, you'll need an owner's policy with a new SR-22 filed on it, and we can start that policy before the operator's policy ends.

If your record allows, we also check the other carriers we work with. Once the SR-22 years are behind you, we'll shop your California car insurance with standard carriers such as Mercury and Travelers again. Every carrier decides for itself whether to accept a driver.

If no carrier will write you, California has a backstop. The California Automobile Assigned Risk Plan (CAARP) assigns high-risk drivers to an insurer for liability coverage, and we'll tell you plainly if that's the likely path.

Your driving record is the first rating factor under California law, so a recent DUI or at-fault accident weighs heavily. A DUI conviction in the past 10 years also rules out the Good Driver Discount, which is worth at least 20% to drivers who qualify. Ways to keep the price manageable:

• Consider liability-only on an older car you could afford to replace.
• Raise collision and comprehensive deductibles on a newer one.
• Ask whether paying in full avoids installment fees.
• Keep the policy active and claim-free; a clean three years puts you in a better spot with standard carriers.

For the broader picture on pricing, see how much car insurance costs in California.

We write SR-22 policies for drivers anywhere in California, not only in the Santa Clarita Valley. Drivers in Palmdale and Lancaster or Bakersfield can handle everything by phone, email and e-sign.