Auto insurance for every kind of driver.

What California insurers can and can't rate on

Proposition 103 ranks driving record, annual mileage and years of experience first (Insurance Code 1861.02(a)). What most shoppers miss is that every other factor comes from a closed list. The Commissioner adds factors only by regulation, and under 1861.02(a)(4) using any criterion that hasn't been approved counts as unfair discrimination.

The approved optional factors are in Title 10, California Code of Regulations, section 2632.5(d). They include the type of vehicle and its performance, vehicle features such as safety and anti-theft devices, how the car is used (pleasure, commute, business, farm), the share of time the rated driver uses it, multi-vehicle households, academic standing, driver training or defensive driving courses, persistency with the same insurer, multiple policies with the same or an affiliated company, non-smoker status, and how often and how severely claims happen where the car is garaged.

Marital status and gender

Marital status is still on that list. On September 16, 2026, the Commissioner proposed regulations to stop insurers from using it; insurers that use it would have to bring their rating plans into line once the rules are final. Gender is already off the list. The Department of Insurance told insurers that no class plan including gender as a rating factor may be filed after January 1, 2019, and that insurers then using it had to file revised plans removing it by July 1, 2019.

Credit scores

Credit history isn't on the approved list, so it can't be used as a rating factor for California auto. Rules on credit-based insurance scores vary by state, and a car garaged in another state is rated under that state's rules.

After a crash: the DMV deadline

Your insurance claim and your DMV duties are separate, and the DMV deadline comes first. Here's the order:

1. At the scene. Stop. Call 911 right away if anyone is hurt. If no one is hurt, move out of traffic, then call. Show your license, registration, insurance information and current address to the other driver, any officer and anyone else involved. If anyone is injured or killed, a report to law enforcement is due within 24 hours.
2. Within 10 days, file an SR-1 with the DMV if anyone was injured, however minor, or killed, or if property damage is over $1,000 (Vehicle Code 16000). Each driver files, whether or not you caused the collision, and the DMV says this applies even on private property. Police, CHP and insurer reports don't replace it. You, your insurance agent or broker, or your legal representative can file it online. The DMV says your driving privilege will be suspended if you don't file.
3. Then open the claim. California's claim-handling deadlines are on my claim timelines page.

If you were uninsured

When an accident report says a driver had no insurance, Vehicle Code 16070 has the DMV mail a notice of intent to suspend. The suspension starts 30 days after mailing unless, before then, you show the DMV proof of coverage that was in force on the day of the accident. The notice also tells you about your right to a hearing. The DMV handbook says the suspension can last up to four years, regardless of who was at fault. You can get your license back during the last three years by filing an SR-22 and keeping it for three years.