Thousand Oaks Auto Insurance

Thousand Oaks is one of the most desirable places to live in California.

With a lot of open space, trails and world-class entertainment, Thousand Oaks is a great place to live for young adults, families, and any active individual who loves the environment. It's a plus that the city is ranked #1 on the FBI's Safest Cities list.

While the city has made Bicycling Magazine's list of the Top 50 Bike-Friendly Cities in America, residents still need their vehicles to commute to work and run errands.

Since driving is a way of life all throughout California, it's important to build a comprehensive auto insurance policy.

Enter your zip code now for the best car insurance rates in Thousand Oaks!

California Financial Responsibility Laws

In some states, having auto insurance is the law. In California, proving that you're financially responsible is the law.

All residents in Northern, Central and Southern California are required by law to comply with state financial responsibility laws.

Buying insurance is one way to prove you're financially responsible, but it's not the only way.

These financial responsibility laws are enforced to not just protect consumers, but to ensure that everyone with a car is able to pay their part when they hit someone in an accident.

Since California operates under a tort-based insurance system, anyone deemed to be liable for damages must pay to restore the victim to their pre-accident condition.

When do you need to show proof of financial responsibility?

You must maintain valid evidence of financial responsibility at all times if plan to drive your car. As long as the car is registered, your proof must be maintained.

While you're not always required to furnish proof, you'll be asked to provide evidence in the following scenarios:

• You're asked for proof of insurance by a law enforcement officer or a military guard
• You're renewing your vehicle registration and you need to prove the car has evidence of FR
• You're in an accident you're asked for your insurance information by an officer or victim

How to Show Financial Responsibility

If you're not familiar with the law, you might be confused by how you can demonstrate evidence of financial responsibility.

You can't just drive around with cash in a bank account and expect that to be enough proof. In order to comply with the law, you have to file your evidence with the state and it must be approved.

Some approved methods for filing include:

• Posting a $35,000 deposit in cash or cashier's check with the State Treasurer
• Filing a $35,000 surety bond that's been issued by a surety company in California
• A certificate of self-insurance through the Department of Motor Vehicles
• Proof of insurance issued by an auto insurance carrier selling auto insurance liability coverage in the state

How does auto insurance work when satisfying Financial Responsibility laws?

The most common way to file proof of financial responsibility is to buy a minimum amount of liability insurance.

To buy car insurance, you must pay monthly, quarterly, semi-annually or annually for your protection. If you don't use the coverage, the insurer earns the premiums and your rates in the future won't be surcharged.

All policies must possess a minimum amount of liability coverage to be accepted by the state.

The carrier must be licensed by the Department of Insurance for coverage to be valid as well. If you'd like to buy insurance instead of posting or filing collateral, here are the minimum limits that you must carry:

• Bodily Injury - $15,000 per person, $30,000 per accident

Bodily Injury Liability pays for the damages that you're liable for when someone outside of your car is injured in an accident. The limits apply to costs for medical treatment, lost wages and other related expenses for services needed because of the injury.

• Property Damage - $5,000 per accident

Property Damage Liability pays for damages that you cause in your vehicle when you hit someone else's vehicle or other types of real property. The policy will only pay up to the property's Actual Cash Value when issuing payment.

Do you need to raise your liability limits?

Buying a bare minimum policy, which is written 15/30/5, will satisfy the state law.

Even so, having the state minimums will put you at-risk of having gaps in your protection. That's why it's important to price the cost to raise your liability limits higher to avoid gaps at all costs.

Most experts recommend that drivers carry at least 100/300/100 in liability coverage, especially in a state like California.

In Thousand Oaks specifically, the healthcare index is high. That means that it costs more to receive care in Thousand Oaks than it does when averaging all other cities in the nation. Having higher limits can make up for this cost.

Are there uninsured drivers in Thousand Oaks?

In California, an uninsured driver is one who doesn't have insurance or any other proof of financial responsibility on file.

These drivers put everyone at risk because they don't have the financial ability to pay for your damages without you first going through litigation.

Uninsured motorists are a problem all throughout the nation, but the problem is extremely serious in California. Based on a study conducted by the Insurance Research Council, about 14.9 percent of drivers don't have insurance.

That equates to about 4.1 million statewide. Based on the population in Thousand Oaks, nearly 20,000 residents don't have coverage.

Can you protect yourself against uninsured motorists?

You can't control others but you can buy coverage to protect yourself.

That's why you should consider adding theUninsured Motorist Protection (UM) provision onto your policy for more peace of mind. With this provision, you'll get reimbursed for your medical treatment, disability and lost wages after a non-fault loss with an uninsured driver.

All carriers in the state of California are required by state law to offer the UM provision.

Even though you must be offered the option to buy it, you don't have to exercise the option. You can reject coverage in writing if you don't want to pay the premiums. If you don't sign a rejection, a minimum amount of coverage will be added.

Is there coverage that pays for medical bills?

You can accrue medical bills even when you're in an accident and everyone involved has insurance.

If you're at fault for the crash, you don't have third-party insurance to lean on. It can even take weeks or months to get payment if you're not at fault. That's why you should consider carrying no-fault Medical Payments coverage.

Medical payments coverage is a provision that offers first-party benefits for you, your listed drivers, family members and vehicle occupants. Since fault doesn't matter, payments are issued quickly to cover immediate medical expenses.

Like UM coverage, Medical Payments must be offered but can be rejected in writing.

Do you need physical damage coverage?

The only time that you're contractually obligated to carry full coverage is when you have an outstanding loan.

If you hold the title to your car, you don't have to worry about loss payees or physical damage requirements. That doesn't mean that you shouldn't consider at least pricing the cost of comprehensive and collision.

Insurance rates vary widely from region to region and household to household.

When all of the premiums are averaged, you may find that comprehensive and collision insurance are reasonably priced. In California, the average cost for comprehensive is just $97.67 but the average cost for collision is $361.24.

How to Save Money on Your Premiums

Auto insurance comes with a personalized price.

With this being said, there are some pretty common insurance discounts that you can qualify for that will keep your premiums down. If you're in an area like City Center or Greenwich Village, where property crime rates tend to be higher, getting discounts will matter.

Here are some savings to look for:

• Good Driver
• Good Student
• Mature Driver
• Accident-free
• Claims-free
• Low mileage
• Driver safety training
• Student Away at School

The only way to really discover how much you'll pay to buy insurance is to get quotes. You can contact insurance companies by phone or direct on the web, but that takes a lot of time.

The best way to get a lot of quotes at once is to use an online rate comparison tool. Be sure that you enter your information correctly and then do a thorough comparison to find the best deal on a high level of auto insurance protection.

Use our FREE comparison tool today to receive affordable rates on car insurance!