California 2025 Personal-Injury Law Changes Impact on Victims

On January 1, 2025, the personal injury scene in California changed a lot. Two big changes to the law, Senate Bill 1107 and Assembly Bill 375, have changed how accident claims work in California and how a personal injury lawyer approaches these cases. They give injured people more protection and more chances to get money back.

These changes will have a real effect on finances: minimum insurance coverage will double, liability rules for delivery platform accidents will be clearer, and both drivers and injury victims will be better protected. These changes will directly affect how much money you can get back and how smoothly your claim goes, whether you were hurt in a regular car accident or one involving a DoorDash or Uber Eats driver — especially when you work with an experienced personal injury lawyer.

What California’s 2025 legal changes mean

Two important laws went into effect in early 2025 that changed the way insurance and liability work for people who are hurt in accidents in California.

For the first time since 1967, Senate Bill 1107 raised the state’s minimum auto liability insurance requirements. After 58 years of not changing the minimum coverage amounts, California lawmakers realized that medical bills, car repairs, and economic damages had far outpaced the old insurance floors. The result is that there is a lot more insurance coverage available to cover injuries and losses in all kinds of car accidents.

Assembly Bill 375 dealt with a different but just as important issue: the rising number of accidents involving delivery platforms and the confusion over who is responsible when gig-economy drivers hurt someone. This law says that companies like DoorDash, Uber Eats, Instacart, and other similar platforms must offer more insurance and make it clear what drivers are responsible for and what their coverage includes.

These changes fix two big problems with California’s personal injury system: the low minimums for insurance that left victims with serious injuries without enough money to pay for their injuries, and the unclear rules about who is responsible for accidents involving their drivers that let delivery platforms get away with not paying for them.

Senate Bill 1107: Increased Minimum Liability by Two Times

For almost sixty years, California required drivers to have bodily injury liability insurance of only $15,000 per person and $30,000 per accident. In 1967, those amounts might have made sense, but as medical costs went through the roof and cars became more expensive to fix, they became dangerously low.

The new minimums go into effect on January 1, 2025:

$30,000 for each person who is hurt (up from $15,000)
$60,000 for each accident that hurts someone (up from $30,000)
Damage to property: $15,000 (up from $5,000)

These price hikes affect all vehicles on California roads, including personal cars, commercial trucks, rideshare vehicles, and delivery vans. Drivers who got a new policy or renewed their old one after January 1, 2025 must have at least these amounts.

The real-world effect is big. Before 2025, a person who was hit by a car and had $40,000 in medical bills could use up the other driver’s $15,000 per-person coverage right away, leaving a $25,000 gap. The same driver’s insurance would now cover $30,000, which is half of what it used to cover. In accidents with more than one victim, the per-accident increase from $30,000 to $60,000 means that there is twice as much total coverage available to share among the injured parties.

The change also has an effect on underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage. In California, your car insurance policy must have UIM coverage that is at least as high as your liability limits. If California drivers agree to their insurer’s offer, they will have higher baseline UIM coverage. This gives them an extra layer of protection when they only have minimum policies.

Assembly Bill 375: Making Delivery Platforms Responsible

The rapid rise of services that deliver food, groceries, and packages made the law unclear. When a DoorDash driver ran a red light or an Instacart shopper caused a rear-end collision, it was hard to figure out which insurance applied: the driver’s personal policy, the platform’s commercial coverage, or no coverage at all.

Starting on March 1, 2025, Assembly Bill 375 makes these situations clearer and more accountable.

The law says that delivery platforms must check the identities of drivers and stop people who aren’t supposed to be using drivers’ accounts. Customers need to know who is actually making their delivery on platforms. Most importantly for people who have been hurt, platforms must now offer more insurance for injuries and damage to property caused by their approved drivers.

Delivery platforms must tell both drivers and customers about their insurance, such as how much coverage they have, when it applies, and how to file a claim after an accident. This information needs to make it clear who is primarily responsible in different situations: the driver or the company.

The law doesn’t change the status of drivers to that of employees. Instead, it makes a hybrid model in which drivers stay independent contractors but get mandatory insurance protections and clearer rules about who is responsible. For people who have been hurt in an accident, this means that the claims process is easier, there are fewer disagreements about coverage, and they are more likely to get full compensation when delivery drivers hurt them.

Why These Changes Are Important for Your Injury Claim

The changes in California in 2025 will make it easier for accident victims to get money.

More time to recover: Higher insurance minimums mean you have more money to pay for your medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and other damages. This is most important for victims who have serious injuries that need a lot of treatment, long-term care, or permanent disability. When at-fault drivers only had the old $15,000 minimum, victims of catastrophic injuries often had to choose between accepting settlements that weren’t enough or going after the driver’s limited personal assets. The doubled minimums won’t fix this problem in the worst cases, but they do make the pool of money available for compensation much bigger.

AB 375 makes it easier to file a claim if you were hurt by a delivery driver, hit by a DoorDash vehicle while walking, or hurt while working as a delivery contractor. Platforms can’t easily say that their drivers’ actions aren’t their fault anymore. The required insurance and disclosure requirements make it easy to get paid and cut down on the time spent arguing over which insurance company should pay.

More accurate claim valuation: Insurance adjusters use the amount of coverage that is available to help them figure out how much to offer in a settlement. Adjusters knew that injured victims didn’t have much power when policies had low limits. Even strong claims couldn’t get more than the policy limits. Higher minimums change how this works. Adjusters now have to base their calculations on more realistic coverage amounts. This often leads to higher initial offers and better negotiation outcomes.

Settlement Scenarios in the Real World

Think about how these changes will affect real injury claims.

Scenario One: A bad car crash

You get hurt in a crash caused by a driver who only has the bare minimum of insurance. Your medical bills are $45,000, you lost $8,000 in wages while you were recovering, and you are still in pain that will need treatment in the future.

If the driver who caused the accident had $15,000 in bodily injury coverage, your medical bills would use up all of it. You would then have to get more money through your own underinsured motorist coverage or a difficult personal asset recovery effort.

The at-fault driver’s minimum coverage of $30,000 will cover more of your medical costs starting in 2025. Along with your UIM coverage (which also went up because of the new minimums), you now have a lot more insurance money available without having to go after the driver’s personal assets.

Scenario 2: A delivery driver crashes into something

A DoorDash driver runs a stop sign while rushing to deliver something and hits your car head-on. You break your collarbone and can’t work for six weeks.

Before AB 375, it could take a long time to figure out who was at fault and what was covered. The driver might say they weren’t actively delivering at that time. DoorDash might say that their coverage doesn’t apply because the driver was in between deliveries. Your own insurance company might hold off on paying while they look into whether the delivery platform’s business policy should pay first.

After AB 375, the platform must make it clear what their insurance covers and when it applies. The law’s required insurance makes it less unclear what is covered during different stages of delivery. Your claim goes more smoothly when you don’t have to spend as much time arguing about which insurance company is to blame.

Scenario Three: An accident with more than one car

A driver who is at fault causes a three-car pileup that hurts you and two other people. The total amount of medical bills and damages for all three victims is more than $100,000.

If the at-fault driver had to pay $30,000 for each accident, the money would be split among three victims. If it were split evenly, each victim would get only $10,000, no matter how badly they were hurt.

With the new minimums, the $60,000 per-accident coverage doubles the amount of money that can be paid out before anyone has to use underinsured motorist coverage or go after their own assets.

Answering Frequently Asked Questions About Changes to the Law in 2025

Does the higher liability apply to all drivers in California?

Yes. All drivers who bought or renewed their insurance after January 1, 2025 must have at least the new minimum amounts. This includes delivery drivers, rideshare drivers, personal cars, and commercial vehicles. Drivers whose policies renew in late 2024, on the other hand, won’t see any changes until their next renewal date.

What if my accident happened before 2025?

Most claims for accidents that happened before January 1, 2025 fall under the old insurance minimums. The insurance policy of the driver who caused the accident at the time of the accident will determine what coverage is available. You should still talk to a lawyer about your case, though, because some situations might give you more chances to recover.

How do the changes affect talks about a settlement?

More coverage options give people who have been hurt more power in negotiations. Insurance adjusters can no longer use low policy limits that aren’t real to explain why they make low settlement offers in cases of serious injury. The bigger insurance pools also cut down on the number of times multiple injured people fight for too little total coverage, which means that settlements are more fair for each victim.

What if the driver says they weren’t working when the accident happened?

The rules in AB 375 that require disclosures and insurance coverage should help stop these kinds of arguments. Now, platforms have to be very clear about when coverage applies and keep track of when drivers are working. If you get into an accident with a delivery driver, ask them right away about their job status and the insurance coverage that applies.

Does the new law protect delivery drivers who get hurt?

Yes. The required insurance applies whether the delivery driver gets into an accident or is hurt by another driver while doing their job. Delivery drivers who get hurt on the job can now more easily get to the platform’s insurance, but workers’ compensation rules don’t apply because drivers are still independent contractors and not employees.

What happens if the driver who caused the accident doesn’t have any insurance?

California law says that all drivers must have insurance, but some people still drive without it. If an uninsured driver hurts you, your own uninsured motorist (UM) coverage will pay for your injuries up to the limits of your policy. Even this safety net gives you more protection than before because the new law raises the minimum UM coverage requirements for policies issued after January 1, 2025.

Will these changes make my insurance costs go up?

A lot of drivers in California had to pay more for their insurance when companies changed their policies to meet new minimum standards. The average increase is between $50 and $150 a year, depending on your insurance company, driving record, and where you live. But the extra coverage is a good way to protect yourself.

If your insurance renewed after January 1, 2025, check your current policy to make sure it meets the new minimums. Your declarations page should show coverage of at least 30/60/15. Call your insurance company right away if you still see the old 15/30/5 minimums. Your policy may not be in line with California law.

What accident victims should do right now

California’s changes in 2025 will make it possible to get better compensation, but you need to do the right things to get the most money for your claim. Time is important. California’s statute of limitations gives you two years from the date of the accident to file a personal injury lawsuit. However, the sooner you start gathering evidence and building your case, the better.

Make sure to write down everything in detail. Take pictures of accident scenes from different angles, get close-ups and wide shots of all the damage to the vehicles, and keep taking pictures of bruises and injuries as they get worse. Save all of your medical bills, prescription receipts, physical therapy bills, and wage loss statements. Write in a daily journal about how much pain you’re in, what activities you can’t do, how many days of work you’ve missed, and how your injuries affect your daily tasks. If you can show the full extent of your damages with solid proof, California’s higher insurance minimums will only help.

Find all the different types of insurance that are available. Your compensation could come from a number of places, and the changes that will happen in 2025 make it even more important to find all of them. A lot of accident victims leave money on the table because they think the at-fault driver’s personal policy is their only choice.

Possible insurance companies to look into:

Liability for bodily injury caused by the at-fault driver (at least $30,000 per person as of 2025)
The commercial policy of the at-fault driver’s employer (if they were working, it was usually $1 million or more)
Delivery platform insurance (DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Instacart usually cover $1 million while the driver is working)
Coverage from rideshare companies (Uber and Lyft offer up to $1 million depending on the ride).
Your own uninsured motorist coverage (if the driver who hit you ran away or didn’t have insurance)
Your own underinsured motorist coverage (when the driver who caused the accident only has the minimum limits)
Your health insurance will pay for your medical bills, but they may try to get the money back from the settlement.
Property owner’s liability insurance (if the road or property conditions were to blame)
Coverage for the car maker (if faulty parts caused or made the crash worse)

How to look into it: Ask your lawyer or the discovery process for a copy of the at-fault driver’s insurance declarations page. If you get into an accident while using a delivery or rideshare service, ask the company directly for their certificate of insurance to show that you were covered at the time of the accident. Check the declarations page of your own policy to make sure you know your UM/UIM limits.

You shouldn’t think that the first insurance company you talk to is the only one that is responsible. There may be more than one policy that applies to complicated accidents, especially those involving commercial vehicles or delivery drivers. The 2025 changes make these stacked coverages more valuable than ever.

Don’t agree to early settlement offers. Insurance adjusters often call within days of an accident with settlement offers that sound good but aren’t enough to cover your costs. Knowing why these offers are bad for you can help you protect your financial recovery.

Some common problems with early offers are:

Adjusters might “forget” that policy limits have doubled and use old $15,000 minimums to figure out offers.
Initial offers usually only cover medical bills that need to be paid right away and don’t take into account future treatment needs.
Early estimates don’t often include permanent injuries, scarring, or long-term disability.
Calculations of lost wages may not take into account a person’s lower earning potential or the effect on their career.
Early offers of compensation for pain and suffering are often small or nonexistent.

Things to look out for in settlement offers:

Any offer made before you finish your medical care
Pressure to say yes quickly (“this offer ends in 48 hours”)
Settlements that make you give up all future claims before you know the full story of your health
Offers that are less than three times your medical bills for moderate injuries
Before you talk to a lawyer about how much your case is worth, don’t talk about a settlement.

SB 1107 makes insurance pools bigger, which means you have less reason to quickly accept lowball settlements. If an adjuster says, “this is all the insurance available,” check the policy limits yourself. For any policy renewed after January 1, 2025, they should show at least $30,000 per person.

Look at delivery platform accidents in a new way. If a DoorDash, Uber Eats, Instacart, or similar delivery driver was involved in your accident, AB 375 makes it necessary for them to make certain disclosures and provide certain types of coverage.

At the scene of the accident:

Ask the driver directly which platform they were working for
Ask them for their account information or driver ID.
Check to see if they had a delivery bag, hot bag, or platform identifier that was easy to see.
Take pictures of any platform stickers, bags, or other things in their car.
Look to see if their phone has an active delivery app.
If they were bringing you something, get the order number.

While you are making your claim:

Ask the platform for their insurance disclosure documents. They have to give these to you under AB 375.
Request written proof of the driver’s employment status at the time of the accident.
Get the specific information about the insurance policy that applies
Keep a record of all conversations with the driver’s own insurance company and the platform.

The new law says that platforms have to give this information. If they don’t or take too long, write down that they aren’t following the law, as this may help your case.

Know when you need professional help. Some accident claims are still pretty simple: the injuries are minor and the person will fully recover, the liability is clear, the insurance companies work together, and the settlements cover all the damages fairly. But in certain situations, getting professional legal help will probably lead to much better results.

When an attorney is usually helpful:

Signs of how bad an injury is:

Bills for medical care that are more than $10,000
Treatment in the emergency room or a hospital stay
Surgery is needed or suggested
Permanent scars, changes in appearance, or disability
Pain that doesn’t go away six months or more after the accident
The accident caused long-term health problems.
Need for future medical care or therapy

Problems with liability:

The other driver says they weren’t at fault or that you were to blame for the accident.
Several cars are involved, and the fault percentages are in dispute.
No police report or reports of the accident that don’t match up
Witnesses tell different stories.
The other driver says they were hurt too (a case of comparative negligence).

Problems with insurance:

Claim denied or delayed with no clear reason given
The insurance company is offering a lot less than your medical bills.
Questions about which type of insurance applies (personal, business, or platform)
The driver who caused the accident has the least amount of coverage, but your damages are more than $30,000.
Your own insurance company says they won’t cover UM/UIM.

Problems with delivery and ridesharing:

Any crash that happens with Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, Instacart, or a similar service
There are disagreements about whether the driver was “working” at the time.
The platform won’t give AB 375 the insurance information it needs.
Both the platform and the driver’s own insurance company say they won’t cover it.

Effects on finances:

Wages lost for more than two weeks
Less ability to earn money or not being able to go back to your old job
Permanent changes to your lifestyle or long-term care needs
Economic losses that are close to or more than the at-fault driver’s policy limits

The changes that will happen in 2025 will make things easier and harder at the same time. An experienced personal injury lawyer knows how to deal with new coverage rules, find all the insurance layers that are available, deal with pushy insurance adjusters, and make sure you get the most money possible under California’s new legal protections. Most personal injury lawyers work on a “contingency” basis, which means they only get paid if you win your case. This makes it possible for you to hire a lawyer even if you can’t pay the full amount of legal fees up front.

How Big Ben Lawyers Handles California Injury Claims in 2025

People who have been hurt in accidents all over California call our team when they need help with complicated injury claims under the state’s new legal system.

Our lawyers know how Senate Bill 1107’s higher insurance minimums affect negotiations for settlements and the value of claims. We help our clients find all of their insurance options, including the new minimum coverage levels and delivery platform policies under AB 375, so they can get the most money possible.

The company deals with all kinds of personal injury claims that are affected by California’s 2025 changes:

Car accidents include multi-vehicle collisions, rear-end crashes, intersection accidents, and single-vehicle incidents where the at-fault driver’s higher insurance minimums give them more options for recovery.

Truck accidents are when delivery trucks, semi-trucks, and fleet vehicles crash into each other and commercial insurance policies overlap with personal coverage.

Accidents involving ridesharing services like Uber and Lyft, where you have to know a lot about coverage rules to figure out the driver’s personal policy, the ridesharing company’s commercial coverage, and your own insurance.

Delivery driver accidents: crashes involving DoorDash, Uber Eats, Instacart, and other platforms where the new accountability rules in AB 375 make it easier to get paid.

Injuries to pedestrians and cyclists: Crashes where higher minimum insurance coverage helps seriously hurt vulnerable road users get the full amount of money they are owed.

Complicated insurance disputes: Cases where there are disagreements about coverage, bad faith insurance practices, or conflicting claims about which policies apply

Our method stresses careful record-keeping, smart negotiation, and honest communication with clients. We can’t promise what will happen with your case ahead of time—no ethical lawyer can do that. Instead, we focus on building strong cases backed by proof, using California’s 2025 legal changes to get fair compensation, and keeping clients up to date on the process.

If you were hurt in an accident in California after January 1, 2025, and want to know how the state’s new personal injury laws will affect your claim, call us for a free case evaluation. We’ll look over your case, explain the legal changes that will happen in 2025, and talk about your options for getting paid.

Questions that are often asked

Is California’s 2025 liability increase going to affect all drivers?

Yes. Starting on January 1, 2025, all California drivers who get new insurance or renew their old one must have the new minimum liability amounts: $30,000 for each person hurt, $60,000 for each accident, and $15,000 for property damage. This rule applies to delivery drivers, rideshare drivers, personal vehicles, and commercial vehicles.

How do higher insurance limits change the amount of money that is offered in a settlement?

Higher minimum insurance requirements give more money to people who have been hurt. Many serious injury claims hit policy limits quickly when at-fault drivers only had $15,000 in coverage. This left victims with few options for recovery. The new minimums give victims more insurance money to cover medical bills, lost wages, and other damages before they have to file underinsured motorist claims or go after the at-fault driver’s personal assets.

What do delivery drivers need to know about Assembly Bill 375?

AB 375 says that delivery platforms must give their drivers more insurance and make sure that coverage details, definitions of working status, and how to file a claim are all clear. The law doesn’t make drivers employees, but it does require insurance protections that cover injuries that happen to or by delivery drivers while they are working. Drivers should read the insurance information on their platform to find out when coverage starts and how much is available.

What if a driver in the gig economy hit me?

If a delivery or rideshare driver hurt you, California’s 2025 changes make it easier to file a claim. Platforms must now make it clear what kind of insurance they offer and let people know if the driver was working at the time of the accident. This makes it less likely that people will argue about which insurance applies and makes it easier to get paid. After any accident involving a gig-economy worker, you should find out right away what platform the driver works for and what their job is.

If my accident happened before 2025, does the new law still apply?

No, usually. The minimums for insurance that were in place at the time of the accident apply to accidents that happened before January 1, 2025. The coverage limits that are available depend on the at-fault driver’s policy on the day of the accident. But some parts of your claim might still benefit from current legal rules, so it’s still important to talk to a lawyer about your specific case, even if the accident happened before 2025.

What California’s 2025 Personal-Injury Law Changes Mean for Accident Victims