In an effort to make sure everyone has and can afford car insurance, law officials in California have launched a new Low Cost Auto Insurance program for low income residents. This program will help eliminate the amount of uninsured drivers on the road, while reducing the financial burden many auto insurance companies and insured drivers have been feeling due to the large amount of uninsured motorists on the road.

"By law, California residents are required to carry a minimum of $15,000 per person for bodily injury liability coverage, $30,000 per incident and $5,000 for property damage. Reasonable insurance limits, but ones that are often accompanied with higher auto insurance rates - causing a financial strain upon many residents that do not have the means to pay for auto insurance," stated David Roush, CEO of Insurance.com. "By rolling out this plan, California is helping to make auto insurance affordable and obtainable for all drivers, no matter what their income level is." Currently, California's new Low Cost Auto Insurance program offers a slimmed down version of their current plan, allowing qualified drivers to carry $10,000 per person for bodily injury liability coverage, $20,000 per incident and $3,000 for property damage.

Who is eligible for this plan?
In order to qualify for this reduced cost car insurance plan, the resident must be a driver in good standing, reside in one of the approved counties, their household's gross annual income must be 250% or less than the federal poverty level and the value of their automobile cannot exceed $20,000. To view a detailed listing of the federal poverty income levels and the qualifying income levels visit the AIPSO's website.

What exactly is a driver in "good standing"?
In order to qualify as a "good standing driver", motorists must meet the following criteria:

• Be at least 19 years old and have been driving for at least three consecutive years
• Have no vehicle code felony or misdemeanor convictions on their driving record
• Have no record of a fault accident involving bodily injury or death in the past three years
• Have no more than one property-damage-only insurance claim in which they were at fault or one point for a moving violation within the last three years
• Is not a college student claimed as a dependent for federal or state income tax purposes
• Cannot have an in-force liability insurance policy for another vehicle
• Must demonstrate they have been continuously licensed for 18 months in the U.S. or Canada, if previously licensed in another country

Eligible counties
In order to take advantage of California's car insurance program, qualifying residents must reside in the following counties:

Alameda
Fresno
Los Angeles
Orange
Riverside
San Bernardino
San Francisco
San Diego

Cost
The cost of the program varies from driver to driver depending on where they live and if the driver elects to add Medical Payments Coverage and Uninsured Motorist Bodily Injury coverage to their policy. To get a rough estimate of how much you would have to pay under this new plan, see the AIPSO's chart below.

In addition to these rates posted above, there is also a 25 percent surcharge for unmarried males between the ages of 19 and 24, due to the fact that this age group statistically has the most accidents of any other group.

How to register
If you are interested in signing up for this low cost auto insurance program and you live in one of the qualifying counties, contact the California Auto Assigned Risk Program at 1-800-622-0954.

If you are not eligible for California's auto insurance program, but would like to see how you can lower your auto insurance rate, visit Insurance.com's auto insurance comparison application. Here, you will be able to evaluate multiple rates from best-in-class insurance providers - helping you find the best auto insurance rate for your limited budget.