• Death benefit payout amounts can vary from company to company in California.Coche accidentado image by quicolopez from Fotolia.com
  
  Under California law, all licensed motorists must have insurance on their vehicles in the event of a fatal accident. The minimum insurance amount a motorist can carry is $10,000, unless they qualify for a low-cost, state-sponsored insurance program. In this case, the maximum coverage amount is $10,000, but there's also an optional higher tier of coverage the purchaser can choose if they wish.
  
  

Minimum Coverage

• Under California law, auto insurance that includes death benefits is mandatory. Injury or death to one person must be covered by a minimum $15,000 policy. Injury or death to more than one person has to be covered by a policy of no less than $30,000.
  
  

Payouts

• Insurance death benefits can vary from company to company within California, but in most cases, auto insurance policies will pay a determined amount for the death of the insured driver when that death comes as a result of a car accident and that the death has to come while either in the car or while being struck by a vehicle, while a pedestrian or on a bicycle.
  
  

Time Limit

• In most policies, the death of the insured has to occur within 90 days of the accident for there to be a payout. Also, in some policies it's explicitly stated that the policy holder has to be continuously, totally disabled between the accident and the time of death, if it's days or weeks later.
  
  Theoretically, if the insured person dies more than 90 days after the accident, then the insurance company could try to deny the death as a direct cause of the accident and therefore refuse to pay the claim.
  
  

Alternatives to Policies

• Other than having a liability policy, the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) accepts three other methods of financial responsibility in the event of a fatal collision. They are: a cash deposit of $35,000, which must be in the DMV's possession; a $35,000 bond from a California-licensed company; or a DMV-issued self-insurance certificate. California's DMV has a financial responsibility unit that oversees cash deposit and self-insurance and disperses payments in the event of a fatal accident.
  
  

State-Sponsored Coverage

• For drivers who can't afford standard auto insurance, California has a state-sponsored car insurance program that covers personal injury and death. The maximum such policies will cover is $10,000 per person for bodily injury liability or a total of up to $20,000 for bodily injury liability per accident. However, for an additional charge, you can add up to another $10,000 in coverage per person and $10,000 per accident.
  
  Motorists with good driving records and a verifiable low income level are eligible for the state program and the car to be insured can't be worth more than $20,000.