Low-cost auto insurance available locally

Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner has announced that the California LowCost Automobile Insurance Program is available in Ventura County, among other regions in the state.

The program offers lowincome good drivers the opportunity to purchase auto insurance for less than $400 a year.

The lowcost program provides drivers with state-required liability coverage for under $400 a year; in many counties the cost could be less than $300 a year.

Ventura County has an estimated 38,700 uninsured drivers. The program would provide coverage to eligible recipients at about $280 a year, according to Poizner's office.

Program policies are issued by California licensed insurers, and the program is administered by the California Automobile Assigned Risk Plan. Rates are set in each county so that premiums are sufficient to cover losses and expenses in each county.

To be eligible for the program, applicants must be a "good driver," defined as having "no more than one at-fault property damage-only accident, or one point for a moving violation in the past three years; no atfault accident involving bodily injury or death in the past three years; and no felony or misdemeanor conviction for a violation of the vehicle code.

Family income cannot exceed 250 percent of the federal poverty level ($25,525 for a single person, $34,225 for two persons and $60,325 for a family of five). The value of an insured vehicle must not exceed $20,000.

For more information about the program, call (866) 602-8861.