# California — State life and health insurance guaranty association benefit limits — how much is protected if your insurer fails

For California, life insurance death benefit cap ($) is $300,000; life insurance cash value cap ($) is $100,000; annuity present value cap ($) is $250,000; health insurance benefit cap ($) is $200,000; aggregate cap per life ($) is $300,000, verified against its source on 2026-08-19.

- **State:** California _(our reading, not quoted from the source)_
- **Life insurance death benefit cap ($):** $300,000 _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **Life insurance cash value cap ($):** $100,000 _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **Annuity present value cap ($):** $250,000 _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **Health insurance benefit cap ($):** $200,000 _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **Aggregate cap per life ($):** $300,000 _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **Per-owner cap across multiple policies ($):** $5,000,000 _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **Additional percentage limit:** Eighty percent of the contractual obligations _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **Statute section:** 1067.02 _(verified: appears in the quote below)_

## What the source says

> (c) The benefits for which the association may become liable for life insurance and annuity policies shall in no event exceed the lesser of the following: (1) Eighty percent of the contractual obligations for each policy or contract as modified pursuant to subparagraph (C) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (b), for which the insurer is liable or would have been liable if it were not an impaired or insolvent insurer. (2) (A) With respect to any one life, regardless of the number of policies or contracts: (i) Three hundred thousand dollars ($300,000) in life insurance death benefits, but not more than one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) in net cash surrender and net cash withdrawal values for life insurance. (ii) Two hundred fifty thousand dollars ($250,000) in the present value of annuity benefits, including net cash surrender and net cash withdrawal values. (B) With respect to each payee of a structured settlement annuity, or beneficiaries of the payee if deceased, two hundred fifty thousand dollars ($250,000) in present value annuity benefits, in the aggregate, including net cash surrender and net cash withdrawal values. (C) Notwithstanding subparagraphs (A) and (B), in no event shall the association be obligated to cover more than an aggregate of three hundred thousand dollars ($300,000) in benefits with respect to any one life under subparagraphs (A) and (B). (D) Notwithstanding subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C), with respect to one owner of multiple nongroup policies of life insurance, whether the policy owner is an individual, firm, corporation, or other person, and whether the persons insured are officers, managers, employees, or other persons, in no event shall the association be obligated to cover more than five million dollars ($5,000,000) in benefits, regardless of the number of policies and contracts held by the owner. (d) The health insurance benefits for which the association may become liable shall in no event exceed the lesser of the following: (1) The contractual obligations for which the insurer is liable or for which the insurer would have been liable if it were not an impaired or insolvent insurer. (2) With respect to any one individual receiving health care benefits, regardless of the number of policies or contracts, two hundred thousand dollars ($200,000) in health insurance benefits; an amount that shall increase or decrease based upon changes in the health care cost component of the consumer price index from January 1, 1991, to the date on which the insurer becomes an insolvent insurer.

## Source

- https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displayText.xhtml?lawCode=INS&division=1.&title=&part=2.&chapter=1.&article=14.7

Last verified: 2026-08-19. Review by: 2027-08-19.
Part of [State life and health insurance guaranty association benefit limits — how much is protected if your insurer fails](https://referencesource.org/insurance-guaranty-association-limits-by-state/).