Compulsory Automobile Liability Insurance (CALI / Jibaiseki) Calculator

Choose a vehicle category (passenger car, kei car, motorcycle, or moped) and a contract term to estimate Japan's mandatory CALI insurance premium required for vehicle inspection and registration.

Tips

  • It's common to choose a term one month longer than the vehicle inspection period (such as 25 or 37 months) to avoid a coverage gap before the next inspection.
  • Light motorcycles (over 125cc, up to 250cc) and mopeds (up to 125cc) have no vehicle inspection requirement, so you can freely choose any term from 12 to 60 months.
  • CALI only covers bodily injury and death to other people, not property damage or your own injuries. Consider adding voluntary insurance for broader coverage.
  • Longer contract terms lower the effective monthly cost, so paying for a longer term upfront usually reduces your total spending.

Frequently asked questions

CALI (Compulsory Automobile Liability Insurance) is mandatory under Japan's Automobile Liability Security Act for all cars and motorcycles, covering only bodily injury to others up to a fixed limit. Voluntary insurance is optional and covers what CALI does not, such as property damage, your own vehicle, and your own injuries.

Driving without valid CALI coverage is a criminal offense under the Automobile Liability Security Act, punishable by up to one year in prison or a fine of up to 500,000 yen, plus an automatic 6-point license penalty leading to immediate suspension. Inspected vehicles are checked at inspection time, but mopeds and light motorcycles without an inspection requirement are easy to overlook.

If you scrap, transfer, or stop using the vehicle before the CALI term ends, canceling the policy typically refunds the premium for the remaining period. Check with the agent or insurer handling the sale whether the policy will be transferred to the new owner or canceled.

CALI base rates are set nationwide as a rule. Okinawa Prefecture and some remote islands have separate rates reflecting differences such as accident rates, which differ from the mainland rates estimated by this tool.
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Side Note — Why CALI insurance is mandatory

CALI insurance is required by law so that accident victims can receive a minimum level of compensation regardless of the at-fault driver's financial situation. Relying on voluntary insurance alone would leave victims uncompensated whenever the at-fault driver happened to be uninsured. Insurers are not allowed to refuse a CALI contract, and the scheme is run on a non-profit basis, which sets it apart from voluntary insurance.

CALI premiums are calculated from base rates set by the General Insurance Rating Organization of Japan, a third-party body whose rates every insurer must follow. Unlike voluntary insurance, where premiums vary by company, CALI costs the same no matter which insurer or agent you use, as long as the vehicle type and term match.

Rates are reviewed every few years based on accident frequency and claims data. In April 2023, rates were cut by an average of 11.4% reflecting a decline in traffic accidents. More recently, rising claim payouts per accident have prompted discussion of future rate revisions, so it is worth checking the rates in effect at the time you actually take out a policy.

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