What happens if you get into a fender bender accident without insurance in the state of California?

You can lose your license if you were At Fault. If you were not at fault you would be required to purchase insurace with the SR-55 form. This means you will pay higher insurance and will have to do so for three years. (The rules may have changed over the years.) After you have had 3 years of no accidents and no lapses in insurance then you would get another form from the DMV and you could purchase a lower cost policy. In California you can purchase liablity only insurance.