Your car is likely one of the most valuable assets you own, so it's a good idea to protect it with insurance. Beyond accidents on the road, many things can happen to your vehicle, such as theft or weather damage.
Comprehensive car insurance protects your vehicle from these risks and more. Here’s a breakdown of the meaning of comprehensive car insurance, plus tips to help you decide whether this coverage is right for you.
What Is Comprehensive Car Insurance?
Comprehensive car insurance covers damage to your vehicle from incidents other than collisions. For example, if your car is stolen, your comprehensive car insurance would cover the cost of replacing it. Because car repairs and replacements can be very expensive, comprehensive coverage is often appealing, especially to drivers with more valuable vehicles.
What Does Comprehensive Car Insurance Cover?
If comprehensive car insurance only covers non-collision damage, what does that actually include? A comprehensive insurance policy will typically cover vehicle damage from events such as:
- Theft: If someone steals your vehicle and you need to pay to replace it, your comprehensive coverage should cover some or all of those costs.
- Natural disasters: If your car is damaged by earthquakes, hail, floods, or other natural disasters, car insurance comprehensive coverage helps pay for the repairs.
- Falling objects: If a falling object like a tree or debris damages your vehicle, you can use your comprehensive coverage to pay for repairs.
- Vandalism: If someone vandalizes your vehicle, car comprehensive insurance may help pay for the detailing and repairs.
How Is Comprehensive Car Insurance Different from Other Types?
The three types of coverage that come up most often are comprehensive, collision, and liability insurance. These all cover different things.
Collision insurance covers damage to your vehicle from traffic accidents, regardless of who was at fault. If you get into a car accident with another vehicle and need repairs, your collision insurance should cover that cost. Like comprehensive insurance, collision coverage is optional.
Liability car insurance covers property damage and injuries to other people when you cause an accident. Almost every state requires drivers to carry liability insurance that meets minimum coverage limits.
Comprehensive coverage is different because it only covers incidents that occur when you are not driving. If you want all of this coverage, you can find car insurance discounts on full-coverage insurance that includes collision, comprehensive, and liability.
Is Comprehensive Car Insurance Legally Required?
No states require drivers to carry comprehensive car insurance. However, some lenders may require you to get comprehensive coverage if you’re financing or leasing your vehicle. Check the requirements with your financial institution.
Factors To Consider Before Purchasing Comprehensive Car Insurance
Because comprehensive auto insurance is optional, you should take some time to decide whether it’s right for you. Purchasing unnecessary coverage will increase your premiums and waste your money with little gain.
Start by considering how much your vehicle is worth. If you ’re not sure, you can have a vehicle value assessment done, but an estimate is probably good enough. Generally, buying comprehensive car insurance no longer makes sense if your car is worth less than a few thousand dollars. In that case, the combined cost of your insurance deductibles and premiums might eat up all the benefits you would get from using your comprehensive coverage.
Also, consider where you live and the environmental factors there. Someone who lives in an area with lots of natural disasters or auto theft would benefit more from comprehensive insurance because they’re more likely to need payments for these covered incidents.
Understanding Deductibles in Comprehensive Car Insurance
Your insurance deductible is the amount you pay out of pocket in actual cash when you make a claim against your coverage. A comprehensive car insurance deductible is often between $500 and $1,000, though it may be outside this range. Generally, selecting lower deductibles means higher premiums and vice versa.
To see how this works, say you purchase comprehensive insurance with a $250 yearly premium and a $500 deductible for your car worth $5,000. That means you pay $250 every year, no matter what, for your coverage and an extra $500 every time you make a claim.
If your car is totaled in a covered incident like a hailstorm, your insurance will help pay for the replacement up to your policy limits. You could potentially get $5,000 worth of value by paying $800 for your comprehensive coverage. But, if you never need to make any claims, you will have paid $250 yearly for something you didn’t use.
Bundling your coverage with other insurance, like homeowners insurance, is one way to unlock cheap car insurance and save money.
Get a Quote for Comprehensive Car Insurance
If you want to add comprehensive car insurance to your auto insurance policy without breaking the bank, the most important thing to do is to shop around. Different insurance companies may offer very different rates. You only know you’re getting the best deal if you can see all your options and compare car insurance premiums.
But don’t waste time requesting quotes from tons of insurance providers. EverQuote offers free comparisons of your insurance options based on your driver profile and where you live. It’s never been easier to find a great deal on insurance.
Get your free custom car insurance comparison from EverQuote today.