What is Full-Coverage Car Insurance?
Full-coverage car insurance combines three types of protection — liability, collision and comprehensive — to cover drivers in most situations.
Full-coverage policies will also sometimes include personal injury protection (PIP), medical payments, uninsured motorist and/or underinsured motorist coverages.
What does full-coverage car insurance cover?
Full-coverage insurance covers damage and injuries you cause to others, as well as damage to or theft of your vehicle. This is because a full-coverage policy usually includes at least liability, comprehensive and collision car insurance coverage types.
Other types of car insurance coverage — like PIP, medical payments, uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage — can add even more protection.
Liability coverage
Liability car insurance coverage helps pay for injuries and damage you cause to others in an accident. This includes legal fees, court-ordered fines and repair or medical bills.
Collision coverage
Collision coverage pays to repair or replace your own vehicle after a “covered peril” (a risk factor listed on your policy) damages or totals it. Basically, this is for car accidents, including those involving parked cars.
You’ll use the collision coverage portion of your policy after an accident that you cause. If another driver causes damage to your car in an accident, their own liability coverage will pay for repairs.
Comprehensive coverage
Comprehensive coverage pays for damage to your vehicle that’s caused by something other than a collision with another vehicle. This includes damage from:
- Collision with an animal
- Fire
- Flooding
- Ice and hail
- Theft and vandalism
Notably, though comprehensive coverage will pay out if someone steals your car, it won’t cover personal property stolen from your car. For that, you need renters or home insurance.
Personal injury protection (PIP)
PIP helps cover your own injury-related bills after an accident. This includes medical expenses, rehabilitation costs and lost wages.
You may need to buy PIP if you live in a “no-fault” state for car insurance. In no-fault states, both drivers file claims for any injuries, no matter who caused the accident.
Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage
These coverage types kick in if someone with no car insurance, or not enough of it, injures you or damages your car or property.
Some states require drivers to buy one or both of these coverage types.
Is comprehensive insurance full coverage?
No, comprehensive car insurance is not the same as full-coverage car insurance.
Comprehensive car insurance is just one of the coverage types included in most full-coverage insurance policies.
Comprehensive coverage helps pay for damage to your car that’s caused by something other than a car crash. This can include damage from animals, fire, ice or even vandalism.
What is the difference between full coverage and liability coverage?
Liability car insurance coverage is another of the coverage types often included in a full-coverage auto insurance policy.
Liability coverage pays out if you cause injuries or damage to other people or property in an accident.
How much is full-coverage insurance?
Full-coverage car insurance costs $1,970 a year, on average, which works out to just over $164 a month.
You’ll likely pay a lot more than this if you have prior incidents on your driving record, like speeding tickets, accidents or DUI (driving under the influence) convictions.
You also might pay higher full-coverage rates if you have bad credit and live in a state that allows insurance companies to consider your credit history.
To get the cheapest full-coverage car insurance for your situation, compare car insurance quotes from several companies before buying.
Do I need full-coverage car insurance?
You need full-coverage car insurance if you lease or finance your vehicle, in most cases. Lenders and leasing companies do this to protect their investment.
You’ll need to keep full-coverage insurance on your car at least until you’ve paid off the loan or the lease ends. After that, you can remove the collision and/or comprehensive coverage if you want to do so.
But even if you don’t need full-coverage car insurance because of a lease or loan, it’s usually good to have if your vehicle is still worth a good amount of money.
How to save money on full-coverage car insurance
To get cheap full-coverage car insurance or save money on a policy, start by looking at your coverage and deductible amounts.
After that, see if you qualify for any discounts that can lower your rate. Shop around and compare quotes from multiple companies, too.
Coverage amounts
One way to lower the cost of your full-coverage insurance policy is to lower your coverage amounts or limits.
You’ll still need to have at least the amount of liability coverage that your state requires. You’ll also need to maintain whatever your lender or leasing company requires if you finance or lease your vehicle.
After that, though, it’s up to you. If you’re comfortable with less coverage, and could afford paying out of pocket if a claim goes over your chosen limit, you may save a lot of money.
Deductible
A high car insurance deductible means a lower monthly or yearly premium payment. A low deductible means a higher premium payment. Given this, lowering your deductible can be a quick and easy way to lower what you spend on full-coverage car insurance, too.
Choosing a low deductible won’t help you much if you file a lot of claims, as the low deductible means you’ll have to pay more bills out of your own pocket. If you rarely or never file car insurance claims, though, going with a low deductible can help you save money.
Discounts
Most car insurance companies offer a range of discounts that can help make your policy more affordable. You could save money by getting more than one type of insurance from the same company, or by covering more than one car with a single policy.
Other common car insurance discounts are for safety features or safe driving habits.
Compare quotes
Although car insurance companies tend to offer similar coverage types and amounts, they don’t usually charge the same prices for them. Companies decide for themselves how to deal with different rate factors, which is why one company may offer you a much higher or lower rate than another.
One of the best ways to lower your car insurance rate or get a cheaper policy is to compare car insurance quotes from several companies.
Frequently asked questions
Full-coverage car insurance is worth it if your vehicle is worth a good amount of money and you can’t or don’t want to pay for repairs out of your own pocket after an accident.
To get a full-coverage car insurance policy, you can go to a car insurance company directly or use a quote-comparison website that’ll connect you with several companies at once. Try our own comparison tool above to see what rates you can get.
Yes, full-coverage car insurance protects you after an at-fault accident thanks to it including liability coverage. That will help pay for damage or injuries you cause to others. The collision portion of your full-coverage policy will help pay for damage to your own car after an accident you cause.
If something other than a traffic accident with another car damages your vehicle, comprehensive coverage may take care of it. Some examples of this are damage from weather, theft or vandalism or a collision with an animal. Be aware that comprehensive car insurance isn’t the same thing as full coverage. See above for more details.