Comprehensive insurance is a type of automobile insurance that covers damage to your vehicle from causes other than collision.
What is Comprehensive insurance for the car will cover your car if it’s destroyed by a tornado, run-in with a deer, spray-painted by a vandal, damaged by a break-in, or crushed by a collapsing garage, among other factors.
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What is comprehensive insurance?
Comprehensive insurance coverage, also known as “other than collision” coverage, is a (What is comprehensive insurance on a car) coverage that can help pay the cost of damages to your vehicle for non-collision claims.
For example, it can help pay for damage caused by hail, theft, fire, or the killing of an animal.
It is important to note that this coverage is optional. You must add it on top of other coverage, such as liability insurance.
What comprehensive insurance covers?
In terms of comprehensive car insurance coverage, the list includes losses related to:
- Contact with animals, such as killing deer
- Natural disasters including earthquakes, floods, and hurricanes
- the fire
- rioting and vandalism
- Vehicle theft, or theft of parts of a vehicle
- Cracked windshield
- Fallen objects including branches, rocks, or hail
How does comprehensive insurance work?
Like other types of auto insurance, comprehensive coverage pays for part of the damage if your car is damaged.
The car owner also has to pay a portion of the cost, known as the deductible. Insurance payments can be used for repairs or for a new vehicle.
comprehensive car insurance limit
The amount you pay on your claim before your auto coverage starts. Once you pay it off, your car insurance will cover the rest of your expenses up to your limit.
Let’s say your car is damaged and it will cost $6,000 to repair, and your deductible is $1,000. You’ll pay out-of-pocket for just the $1,000 deductible.
And then your insurance company will pay another $5,000 for your comprehensive claim. When you buy comprehensive auto insurance, you choose the deductible amount.
How much does comprehensive auto insurance cost?
According to the Insurance Information Institute, the U.S. The average car insurance cost per year for comprehensive car insurance in the United States was about $170.
The most recent year for which data is available. 2 Comprehensive car insurance rates can vary and some of the factors that affect your cost are:
- Driving history
- Vehicle model and age
- Deductible amount
If you plan to purchase comprehensive auto insurance coverage, opting for a higher deductible can help lower the cost of your premiums.
However, this means that you have to pay more if you have an accident. In most cases, you’ll want to base your deductible choice on the actual cash value (ACV) of your vehicle.
Who needs comprehensive coverage?
This optional coverage is especially helpful if you live in an area prone to theft, vandalism, or natural disasters.
For example, if you live on the Florida coast or in an area with wildfires, this coverage can help cover the cost of non-collision damage to your vehicle.
If you need this coverage you may ask yourself:
Does your car lender need comprehensive coverage? If you lease or finance, chances are they will and you won’t be able to get your car without it.
How much is your car worth? If you pay less than what you pay for your insurance premiums, this coverage may not be worth it.
Do you live in a densely populated area? In densely populated towns and cities, you may have more crime than safety.
What is the difference between comprehensive and collision insurance?
If you’re buying a new car, comprehensive car insurance doesn’t make sense, whether you finance it or pay cash.
Comprehensive coverage can protect you against minor and major damages caused by things beyond your control, regardless of whether you have accident coverage or not.
Where you live can also play a role in your decision about when to have comprehensive coverage. If a person lives in a rural area prone to animal collisions or in a windy area with frequent hailstorms, they may want to purchase comprehensive car insurance.
The same is true if a person lives in a high-crime part of town where burglaries and robberies occur regularly.
Collision insurance covers you in the event of a single-car rollover, collision with another vehicle, or collision with an object.
If you rent a car, you must purchase collision insurance. Collision insurance comes in handy if you’re in an accident to pay for repairs to your car, and it covers any damage to your car caused by potholes on the road.
Bottom line
If you paid off your car in full and you can’t afford comprehensive insurance car, or you own a used automobile that isn’t worth much, you may feel that your risk of non-collision damage is low.
In this case, you can opt out of comprehensive car insurance. Or, if you are self-insured if you prefer to do so, you may choose not to purchase comprehensive auto insurance.
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