Why Comprehensive Car Insurance Coverage Is Often Misunderstood

Comprehensive car insurance coverage is usually a required purchase if you are paying for your car with a loan, and many drivers choose to keep their comprehensive coverage active even after their cars are paid off. This is a good decision, as comprehensive car insurance coverage provides a lot of important protection for your vehicle. However, drivers shouldn’t assume that comprehensive coverage will handle any damage caused by an accident–it’s not quite as broad of a coverage type as its name implies. Understanding your coverage is crucial in order to find a car insurance policy that works well for you, so make sure to understand what the “comprehensive” in comprehensive coverage refers to.

Your car insurance agency will usually be quite explicit in a policy when explaining comprehensive coverage, so it’s helpful to actually read your policy or call your agency. In most cases, comprehensive coverage will handle damages caused to your vehicle in an accident, through theft, or through an act of God. Comprehensive coverage does not cover your medical bills, and many drivers aren’t aware of this–never assume that you have coverage for any particular expense without reading your policy. Your car insurance agency won’t willfully mislead you to believe that you have coverage that you don’t actually have–it’s against the law, and doesn’t make much sense from a business perspective, either.

Comprehensive coverage also doesn’t cover damages to other drivers. It’s specifically meant to cover damages to your car, which is why it’s not required in most states (except for some no fault insurance states). Medical and property damage coverage is handled by other parts of your car insurance policy, and are completely unrelated to the amount of comprehensive coverage that you buy. Make sure to find out exactly what is covered from your agent.

When looking at a car insurance quote, read carefully and buy the coverage that you need. Most drivers will want fairly high personal injury liability coverage, medical coverage for themselves and any passengers, and comprehensive coverage. Remember, without comprehensive coverage, you put yourself at risk for theft, environmental damage, and other serious costs. While it’s not going to cover every potential cost to your vehicle, it’s certainly worth your money. Your car insurance quote may rise a bit when comprehensive coverage is added, as well as when the other coverage mentioned above is added, but the purpose of insurance is to guard against the unexpected–and many of the costs of an accident are quite unexpected (and enormous). Understanding comprehensive car insurance coverage and your policy as a whole will allow you to buy a balanced policy that works for your budget and your driving habits.

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