What Is Comprehensive Car Insurance?
Typically part of a full-coverage policy, comprehensive coverage can pay for repairs when a covered non-collision event damages your vehicle.
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Comprehensive coverage is a part of full-coverage car insurance, and it can pay to repair or replace your vehicle following a non-collision event. For example, if a severe hailstorm leaves your car dented, your comprehensive coverage can help pay the repair costs.
Along with collision coverage and liability coverage, comprehensive coverage provides greater financial protection for your vehicle than a liability-only policy can. Comprehensive insurance is a good idea if you have a higher-value vehicle. And if you lease or finance your car, your leasing company or lender will require you to buy full-coverage car insurance.
Here’s what to know about comprehensive coverage and how to compare multiple quotes to find affordable full-coverage car insurance.
Quick Facts
Comprehensive coverage is typically an affordable addition to your insurance policy. The average annual premium with a $1,000 deductible is $192.
If fire, vandalism, bad weather, a falling object, or an animal strike damages your car, or someone steals it or part of it, comprehensive coverage can pay for repairs or to replace your vehicle.
Among drivers with liability insurance, about 80% also purchased comprehensive coverage, according to the Insurance Information Institute.
What is comprehensive insurance?
Comprehensive insurance is an optional type of car insurance coverage, and you normally purchase it as part of a full-coverage policy. Along with collision coverage, comprehensive coverage provides financial protection against damage to or a total loss of your vehicle. The liability portion of a full-coverage policy pays for damages to another vehicle and injuries to a driver and their passengers in an accident you cause.
While collision coverage pays if you hit another vehicle or a stationary object like a light pole, comprehensive coverage pays for non-collision events that damage your car.
How comprehensive car insurance works
The cost of comprehensive coverage is part of your total full-coverage policy premium. Your policy will include deductibles for collision and comprehensive, and you’ll choose those amounts when you buy the policy.
Comprehensive coverage comes into play when something other than a collision damages your vehicle.
For example, if a rock flies up off the road and cracks your windshield while you’re driving, comprehensive insurance can pay to replace your damaged glass. You’ll need to file a claim with your insurance company for coverage under the comprehensive component of your full-coverage auto policy.
Whatever the cost is for repairs, you’ll be responsible for paying your comprehensive deductible amount from your own pocket before your insurer pays the balance — up to your policy limits.
What comprehensive insurance covers
Comprehensive insurance covers non-collision damage. That might sound simple, but as with so many coverage types, including collision and mechanical breakdown insurance, it can be confusing to determine which claims each coverage in your policy applies to.
Comprehensive car insurance provides coverage for:1
Stolen vehicles and car parts
Vandalism
Damage from natural disasters, like hurricanes, tornadoes, and floods
Fire damage
Hail, wind, and storm damage
Damage from hitting an animal
Windshield or glass damage from rocks or other objects
Damage from vehicle break-ins
Damage from falling objects, such as tree branches
What comprehensive insurance doesn’t cover
Some types of damage require a different coverage type in your auto insurance policy. Comprehensive car insurance won’t cover the following:
Accidents that involve another vehicle or object
Swerving to avoid an animal and hitting an object instead
Damage from potholes
System breakdowns, including your engine, transmission, and air conditioning
Normal wear and tear to your vehicle’s belts, brakes, windshield wipers, or tires
Medical expenses, pain and suffering, or funeral bills in the case of a fatal accident
How much comprehensive car insurance costs
The average cost of comprehensive coverage is $16 per month — or $192 per year — for policyholders with a $1,000 deductible, according to Insurify data. But you can increase your deductible if you want to lower your monthly expenses. Policyholders with a $2,000 deductible pay an average of $6 per month — $72 per year — for comprehensive coverage.
Ultimately, you need to weigh your ability to pay for damages out of pocket against your monthly expenses. While a less expensive premium might sound more appealing, you need to pay your full deductible up front before your insurance company covers the rest. A policy with a lower deductible is a better fit if you don’t want the risk of significant unexpected expenses.
Pros and cons of comprehensive car insurance
Before making a decision about comprehensive car insurance, it’s important to weigh the advantages and disadvantages of having it, as well as the possible risks and savings of not having it.
Pros
Greater financial protection for leased, financed, or high-value vehicles
Pays to repair or replace your vehicle in case of theft or vandalism
If you cause a non-collision incident that damages or totals your car, comprehensive can pay for your losses
Cons
Won’t pay for any personal items inside your vehicle
Adding comprehensive coverage can increase your premium
May not be worth it if you have an older, paid-for vehicle with a low value
Factors that affect the cost of comprehensive coverage
Insurance companies consider many pieces of information — called “rating factors” — when deciding how much your premium will be, including:2
Where you live
Local weather conditions
How many miles you drive annually
Your age and gender
Your driving and credit histories
The year, make, and model of your vehicle
Your state’s minimum coverage requirements
Whether your vehicle has certain safety features
The deductible amount you choose and your coverage limits particularly affect the cost of your comprehensive coverage. Generally, a larger deductible means a lower premium, while a smaller deductible means higher premiums.
How to save on comprehensive car insurance
Comprehensive coverage is a relatively small part of your overall car insurance premium. But you can take steps to hold down the cost of your auto policy, including the comprehensive portion of it:
Do you need comprehensive car insurance?
You need comprehensive car insurance if you lease or finance your vehicle. Your lender or leasing company will require you to have comprehensive insurance as part of a full-coverage car insurance policy to protect its financial interest in your vehicle.
Otherwise, comprehensive coverage is optional. While every state except New Hampshire requires drivers to buy at least liability coverage, none require full-coverage car insurance.
Though you can drive legally without comprehensive coverage, nearly four out of five drivers purchase additional comprehensive or collision coverages, according to the Insurance Information Institute.3 If you drive a high-value vehicle, full coverage with comprehensive coverage can make financial sense. But if you have an older, high-mileage, paid-off vehicle that has a low cash value, you probably don’t need comprehensive coverage.
Comprehensive vs. other types of coverage
Two main types of car insurance are available — liability only, also known as minimum coverage, and full coverage, which includes liability, comprehensive, collision, and other optional coverages. It’s important to understand your options and the differences in coverage types so you can ensure you pay for exactly the coverages you need.
Comprehensive coverage vs. collision coverage
Comprehensive and collision coverage both help pay for repairs after a covered loss. The difference is that collision coverage pays for vehicle repairs or replacement if you’re in an accident with another driver or you hit objects like fences, poles, or guardrails. Collision coverage also pays for damage from potholes. On the other hand, comprehensive coverage pays for damage unrelated to a crash.
Comprehensive coverage vs. full coverage
Most drivers want protection from expensive repairs, no matter the cause. Full-coverage car insurance is a combination of coverages that provides significantly more protection than a liability-only policy. You should always check your policy for details, but a full-coverage auto policy typically includes comprehensive, collision, personal liability, and medical payments coverages.
Comprehensive coverage vs. liability coverage
If you cause an accident, your liability coverage pays for damages to the other driver’s vehicle and any injuries the other driver or their passengers suffer. Liability coverage doesn’t pay to repair or replace your vehicle, and it won’t help pay your medical expenses if you’re at fault for a crash.
Comprehensive coverage, on the other hand, pays to repair or replace your vehicle if it’s damaged by a covered non-collision event. And it pays regardless of who’s at fault — you, an unknown vandal, or an animal that jumps in front of your moving vehicle.
Comprehensive car insurance FAQs
Insurance jargon can lead to a lot of confusion about which situations specific policies cover. Insurify breaks down some of the most common questions about comprehensive coverage below so you can choose the best policy for you.
What does ‘comprehensive’ mean in car insurance?
Calling insurance coverage “comprehensive” can make it sound like the policy covers everything. But that’s not the case. Comprehensive auto insurance helps pay for non-collision damage to your car. For example, comprehensive coverage pays for damages from theft, vandalism, weather, falling objects, and animals. In some places, it’s called “other than collision” or OTC coverage.
Which is better: Collision or comprehensive?
Comprehensive and collision coverage serve two different purposes, so one isn’t better than the other. Collision coverage helps pay for accidents involving another vehicle or stationary objects, like a guardrail. But if you hit a deer, comprehensive insurance covers those damages. Comprehensive coverage also helps pay for rodents chewing through wires and animals running into your car.
Is a $500 deductible or $1,000 deductible better?
That depends. If you want a lower monthly premium payment and can afford to cover a large out-of-pocket expense when you file a claim, a $1,000 comprehensive deductible may be good for you. But if you couldn’t cover a large expense in case of a claim, a $500 deductible might be better. Just keep in mind that your monthly payment will be slightly higher.
Is comprehensive car insurance mandatory?
States don’t require drivers to buy full-coverage car insurance, although you’ll have to carry at least a minimum amount of liability coverage to legally drive in every state but New Hampshire. But if you lease or finance your vehicle, your leasing company or lender can require you to buy full coverage — including comprehensive — to protect its financial interest in your vehicle.
Is comprehensive car insurance worth it?
If you don’t own your vehicle outright, comprehensive insurance is definitely worth having. Not having it could prompt your lender or leasing company to take action against you, like putting force-placed insurance on your car. It can also be worth it if you have a high-value vehicle, even if it’s paid off. But if you have an older vehicle that you own outright and that has a lower cash value, it’s probably not worth buying comprehensive coverage for it.
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