What Is Comprehensive Car Insurance?

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.

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.

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.