The truth about full coverage auto insurance

Comprehensive coverage is intended to cover damage caused by contact with an animal, theft, fire, vandalism and glass breakage along with other non-collision related accidents in accordance with the policy and is subjected to the deductible. Comprehensive would cover you if run into any animal (you might think that this would be covered under Collision but it’s actually Comprehensive), if someone steals your car, if your vehicle starts on fire or is in a fire, if someone vandalises your automobile, (Ex: kicks in the door, keys it or bashes in the windows), and any glass breakage. A deductible is what your up front out of pocket expense is and in any of these cases you would be subjected to your deductible, unless you have glass repair. (Not to be confused with a complete glass breakage) Glass repair would be a rockchip or a crack that was under the size of a dollar bill. In that case, most insurance companies would take care of this for free under your Comprehensive coverage. In some cases, Comprehensive coverage can be purchased on it own. For example, if you are just storing a vehicle and don’t intend to drive it on any roads for a period of time. Word of caution here: Comprehensive only is not going to satisfy a lender, so if you have a loan on the car do not do this. In this same scenario, if it is a nice day and you decide you want to drive the car, please call your insurance agent and put liability back on your car. Liability coverage is not an automatic coverage and would need to be added back on before you can physically drive it.

Collision coverage is intended to cover physical damage to your vehicle resulting from collision with another vehicle or a standing object. As with Comprehensive coverage, Collision coverage is subject to your deductible. With Collision coverage, you would be able to get your vehicle fixed in the event you have an accident with another vehicle and you were found at fault in the accident. It also pays for damage to your vehicle if you run into a street sign or any other standing structure.

With Comprehensive and Collision coverage, you can choose what each coverage costs. If you want more affordable insurance, you can raise the deductibles to higher limits that you would be comfortable with. When you raise your deductibles, you are taking on more of the initial costs of repair so the insurance company will give you a more affordable price on your auto policy. Lowering your deductibles would do the opposite, but this means you would have to come up with less money out of your pocket in the event of an accident.  Out of the two coverages, Comprehensive is the most cost effective. Your Comprehensive deductible does not need to be the same as your Collision deductible. Your Comprehensive deductible could be $100.00 and you can have your Collision Deductible at $1,000. It is your choice. I always say do whatever makes you the most comfortable when choosing your deductibles. You can tailor to fit your lifestyle and budget. The majority of people choose to have $500 deductibles.

Comprehensive and Collision coverages do not cover or protect wear and tear on a vehicle. Wear and tear would be described as parts becoming wore out due to everyday use. Examples of wear and tear are: brakes, engine, transmission, tires, paint chipping off, lights burning out, and many others. Just remember, in order to have Comprehensive or Collision pay for repairs on your vehicle it has to be sudden or in an accident. If you are unsure what is covered and what is not covered, we can always file a claim on your policy and the insurance company can help make that decision.

Comprehensive and Collision coverage does cover funds when you rent a car. Your deductible would apply if any damage was to happen to the rental car. The one thing that your insurance company would not cover is the loss of use. What this means is the time that it takes for that vehicle to be repaired. Let’s use the example that something happens to the rental car, it is now inoperable and it is in the shop for 10 days. The days that the rental car company is not able to rent that car, they will charge you for. So if the vehicle rented for $10 a day and it was in the shop for 10 days you would be responsible to pay the rental car company $100 for those 10 days. Comprehensive and Collision would also not cover any abuse to the car such as putting the car in park going 75 mph down the interstate.

Maybe many of you have heard of the term forced placed insurance. This means the lender is unable to verify that you have insurance with Comprehensive and Collision coverage. The lender will then do what they have to do to protect their assect. (Your car) The lender will go out and buy a policy that is just Comprehensive and Collision coverage to protect them and charge you for it. Sometimes this coverage is less expensive than what you can get insurance for, but this insurance does not protect you. This insurance does not have any other coverage. No Liability, Uninsured or Underinsured motorist bodily injury, Medical payments nothing. It is best to get your own insurance policy if something like this happens to you.

I hope this helped you out tons. Please let us know if you have any questions. Sterling Peaks Insurance: We take the confusion out of insurance. Thanks again for reading today guys.