Comprehensive Insurance: What It Is and What It Covers

The definition of comprehensive coverage is insurance designed to help you pay for repairs caused by anything other than a collision. It is typically purchased together with collision coverage as part of full coverage car insurance. If you're leasing your car or still making payments, your lending institution may require you to have this level of coverage, even if your state doesn’t.

It’s typically a good idea to include this coverage in your policy, especially if you have a newly bought or high-value car. You can make a comprehensive insurance claim if your vehicle is damaged by something other than a collision with another car.

• What Is Comprehensive Insurance?
• How Does Comprehensive Insurance Work?
• Do I Need Comprehensive Coverage?
• How Much Does Comprehensive Insurance Cost?
• MoneyGeek Comprehensive Coverage Study
• Frequently Asked Questions

Comprehensive insurance is a type of coverage that helps pay for repairs for damages caused by non-collision-related incidents. Unlike liability insurance, most states don't require comprehensive coverage. You typically get comprehensive insurance along with collision coverage when you purchase full coverage car insurance.

You can file for a comprehensive claim when your car sustains damage due to natural disasters such as hurricanes, floods or earthquakes. It also protects you from costs from damages from vandalism or fire. If your car needs repairs because you hit a deer or other animals, comprehensive insurance covers them as well.

Comprehensive insurance helps cover the cost of damages to your car that aren’t caused by collisions with another vehicle — that's why it's also known as "other than collision" coverage in some states.

Comprehensive insurance covers several non-collision-related accidents, including car theft, vandalism, natural disasters and more.

Most accidents covered by comprehensive insurance are self-explanatory, but several may require more details. These are the likes of vandalism, civil disturbance and negligence. Comprehensive insurance also covers damages from chewed-on wires or hitting animals on the road.

Negligence may include situations like failing to maintain your trees until a branch falls and hits your car or backing out of your driveway without checking for other vehicles. In the event of a theft, your provider may reject your claim if you left your keys inside your car since this points to negligence.

Because negligence claims can be rooted in many things, be prepared to give a recorded statement detailing the events leading to the incident when filing a claim.

If your car sustains damages from non-collision-related incidents, your comprehensive insurance may cover it. However, it doesn’t help you with all non-collision-related costs.

Some items that comprehensive insurance doesn't cover are:

• Legal fees
• Damages to the other driver’s property if you caused an accident (covered by liability insurance)
• Repairs from wear and tear
• The cost of treatment for injuries you or others sustained
• Lost income for you or your passengers as a result of an accident
• Theft of personal property in your car

Although comprehensive and collision insurance are included in a full coverage car insurance policy, they’re not the same. Collision coverage helps you with costs from repairs resulting from crashes, while comprehensive insurance pays for damages not caused by a collision.

If your car sustains damages from a non-collision-related incident, comprehensive insurance can help you pay the cost of repairs. Unlike liability coverage, comprehensive insurance comes with a deductible.

A deductible is an amount you pay out of pocket each time you file a claim before your provider. You can choose the amount of deductible your policy has, which affects the premium you pay each year.

For example, let’s say the car you’re driving is worth $8,000, and you have a $1,000 deductible. If your vehicle is totaled during a covered incident, your policy will reimburse you $7,000 to replace your car. Without this coverage, you’ll have to shoulder the entire cost of replacement out of pocket.

Most states require drivers to at least carry liability insurance as part of their minimum insurance requirements. On the other hand, comprehensive insurance is optional. Although you don’t need to have comprehensive insurance in your car insurance policy, having it as an added coverage can help financially protect you in the event of an accident.

Expenses don’t just come from collisions. Even if your car is stationary, it can get damaged for several reasons. Comprehensive insurance helps you pay for repairs caused by incidents other than crashes.

When you’re in the process of thinking about whether you should continue paying for comprehensive insurance or not, keep the 10% rule in mind. Experts say that dropping comprehensive coverage is a more practical move if your premiums are worth more than 10% of your vehicle’s cash value.

If you and your spouse don’t have joint car insurance, make sure that you’re not covering the same vehicle — you may be paying double for a single car’s coverage. See if it’ll be more practical to have both under a single policy. This move will likely work out in your favor since some car insurance providers offer a discount if you insure more than one vehicle with them.

MoneyGeek compared policies to determine the amount you need to add to have comprehensive and collision insurance with a $1,000 deductible included in your policy. On average, you’ll pay $33 more per month or a little under $400 per year. It’s a cost-effective way to get more protection, considering the coverage comprehensive insurance provides.

Keep in mind that these are sample premiums, and other factors may affect your annual rate.

For example, your car’s make and model may affect your premium significantly. The more expensive your car is, the more it’ll cost to insure. Another factor to consider is the amount of your deductible. A higher deductible usually means a lower premium since you pay more out of pocket before your carrier provides coverage. The inverse is also true — a lower deductible means a higher rate.

Be sure to also keep your deductible in mind when deciding whether you should continue getting comprehensive insurance or not. For instance, if your policy costs $1,500 and you have a $1,000 deductible, you’ll have to make sure your car’s value is at least $2,500 to break even.

MoneyGeek utilized data from the Auto Insurance Database published by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) and uninsured driver rates published by the Insurance Research Council to determine how many people in the U.S. did and didn't have comprehensive coverage, including drivers who were entirely uninsured.

Our analysis found that:

• Just 69% of vehicles are covered by comprehensive coverage.
• Among people who carry some form of insurance, only 78% have comprehensive coverage.
• That means 103 million vehicles aren’t covered by comprehensive auto coverage, leaving them susceptible to financial losses from theft, flood, fire, vermin infestation and other hazards unrelated to driving accidents.
• Because of their large populations and lower rates of comprehensive coverage, Texas and California each have over 10 million vehicles uninsured with comprehensive coverage.
• New Mexico and Mississippi have the lowest rates of comprehensive insurance, with 49% of vehicles lacking this crucial coverage.

Navigating the ins and outs of comprehensive coverage can be difficult. MoneyGeek answered some of the most commonly asked questions about this coverage to make the process easier.