You don’t have a choice when it comes to getting car insurance or not. If you want to drive a car (legally), you have to have insurance. However, you do have some choices as to what type of car insurance you get.
Each state has a minimum coverage requirement. You have to at least have this type of coverage in order to drive. While minimum coverage is the cheapest option, it leaves a lot of gaps in your coverage. If you get in an accident with minimum coverage, there may be a lot of damages you’ll have to pay for out of pocket.
Then there is full coverage insurance. When you hear that term, you may think that you are fully covered with this type of car insurance. But is that the case?
Find out exactly what does full coverage car insurance cover and more about the different types of car insurance below.
Types Of Car Insurance
Let us first take a look at the different types of car insurance coverage. Here are the types of car insurance coverage you can get:
- Liability coverage
- Comprehensive coverage
- Collision coverage
- Personal injury protection (PIP) coverage
- Underinsured motorist and uninsured
The most common one among these types of car insurance coverage is liability coverage. This is the one that is mandatory coverage in most states. It’s basically the minimum coverage requirement you need to drive.
What Does Full Coverage Car Insurance Cover?
When we are talking about full coverage in car insurance, does it include all the types of coverage above? Or does it only cover a few select car insurance coverages that are listed above?
The answer to that is full coverage does NOT cover every type of car insurance you can possibly get. Most of the time, full coverage car insurance policies include liability coverage, comprehension coverage, and collision coverage.
Liability car insurance coverage is what will cover any damage you cause to the other party(ies) in an accident that is your fault. For example, if you have injured another person while you are driving, your liability coverage will pay for the expenses that you need to pay to the person you injured. Liability coverage will also cover any damage to another person’s vehicle while you are driving.
Collision car insurance coverage provides coverage all sorts of damage that result for different types of incidents can that happen while you are driving. And it does not have to include an accident with another car/person. For example, it will cover damages if you crash into a fence while you were driving.
Comprehensive car insurance coverage provides coverage for damages to your vehicle that is due to an unexpected event. For example, say your car sustains damage by a tree branch during a strong windstorm. This is when comprehensive coverage will kick in to help pick up the costs of the damage to your car.
Do You Need Full Coverage Car Insurance Coverage?
Full coverage car insurance generally provides the best possible protection for car drivers and insured people. Like with most car insurance policies, you need to pay a deductible before your policy will kick in and start to cover costs for any damage and/or injuries.
Although the most recommended car insurance coverage is often liability car insurance coverage, it is still wise to purchase other types of coverages. Cars are not cheap to repair and having full coverage may save you from some very expensive bills down the road.
However, this coverage does come at a cost so you’ll have to decide if the extra protection and peace of mind is worth it.
So when it comes to the question “what does full coverage car insurance cover?”, it’s not every possible type of insurance you can get. However, it provides a full spectrum of coverage that will be a good fit for many drivers.