What You Need to Know About Full Coverage Car Insurance

The term full coverage car insurance varies depending on what car insurance company you are working with and what state you live in. Discover the benefits and decide if full coverage is right for you.

Full coverage car insurance may refer to coverage plans like comprehensive or collision coverage. Typically full coverage car insurance will be all inclusive including comprehensive coverage for your own automobile as well as liability insurance to cover another vehicle in the event of an accident. Liability is usually the lowest amount of coverage you can get which is the opposite of full coverage which covers everything you may encounter in your car.

It’s really hard to define full coverage insurance because of the different standards implemented by the various car insurance companies as well as the different requirements for car insurance in each individual state. Some companies may refer to full coverage as coverage that includes everything while others may refer to it as any coverage beyond liability alone.

Benefits of Full Coverage Car Insurance

  • Better Liability Coverage - Most carriers offer similar full coverage plans although they may vary somewhat. Like any car insurance plan full coverage insurance offers liability coverage to take care of any damages or injuries you may inflict during an accident. However, most full coverage plans will give you much better liability coverage than a standard liability only plan might. Full coverage plans typically include property damage and injury liability limits that are far greater than the legal minimum.
  • Comprehensive & Collision Coverage - Any good full coverage plan should also include comprehensive and collision coverage. This takes liability a step further and actually covers your own vehicle in the event of an accident. Comprehensive insurance will event protect you against damaged caused to your vehicle by the weather and even theft. Collision insurance pays for any damages to your vehicle and will even replace your vehicle should you total it.
  • Personal Injury Protection - Also known as PIP this coverage will pay for medical expenses associated with an accident for all people involved even when you are to blame.
  • Uninsured & Underinsured Driver Protection - This allows you to be covered when you are in an accident with an uninsured or underinsured motorist. Some states even require this type of coverage by law and may even require some form of personal injury protection as well.

Do You Actually Need Full Coverage Car Insurance?

Whether or not you actually need full coverage car insurance depends on a number of factors. Full coverage certainly costs more but provides much better coverage in the event of an accident. Deciding on whether or not you want full coverage depends on how much you are comfortable paying for in premiums versus how adverse to risk you may be. If your vehicle isn’t worth much and you want to cut back on your premiums, full coverage car insurance may not be for you. If you want the best coverage possible and money is no object then full coverage may be a good fit for you.