Difference between Comprehensive and Collision
Comprehensive and Collision Coverage make up the physical damage portion of your auto insurance policy.
It is the coverage that is going to pay when you have damage to YOUR vehicle.
Physical damage coverage isn’t automatically included and required in New York. It needs to be added on an individual car basis.
Comprehensive Coverage
Comp, or otherwise known as other than collision, covers you against very specific things. These include
Fire
Theft
Vandalism
Falling Objects
If you hit an animal like a deer
Another thing that falls under Comprehensive Coverage is your Glass Damage. Glass Damage usually is included with an endorsement called Full Glass Coverage.
Collision Coverage
Collision coverage basically covers anything else when it comes to damage on your vehicle. Any time you hit a moving or a fixed object, the damage that’s caused to your vehicle that does not fall under comprehensive will fall under collision.
Both coverage’s are subject to your deductible which can vary depending on your specific auto policy and what you feel comfortable with.
Wonder how you should choose your deductible. Click here to learn more.
When should you carry Comp & Collision Coverage
This will depend on everyone’s situation, but the biggest things to look at include the following
- Value of the vehicle
- Cost to carry this coverage
- Deductible
The reason these 3 are so important is because you need to find out when it makes financial sense to remove this coverage.
We suggest always carrying Comprehensive Coverage since as we discussed above, Comp covers you against things that are out of your control. The cost associated with Comprehensive Coverage is much lower than it is for Collision.
When it comes to Collision coverage we suggest when the value of the vehicle is low enough that you are willing to take the chance at not getting anything for your vehicle when it is in an accident.
Here is an example:
Car’s value is $1500
Cost to have Collision Coverage on your personal auto policy is $250
You carry a $1000 Deductible.
You are automatically spending $1250 the first year if you have an accident with the max you would get back of $1500. You are gambling with $250 in year 1 and break even in year 2.
What’s Next?
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