What is Comprehensive Car Insurance Coverage?
Comprehensive coverage insures against damage that does not occur as a result of collision with another car.
Comprehensive insurance is an additional coverage available as an option with most car insurance policies.
It covers damage caused by or related to weather (hail, flood, lightning, etc.), theft, animals (like hitting a deer), and vandalism.
It is coverage for your car from things that aren’t covered by collision coverage (coverage for your vehicle colliding with something.
What does a comprehensive auto insurance policy cover?
Below are some of the more common types of comprehensive claims:
- Lightning, Hail, Flood damage and weather-related occurrences
- Damage caused by animals such as insects, or rodent damage
- Collision with a deer or other animal (this is considered Comprehensive as it was outside of your control)
- Stolen car or vandalism
Routine wear and tear are not covered by comprehensive auto insurance. For that coverage, you should look for a vehicle warranty. Luckily we have the best in the industry for you with Arkay
How does Comprehensive and Collision work together?
Collision and Comprehensive are commonly packaged together in an auto policy to provide full coverage. Together they work to protect against physical damage to your vehicle from an accident where your car collides with another object (collision) or your vehicle is damaged from weather, animals, stolen or vandalism (comprehensive).
Comprehensive vs. Collision Claim impact
Comprehensive claims normally cost much less than collision or liability insurance claims as comprehensive claims are outside of your control like weather related things like hail.
For one carrier, 1 comprehensive claim raised the premium by $48 a year where 1 collision claim raised the premium $768 a year.
Claims stay on your record for between 3 to 5 years. Carriers assess a surcharge (increase) to your rates for accidents.
How do I save on insurance after a comprehensive claim?
After an accident, it is time to re-assess how much risk you want to retain vs. transfer to the insurance company. You can retain more by decreasing deductibles and coverages which will reduce your premium and save you $ but at more risk to you.
If your vehicle isn’t worth much, you might not need comprehensive and collision. The typical tipping point is around $4,000. So if your car is worth less than $4,000 comprehensive and collision isn’t normally recommended.
Take into consideration that your car just lost value by having an accident when calculating its value.
Make sure you are getting all the discounts you deserve and potentially look into claim forgiveness as you don’t want another claim to affect your insurance price.
- Good/safe driver
- Multiple drivers
- Multi-vehicle
- Multiple policies
- Payment by bank account
- Paid-in-full
- Good student
- Telematics
- eSign
- Group participation/affinity membership discount
- Homeowner discount
- Green vehicle discount
Customers which can pay for the full premium upfront normally get a good discount for doing so. It shows that you are responsible with your money to have enough to pay upfront and also saves the carrier on payment processing fees which they sometimes pass that savings to you.
#BeResponsibleWithYourMoney
After you factor in the above, see if other auto insurance companies are offering lower rates. Brigade Insurance can get you a number of auto insurance quotes, allowing you to find a the right policy with a premium that fits your budget.
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You can start the process online or reach out by phone 1-877-865-2111 to speak to one of our licensed agents as our in-house agency is licensed to write policies for many of the top insurance companies.