What is Full Coverage Auto Insurance?

Full Coverage Car Insurance, Explained

Typically considered the gold standard for a car insurance policy, full coverage insurance refers to a policy that includes both comprehensive and collision coverage, as well as any other types of insurance mandated by your state.

Full Coverage Basics

For starters, all full coverage policies will include the following:

Comprehensive coverage: This covers your car if it is damaged by an unexpected incident involving the weather, animals, fire or other, non-vehicular causes.
Collision coverage: This covers your car in the event of a collision with an object, including other vehicles, trees, or buildings. This coverage works regardless of fault.

Note that both of these types of coverage cover your vehicle, not the other person’s vehicle (if someone else is involved). To cover damages suffered by the other party in an accident, you’ll need:

Bodily injury liability: This covers injuries caused by an accident. Coverage for this comes in per person and per accident amounts. Frequently recommended amounts for this are 100/300, or 100K per person and 300K per accident, though each state has their own set of insurance requirements.
Property damage liability: This covers damage caused to property as a result of an accident, such as motor vehicle damage or damage to someone’s home. It is commonly recommended that drivers be insured for 50K in property damage liability, but requirements will vary by state.

In some states, medical coverage is also considered standard when it comes to car insurance (with some states even requiring these types of coverage):

Medical payments (MedPay): MedPay covers accident-related medical costs.
Personal Injury Property (PIP): Similar to MedPay, PIP covers medical fees as well as other costs including lost wages and child or household care costs incurred as a result of the accident.

While both MedPay and PIP provide relief for medical costs, PIP is overall more comprehensive and is a requirement in 12 states, all of which are no-fault states (states in which fault is not assigned after an accident). Though MedPay is less comprehensive in what it covers, it is more flexible regarding who it covers -- MedPay can benefit not only the drivers involved in an accident, but also their passengers as well as any affected bystanders.

Both of these types of insurance come with pros and cons, and where not required can offer multiple benefits. Which is right for you, if either, depends on where you live and what you can afford when it comes to insurance.

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Full Coverage Car Insurance, Explained

Full Coverage Basics

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