What Does Full Coverage Auto Insurance Mean?
If you're buying auto insurance, you may have had someone tell you to get full coverage, or you may think getting full coverage sounds like a good idea. To decide whether you should get full coverage, you need to understand what it is.
What's the Definition of Full Coverage?
There is no set definition of full coverage. You can't just tell the insurance company you want a full coverage policy and get the same thing at every insurance company.
Full coverage usually means that you take every coverage option at the highest limits available. Some people might say they have coverage if they have lower limits that they think are still more than enough coverage. Other people might leave off coverages they don't think are important and say having the important ones means full coverage.
Do You Have to Buy Full Coverage?
You usually don't have to buy full coverage if you don't want to. Most states only require you to have liability insurance and maybe Personal Injury Protection. If you have a car loan, the lender might require you to have collision and comprehensive coverage to guarantee you can pay off the loan if your car gets totaled.
What's the Benefit of Full Coverage?
The benefit of full coverage is so that you're fully covered for anything that happens to your car. This might include accidents, theft, falling trees, and more.
If you don't have full coverage, it can lead to serious financial consequences. For example, if you cause an accident and don't have enough liability coverage, the other driver might be able to sue you if you can't pay the lawsuit. If you don't have comprehensive or collision coverage and something happens to your car, you might have to both buy a new car and pay off your existing car loan even though you no longer have that car.
Is Full Coverage Insurance Worth It?
Full coverage insurance costs more since you're buying everything, and insurance companies will often try to offer you a better price by putting together a package with less coverage. Any time you reduce your insurance coverage, you need to think about what can happen if you don't have that coverage.
If you don't have a lot of assets, doing things like reducing liability coverage might make sense. Otherwise, you should consider full coverage.
To get full coverage auto insurance quotes, contact a local car insurance company today.
