Comprehensive vs. collision insurance: What's the difference? Comprehensive and collision are both optional coverages that protect your vehicle, but they differ in the type of incident they cover.

Understanding the Context

Comprehensive covers damage to your vehicle from unexpected non-collision incidents like theft, animal damage, falling trees, and weather damage. Also known as marine hull insurance, comprehensive and collision coverage may pay to repair or replace your boat if it's physically damaged in a covered incident, minus your deductible. Although they are often referred to as "insurance," comprehensive and collision are actually coverages that can be added to a boat insurance policy, not separate types of insurance. Comprehensive covers damage to your vehicle from events outside of your control, often including hail and other weather-related damage.

Key Insights

If hail damage is covered, your car insurance can pay for the repairs minus your deductible and up to your policy's limit — usually the cash value of your car. Liability covers injuries and damage you may cause to others on the road, and it's required by law in most states. "Full coverage" auto insurance, while not a real insurance coverage, could include all state-required coverages like liability plus coverage for damages to your vehicle (typically via collision and comprehensive coverage). Note that asking for "full coverage" won't mean you're ... Paying for comprehensive and collision — the coverages that many people mean when they say "full coverage" — may not be worth it if your car's value is minimal and your policy includes a high deductible.

Final Thoughts

Usually, you have to have comprehensive and collision on a financed car because most lenders require it. However, if your vehicle is paid in full, you have the option to drop the coverages ...