What Car Insurance Coverage Do I Need?

Decide how much liability coverage is enough for similar type of drivers.

What is collision coverage?

Collision coverage is a coverage that covers your insured vehicle that it sustains referred to as physical damage when it is hit by or it hits another vehicle or an object. Knowing what is collision insurance is a must. Collision coverage permits you to file with your car insurance company a claim and to pay to reduce the deductible amount for the damages received during auto accidents.

Collision coverage is required during auto accident damage caused to your vehicle so that it is covered by the policy. Having this coverage means the collision is paid under the policy terms. In case the other driver is underinsured or uninsured or even if it is your fault, the coverage is received.

Collision coverage has taken as full coverage only helps in getting comprehensive insurance so that even if your car gets stolen or damaged due to animals, fire or flood, you receive coverage. Bear in mind, not all the issues relating to your vehicle are covered by comprehensive or collision insurance coverage. Damages of wear and tear, mechanical or freezing breakdown are not covered by any auto collision insurance policy.

Collision coverage cost

State Collision
National average $297
Alabama $292
Alaska $361
Arizona $255
Arkansas $302
California $361
Colorado $255
Connecticut $347
Delaware $292
D.C. $452
Florida $242
Georgia $313
Hawaii $292
Idaho $203
Illinois $278
Indiana $229
Iowa $205
Kansas $247
Kentucky $254
Louisiana $380
Maine $246
Maryland $328
Massachusetts $361
Michigan $377
Minnesota $210
Mississippi $299
Missouri $257
Montana $257
Nebraska $221
Nevada $285
New Hampshire $279
New Jersey $364
New Mexico $262
New York $355
North Carolina $263
North Dakota $228
Ohio $251
Oklahoma $290
Oregon $207
Pennsylvania $301
Rhode Island $372
South Carolina $243
South Dakota $201
Tennessee $292
Texas $357
Utah $248
Vermont $272
Virginia $264
Washington $244
West Virginia $319
Wisconsin $208
Wyoming $260

Thus, while receiving a collision coverage quote, you must choose a deductible amount, so that you take the responsibility of paying even prior to the kicking in of the insurance coverage.

Difference between Collision vs. Comprehensive

Difference between collision vs. comprehensive coverage depends on the car driver's control to some extent. The collision insurance covers the motorist's control events or as there is a collision of the vehicle. The comprehensive cover is usually a coverage offered when you are not in control typically and this includes carjacking or heavy hailstorm.

For instance, a heavy tree branch during a storm falls on your car or you swerve the car to avoid the tree branch falling and end up crashing another tree. Here if it is the first case, there was no control as a tree branch falls on your vehicle and this is under the comprehensive policy and you receive reimbursement. In the second case, you are swerved into a tree, while you were driving and so it is collision car insurance and you receive the coverage for the damages.

Do I need them?

The insurance coverage, collision and comprehensive ascertain you are not bearing costly car damages, so it is best to have both. In case there is the liability of property damage, it is not helpful as it will not pay for repairs, so having both the coverage is recommended, especially if:

  • You finance or lease your car.
  • Your car is over $3000 worth.
  • Your car is not even 10 years old.

In case you finance or lease your car, collision and comprehensive insurance is required. Your leasing agent is satisfied to protect the investment and there are enough funds to repair the vehicle.

In case your car's worth is over $3,000 and/or is not even 10 years old, taking both collision and comprehensive coverage is right. Buying collision and comprehensive insurance for $600 to $700 annually or even higher imply you spend in a period of five years around $3000 to $3500 for premiums. If your vehicle is less than $3000 worth, you may have to pay more insurance than the car's worth. Having value and coverage means determining the collision insurance is comfortable.

Collision claims are higher than comprehensive. In 2015, around 6% of drivers with collision insurance worth $3,350 filed a claim on average, while 2.73% filed for worth $1,671 for a comprehensive claim.

How much do they Cost?

Calculating the cost of comprehensive or collision insurance coverage, while buying is necessary. Typically, the collision coverage costs more than the comprehensive coverage and some companies need you to have both than just having one type of insurance coverage. Thus, comparing the quotes of at least their companies allow you to get lower car insurance.

Car TypeBasic LiabilityWith ComprehensiveWith Comprehensive and CollisionYearly Rate Difference
Ford F-150$1,704$1,893$3,462$1,758
Chevrolet Silverado$1,986$2,170$4,866$2,880
Toyota Camry$1,986$2,171$4,110$2,124
Honda Accord$1,644$1,812$4,116$2,472
Ram 1500$1,716$1,904$3,990$2,274
Honda Civic$1,662$1,793$3,822$2,160
Nissan Altima$1,704$1,881$3,924$2,220
Toyota Corolla$1,800$1,953$3,828$2,028
Honda CR-V$1,596$1,742$3,264$1,668
Ford Escape$1,668$1,786$3,408$1,740

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