What Is Full Coverage Car Insurance?
Full coverage car insurance is an insurance policy that includes liability coverage plus comprehensive and collision insurance, along with any other coverage required by state law. Full coverage car insurance provides protection for car accidents and non-accident-related damage, covering the policyholder regardless of fault.
What Does Full Coverage Car Insurance Cover?
Full coverage car insurance covers the policyholder and their vehicle against accidents or other damage-causing events, regardless of fault. Full coverage car insurance also covers other people’s injuries and property damage when the policyholder is at fault.
What Common Components of Full Coverage Car Insurance Cover
| Type of Insurance | What It Covers |
|---|---|
| Liability | Injuries to other people and damage to other people’s property caused by the policyholder |
| Collision | Damage to the policyholder’s car after an accident |
| Comprehensive | Damage to the policyholder’s car after something besides an accident, like vandalism or theft |
| Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist | The policyholder’s injuries or damage to their property if a driver without insurance or without enough insurance was at fault |
| Personal Injury Protection (PIP) | Injuries to the policyholder after an accident regardless of who was at fault, plus indirect expenses like lost wages |
| MedPay | Injuries to the policyholder after an accident regardless of who was at fault |
What Full Coverage Does Not Cover
- Intentional Damage
- Use of the vehicle in car-sharing program
- Damage from street racing or off-road driving
- Destruction or confiscation by government or civil authorities
- GAP insurance is not typically included in full coverage policies, so it's important to be aware that you may need to obtain it separately
Learn more about what full coverage car insurance covers.
Average Cost of Full Coverage Car Insurance
The average cost of full coverage car insurance is $2,117 per year. For comparison, state minimum coverage costs an average of $671 per year.
Costs vary by state and insurance company, as well as based on coverage limits and deductible amounts. Additionally, a driver’s premium depends on their personal characteristics, including their driving history, age, and zip code.
Full Coverage Cost by State
| State | Cost of Full Coverage | Cost of Minimum Coverage |
|---|---|---|
| California | $2,567 per year | $717 per year |
| Texas | $2,577 per year | $773 per year |
| Florida | $3,406 per year | $1,242 per year |
| New York | $4,535 per year | $1,719 per year |
| Pennsylvania | $2,321 per year | $611 per year |
| Illinois | $1,801 per year | $592 per year |
| Ohio | $1,308 per year | $393 per year |
| Georgia | $2,287 per year | $877 per year |
| North Carolina | $1,454 per year | $511 per year |
| Michigan | $3,397 per year | $1,300 per year |
Costs reflect the average of a series of quotes gathered by Quadrant Information Services for a 45-year-old male with a clean driving record and good credit. Individual premiums will be different.
Learn more about how much full coverage car insurance costs.
Cheapest Full Coverage Car Insurance Companies
- Esurance: $141 per month
- USAA: $152 per month
- Auto-Owners: $163 per month
- Geico: $163 per month
- Mercury: $168 per month
- 21st Century: $180 per month
- Progressive: $189 per month
- Allstate: $203 per month
- Travelers: $211 per month
- State Farm: $219 per month
To find the cheapest full coverage car insurance, you should get multiple quotes from different insurers in order to identify the lowest rate for the coverage you need. Premiums vary based on several factors, including your state and driving record.
Learn more about the cheapest full coverage auto insurance.
Is Full Coverage Worth It?
Full coverage is always worth it for leased or financed cars. Additionally, if you can’t afford to buy a new car entirely out of pocket, or the cost for full coverage is less than 10% of your car’s value, full coverage is definitely worth it. The average new car costs more than $40,000 and that’s not including all the costs associated with an accident, in addition to taxes and fees.
On the other hand, if you could afford to replace your car on your own, you don’t drive very often, or your car is not worth very much, you may be able to skip full coverage insurance.
Full Coverage Car Insurance Benefits
- Extra protection on natural disaster, collision, and vandalism
- Cover partial cost of the new car if your car is a total loss
- No need to pay for windshield or window repairs on your own
- Personal auto insurance can extend to cover rental car damage
Learn more about how to decide if full coverage is worth it for you.
5 Tips For Buying Full Coverage Car Insurance
1. Shop around for coverage
When you’re shopping for full coverage car insurance, comparing quotes from multiple insurers before purchasing a policy is the key to finding the best deal. Even after you have coverage, it’s a good idea to comparison-shop every 6-12 months and consider switching insurers if you find a better price elsewhere.
2. Check for discounts
In addition to comparing quotes, you should also compare discounts to see what opportunities insurers give you to save. For example, most insurance companies offer a good driver discount for policyholders who go a certain amount of time without an accident or moving violation. You can also get discounts for things related to your policy, like having more than one type of insurance with the company or paying for coverage in full up front.
3. Carefully select your deductibles
When you purchase a full coverage policy, you’ll select amounts for your collision and comprehensive deductibles. The higher your deductibles are, the lower your premium will be, so selecting high amounts can help you save long-term. However, you still need to select deductible amounts that you can afford to pay if your vehicle is unexpectedly damaged.
4. Understand the different definitions of full coverage
Full coverage is not an official type of car insurance, and definitions differ. Some people define full coverage as any policy that includes liability, collision, and comprehensive insurance, while others describe full coverage car insurance as a policy that has the state-minimum coverage in addition to any insurance required by a lender or lessor. Similarly, full coverage car insurance might be defined as a policy that has more than the minimum liability coverage, or simply as an insurance policy that will take care of anything and everything in the event of an accident.
Understanding the different possible definitions will help you determine what coverage you want out of an insurance policy and the different ways others sometimes think about full coverage.
5. Know that a financed or leased car may require full coverage
If you have a financed or leased car, your lender or lessor may require you to have full coverage insurance. Your contract may even require you to have more coverage types, such as gap insurance.
If you fail to keep full coverage on your financed or leased car, you risk having your car repossessed or having to pay for more expensive insurance chosen by your financer or lessor.
Video: Understanding Full Coverage Car Insurance
Ask the Experts
To gain more insight about full coverage car insurance, WalletHub posed the following questions to a panel of experts. Click on the experts below to view their bios and answers.
1. When should drivers consider getting full coverage car insurance?
2. When should drivers consider dropping full coverage from their car insurance policy?
3. What do you think is the biggest misconception that people have about full coverage car insurance?
Ask the Experts
Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Finance, Plaster School of Business, Missouri Southern State University
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Instructor of Finance, Rutgers School of Business–Camden
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Ph.D., Associate Dean of Graduate School and Research, Paul Engler Professor of Business, WTAMU Graduate School and Research, West Texas A&M University
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Ph.D., Lecturer of Accounting, University of Michigan-Dearborn, College of Business
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Associate Professor of Instruction in Law/Forensic Accounting, Lynn Pippenger School of Accountancy/Cyber Florida, Muma College of Business, University of South Florida
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Ph.D., Associate Professor and Chair Business Analytics, School of Business, Stockton University
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