Understanding Comprehensive Car Insurance: Coverage and Limits

• Car Insurance,
• Aug 30, 2019

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Comprehensive car insurance meaning is the kind of insurance that accounts for damage done to the car under different circumstances or by different causes excluding collision. The type of damage that comprehensive car insurance covers are the following:

 

Theft:

Imagine going down into the parking lot of a mall, locking your car and blissfully going your way only to return later and not find your car later. Pretty scary idea huh? Well if you choose to opt for comprehensive car insurance it won’t be so scary because it will cover the cost.

 

In case of Fire, Riots or Explosion:

What’s scarier than your car getting stolen? Yeah, you guessed it right. The idea of your car being damaged in an accident such as fire or riots or worst of all, explosion. Comprehensive car insurance will cover your costs for these damages as well.

 

Windshield and Glass Damage:

Imagine getting into an argument with a hothead who just walks up to your car and smashes your windscreen. It may seem far fetched but my cousin faced the exact same situation with sadly no comprehensive car insurance to incur the loss.

 

Falling Trees or Other Objects or Hail, Storms, Floods or lightning:

On a hot sunny day, you park your car in a nice shady spot surrounded by trees only to find out later that a tree has fallen over your car. Or imagine being in any of the above situations, Comprehensive car insurance has got your back as the name suggests comprehensive meaning a complete package. It will cover the charges for any or all of these.

 

Accident with Animals:

Your monetary charges will be covered by comprehensive car insurance if you end up hitting an animal and thus incur damage to your car.

 

Further Explaining Comprehensive Car Insurance:

Comprehensive insurance, liability insurance, and collision insurance are three components of the car insurance policy. Liability insurance is compulsion by the state. A person in possession of a car has to get liability insurance whereas getting comprehensive car insurance or collision insurance or both or neither depends on the person’s own decision if they have bought the car. But in case of leasing or financing a car, it is required to get it insured by either of these policies or both.

If a person lives in an area where there are extreme weather conditions or the law and order situation is not that great. It would wise of him to get his car insured.

 

Comprehensive Car Insurance Deductible and Coverage:

If you opt for the comprehensive car insurance policy, you will be asked to pay some amount as deductible. It may be $500-$1000 or more. In case of damage to the car the amount would be deducted from the total cost and the rest of the money would be paid to you to cover the damage.

In case your car gets stolen, you will be granted a specific amount as reimbursement and you would have to add your own savings to buy a new car.

 

Comprehensive car insurance Vs other policies:

A lot of times people assume that comprehensive car insurance is more expensive than other policies insured by a third party but that is not always the case.  When you are deciding which policy to opt for, comparing the prices is a smart decision. You may be surprised to find that comprehensive car insurance works as well as third party insurance. No need to risk those extra bucks in case you end up in a situation mentioned above.

 

What Comprehensive Car Insurance does not cover?

It covers almost everything except for the colliding of your car with another vehicle. In such cases, the other vehicle is most likely damaged as well. There may be physical injuries to one or both occupants. All of these damages are not covered by comprehensive car insurance. That area is covered by the collision insurance policy. When deciding which policy to choose, there are a number of factors that should be considered such as:

 

•  1- The monetary value of your car. The ‘Insurance Information Institute’ advice that you to gauge whether your car is worth the insurances, you should multiply the amount give to insurance companies in a year by 10.

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•  2- Your surroundings: in case of disasters such as storms or floods or riots or explosions.

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•  3- Your own expertise of driving a car. If you are learning how to drive a car, the risk of collision would be higher.

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Some Added Perks of Comprehensive Insurance:

•  1- You can choose an insurance company which gives you a substitute car while your car is in the workshop for repairs.

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•  2- If your car breakdowns and you have to order a tow truck and pay extra cash, there are certain companies that included these charges as well in their policies as incentives.

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Getting your car insured is the best way to save money in the long run. Accidents and mishaps are bound to occur, it’s better to invest more money initially rather than facing a big loss later on.