Comprehensive vs collision.
In plain English
Collision and comprehensive are the two coverages that pay to repair or replace your own car, and they split by cause. Collision covers damage from hitting another vehicle or object, or a rollover. Comprehensive, sometimes called other-than-collision, covers almost everything else: theft, vandalism, fire, hail, floods, falling branches, and hitting an animal. Each has its own deductible. Lenders and lessors usually require both while you owe money on the car. Once a car is worth little, paying for both can cost more over a few years than the car itself, which is when many owners drop them.
01Why it matters
These two coverages are the biggest optional pieces of an auto premium, so knowing what each pays for helps you decide when they are worth keeping and when to drop them.
02The math, step by step
On a car worth about 3,000 dollars, carrying both comprehensive and collision might run 600 dollars a year. In five years that is 3,000 dollars, roughly the value of the car, which is why owners of older cars often drop them.
03What this is NOT
Comprehensive and collision are NOT interchangeable. Collision pays for crash damage; comprehensive pays for non-crash events like theft or weather. Neither covers injuries or damage to other people's property, which is liability.
04Receipts
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