Comprehensive and collision coverage protects against damages not covered by liability insurance, such as fire, theft, vandalism or hail damage. Buying comprehensive and collision coverage is necessary if you have a car loan or lease.
This guide will help you learn more about comprehensive and collision insurance so that you can decide what type of coverage best fits your car insurance budget.
- Collision insurance pays for damage to your car when hit by an object or another vehicle.
- You may need comprehensive insurance if your car is hit by an animal or is damaged due to vandalism, hail, flooding or fire.
- If you decide to drop comprehensive and collision insurance, take your financial situation, car’s condition, age and value into consideration.
How much does comprehensive and collision coverage cost?
Comprehensive and collision coverage typically won’t bust your budget, as the average insurance cost is fairly affordable. According to a CarInsurance.com rate analysis, the average annual rate for collision is $687 and for comprehensive, it’s $255.
Enter your state in the search field below to see your location’s average cost for comprehensive and collision.
| State | Collision insurance annual average cost | Comprehensive insurance annual average cost |
|---|---|---|
| Alaska | $592 | $145 |
| Alabama | $563 | $191 |
| Arkansas | $579 | $268 |
| Arizona | $522 | $173 |
| California | $975 | $136 |
| Colorado | $524 | $395 |
| Connecticut | $534 | $114 |
| Washington, D.C. | $852 | $218 |
| Delaware | $538 | $154 |
| Florida | $549 | $204 |
| Georgia | $523 | $162 |
| Hawaii | $550 | $137 |
| Iowa | $423 | $366 |
| Idaho | $426 | $128 |
| Illinois | $584 | $169 |
| Indiana | $533 | $187 |
| Kansas | $471 | $467 |
| Kentucky | $535 | $258 |
| Louisiana | $914 | $481 |
| Massachusetts | $718 | $227 |
| Maryland | $782 | $165 |
| Maine | $481 | $108 |
| Michigan | $1,725 | $795 |
| Minnesota | $598 | $275 |
| Missouri | $839 | $473 |
| Mississippi | $481 | $244 |
| Montana | $670 | $473 |
| North Carolina | $613 | $162 |
| North Dakota | $430 | $371 |
| Nebraska | $577 | $673 |
| New Hampshire | $422 | $110 |
| New Jersey | $642 | $132 |
| New Mexico | $626 | $229 |
| Nevada | $619 | $161 |
| New York | $658 | $191 |
| Ohio | $491 | $120 |
| Oklahoma | $619 | $408 |
| Oregon | $471 | $101 |
| Pennsylvania | $538 | $190 |
| Rhode Island | $688 | $139 |
| South Carolina | $452 | $319 |
| South Dakota | $458 | $735 |
| Tennessee | $535 | $183 |
| Texas | $684 | $294 |
| Utah | $707 | $143 |
| Virginia | $483 | $134 |
| Vermont | $475 | $180 |
| Washington | $402 | $119 |
| Wisconsin | $702 | $221 |
| West Virginia | $555 | $255 |
| Wyoming | $747 | $556 |
Eighty percent of insured drivers buy comprehensive coverage with liability insurance, and 75% buy collision coverage, based on an analysis of National Association of Insurance Commissioners data.
An individual should buy comprehensive and collision auto insurance coverage under the following circumstances:
- If your car is less than 10 years old.
- If your vehicle is over 10 years old and worth $3,000 or more.
- If you can’t afford to repair or replace your car if it’s severely damaged or stolen.
Comprehensive and collision insurance are optional types of car insurance coverage that pay to repair or replace your car in certain situations.
Collision coverage pays for:
- Damage to your car when hit by another vehicle
- Damage to your car when you hit an object like a pole or fence
Comprehensive insurance pays for:
- Damage to your car from vandalism, hail, flooding, fire, falling objects, rocks cracking windshields
- Damage to your vehicle from hitting an animal, like a deer
- The value of your car if it’s stolen and not found
Explore and understand the differences between Comprehensive vs Collision Insurance
When to drop comprehensive and collision insurance
If you file a comprehensive or collision claim, your insurer will only pay out up to the fair market value of your car, minus your deductible. Shoppers must assess their financial situation, car condition, age and value when deciding whether to drop comprehensive and collision insurance.
Consider dropping comprehensive and collision coverage under these circumstances:
- You have an old or low-value vehicle. If you have an older car with a low market value, paying for collision and comprehensive insurance may not be worth it.
- You can afford to pay for damages out of pocket. If you have sufficient savings to replace your vehicle, it might be a better decision to use those savings to purchase a new one instead of paying for comprehensive and collision insurance.
- Limited usage or temporary ownership: If you have a vehicle that you rarely use or plan to sell in the near future, collision or comprehensive coverage may not be necessary.
Here are general guidelines for coverage as cars grow older:
- Maintain full coverage car insurance with manageable deductibles until your car has been paid off.
- Build your emergency savings, and raise your car insurance deductibles to lower your rates.
- Drop comprehensive and collision when you would buy another car rather than fix the one you have.
A car repair that costs what your premiums and the deductible total is a good barometer. If you would buy a newer car, don’t insure the old one for comprehensive and collision insurance.
Do I need comprehensive insurance on an old car?
If your car is very old and has a low market value, it may not be necessary to have comprehensive coverage. This is because the maximum payout you receive from insurance is usually the car’s market value minus the deductible amount, which may not be worth the cost of the comprehensive coverage yearly.
Can you have comprehensive insurance without collision?
Yes, it is possible to have comprehensive insurance without collision coverage and vice versa. Comprehensive insurance is a type of coverage that helps pay to replace or repair your vehicle if it’s stolen or damaged in an incident that’s not a collision.
Collision insurance, on the other hand, pays for damage to your car after an accident with an object, such as a pole, guard rail or tree. While comprehensive and collision coverage are often purchased together, they are separate coverage types, and depending on your situation, you can drop one or both.
How to save on comprehensive and collision insurance
You may save on your comprehensive and collision coverage by shopping around and comparing auto insurance quotes from different companies.
But there are some other things you can do to lower your rates:
- Raising your deductible
- Calculate how much you can afford to pay for your insurance
- Compare rates with different companies before a car insurance policy
- Ask for discounts
- Improving your credit score
Frequently asked questions: Comprehensive and collision insurance
Can you drop collision coverage only?
Insurance companies prefer that collision and comprehensive coverage be purchased together, but some will allow customers to buy one without the other. It’s typically more challenging to obtain comprehensive without collision coverage than just collision alone.
How does liability insurance differ from comprehensive or collision insurance?
Liability coverage covers damages and injuries you cause to others in an accident. It doesn’t cover your own vehicle damage or injuries. Comprehensive and collision insurance cover the policyholder’s own vehicle in the event of an accident.
Comprehensive insurance covers weather-related damage, theft, and vandalism, and collision insurance covers damage caused by collisions with other vehicles or objects. Both comprehensive and collision insurance have a deductible.
Should I have collision insurance on a 10-year-old car?
The decision to carry collision car insurance coverage on a 10-year-old car depends on factors such as your car’s value, repair costs and how much you can afford to pay for repairs out of pocket.
You can consider dropping collision insurance on a 10-year-old vehicle If the cost of your collision insurance premium exceeds 10% of the actual cash value of your car.
Resources and Methodology
Source
Insurance Information Institute. “Facts + Statistics: Auto insurance.” Accessed September 2024.
Methodology
CarInsurance.com commissioned Quadrant Information Services to get comprehensive and collision insurance rates for 100/300/100 full coverage with a $500 deductible. The rates are based on the profile of a 40-year-old male driving a Honda Accord LX with a clean driving record and good credit score. We have compared 50,00,736 insurance quotes of 27 company groups across 1,467 company groups in the U.S.
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Laura Longero
Executive Editor
Laura Longero is an insurance expert and Executive Editor at CarInsurance.com, where she specializes in helping consumers navigate the complexities of the financial and insurance industries. She has 15 years of experience educating people about finance and car insurance. Prior to joining CarInsurance.com, she worked as a reporter and editor at the USA Today Network. Her expertise provides readers with practical guidance, helping them make informed choices about their financial and insurance needs.
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