How Comprehensive is Comprehensive Insurance?

By Diane Tait

Image courtesy flickr

If you own or lease an automobile you undoubtedly have auto insurance.  That’s because sometimes bad things happen to good drivers.  That being said, auto coverage isn’t one policy.  There are really a number of insurance components combined to cover you, your passengers and the public from most everything that can happen if you’re involved in an auto accident.  There’s the collision component that helps repair or replace your vehicle after an accident causes damage.  There’s uninsured motorist coverage that’s designed to kick in if the driver of any car that hits yours either doesn’t have insurance or is carrying too little to cover the cost of the accident.  There’s personal injury protection that’s designed to reimburse you for any medical costs incurred in an accident.  There’s also liability insurance that most states require you to carry to help pay for medical expenses and/or property damage sustained by anyone other than yourself in an accident.  Last but not least, there’s comprehensive coverage. 

What’s odd about comprehensive is that it’s the only part of your auto policy that isn’t concerned with accidents.  It’s there to cover your vehicle from other hazards that could cause damage or destruction.  This portion of your auto coverage is also one that isn’t required to be carried by law, although your lender or lessor may require you to carry it.  In order to help you make an informed decision as to whether you should opt in on comprehensive coverage, I thought I’d take a few minutes to comprehensively explain exactly what it does.

What does comprehensive coverage cover? – In a nutshell, comprehensive fills the gaps in your coverage by taking into consideration other things that can damage or cause the loss of your vehicle that aren’t related to an auto accident.  Below are ten of the most common incidents where comprehensive coverage comes into play?

  

     

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1.      Dude, where’s your car? – If you’ve ever had your car stolen or had it broken into, then you know the heartache of theft.  Crime can happen in any neighborhood, office park or shopping center.  Sometimes auto theft involves the loss of the entire vehicle, while other times the thieves are only interested in the contents contained within.  There is also the possibility that in order to gain entry, the thief will smash a window.  If you have comprehensive coverage, any damage to or loss of the vehicle is a covered peril.  It may even cover the damage or loss of a rental vehicle, as well as the loss of personal belongings taken from within.  Even if the police manage to recover your vehicle, if it has been stripped or vandalized, those motorists who carry comprehensive coverage will be able to rely on their insurer to help make them whole again.  Those without are on their own to pay for the loss.

      2.      A bad day for Bambi – If you hit a deer or swerve to miss an animal in the road only to damage your vehicle, comprehensive coverage will come to the rescue.  The same thing goes if a Canada snow goose should collide with your windscreen only to wind up in your backseat.

      3.      The sky is falling – Here’s another peril that many people fail to take into consideration: debris.  Believe it or not, all kinds of things have been known to fall from the sky to damage a vehicle.  Sleet, stones, construction debris, bricks and parts from other vehicles can and do damage vehicles on the highways and byways of our nation.  Cracked windshields are an all too common occurrence, but they’re far from the only damage that flying debris can cause.  I once had a 2X4 fall off a truck to cartwheel down the highway only to put a big dent in the hood of my car.  Thankfully, I had comprehensive coverage which paid to have the dent removed.

      4.      You’re not in Kansas anymore. – Not only can wind blow your vehicle off the road, but it’s been known to pick up and hurl debris at unattended vehicles.  The last thing you want to do is come out of the mall only to find out that a shopping cart has put a big dent in your car door.  Fortunately, if you carry comprehensive coverage, this is a covered repair.

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      5.      Time to start building an Ark? – If you live Florida like I do than the saying “When it rains it pours” is all too familiar.  Even if you don’t, you need to understand that any passing thunderstorm has the power to cause roads to flood.  If your vehicle winds up turning into a submarine or even has only an inch or so of floodwater inside it, you are potentially talking about thousands of dollars of damage.

      6.      Fire from the sky – Another hazard from above is a lightning strike.  Don’t be fooled into thinking your vehicle can’t be struck by lightning.  It can.  Should your car get hit by a bolt from the blue it can do everything from blow out all four tires to fry the vehicles electronics and even punch a hole in the roof to let in the rain.

      7.      Why can’t we be friends? – Should your vehicle be parked in an area where a riot or other public insurrection break out that causes it to be damage or destroyed, you’ll thank your lucky stars that you opted in for comprehensive coverage. It will also cover you should a vandal damage your vehicle.

      8.      Shake, rattle and roll – While we don’t see earthquakes in Florida, in other parts of the country they’re all too common.  However, we do get our fair share of monster sinkholes that can swallow houses and cars.  If the earth should suddenly shake, rattle or roll only to damage or destroy your vehicle, you’ll need comprehensive coverage to repair or replace it.

      9.      When smoke gets in your eyes. – If you’ve watched the news from California you’ll notice that it isn’t only earthquakes that can damage or destroy vehicles.  So too can wildfires.  I remember back in 1998 when a good portion of Florida was on fire, although that’s not the only thing that can cause your vehicle to go up in flames.  Everything from engine fires to a house fire that catches the garage on fire can lead to the loss of a vehicle.

      10.  Timber! – Another peril that occurs in the summer around these parts are hurricanes and named storms.  Not only can they cause damage by hurling debris at vehicles parked outside, they can topple mighty oak trees that can turn a car into a banana in a heartbeat.  Fortunately, for those motorists who carry comprehensive coverage, damage due to falling tree trunks or limbs is a covered peril.   

Diane Tait owns and operates A&B Insurance.  To find out more about how you can save money on insurance, go to her site or fill out the form at right.