Comprehensive Vs. Collision: What’s The Difference? (2025)

What Is Comprehensive and Collision Insurance?

Comprehensive and collision are two types of car insurance that can safeguard you financially by helping pay for damage to your vehicle. They’re often sold together, and each comes with a deductible and limit. Typically, the higher the deductible (the amount you pay before your insurance kicks in), the lower the monthly premium.

If you’ve ever asked yourself, “How much car insurance do I need?”, the answer comes down to the types of situations you might need help paying for. With that in mind, here’s a look at the two kinds of coverage.

Comprehensive Coverage

Comprehensive (excluding collision) can pay for damage to your car caused by something other than a collision, including theft, vandalism, fire, hail, flooding, and fallen objects. It can also cover dents, dings, and scrapes from animals.

Collision Coverage

Collision coverage can offset your losses if you hit another vehicle or object, such as a power pole, house, or guardrail. It also usually covers rollovers.

Typically, you’re considered to have “full coverage” if you buy comprehensive and collision insurance along with the basic auto insurance required by your state.

Choosing Between Comprehensive and Collision

No state requires drivers to carry comprehensive or collision car insurance, yet a majority of automobile owners do so.

The Insurance Information Institute recently analyzed data from 2021 from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners and found that 80% of drivers bought comprehensive insurance along with a basic liability policy, and 76% purchased collision coverage.

It’s worth noting that if you take out a loan to buy or lease a vehicle, your lender or leaseholder may require you to purchase comprehensive and collision car insurance.

You can save money on your car insurance by purchasing one and not the other. However, this can leave you exposed to financial loss and other complications if you have an accident without insurance.

For example, if your car gets damaged from something other than a collision and you don’t have comprehensive coverage, you may have no other option than to pay for the repairs yourself.

What happens if you have no insurance but the other driver was at fault? In such a scenario, you could file a claim against the at-fault driver’s liability insurance to get your vehicle damage fixed.

Comprehensive vs. Collision: Which Coverage Do You Really Need?

Both of these coverage types are equally important. While it’s tempting to save a bit by just choosing one, the reality is that just choosing one leaves you financially vulnerable.

If you just have comprehensive insurance, what happens after a car accident that is your fault? In this case, you would be responsible for paying for car repairs out of pocket. Likewise, if you only choose collision coverage and your car is damaged by a fallen tree, insurance can’t help you.

Although it’s best to have both types of coverage, you’re generally free to choose just one if you prefer. However, it’s worth noting that many car insurance companies sell collision and comprehensive policies together, so you can’t choose just one.

Comprehensive vs. Collision Deductibles

The deductibles for comprehensive and collision coverage are roughly the same — between $100 and $2,000 in most cases.

However, comprehensive and collision are separate coverages, meaning you can purchase one with a lower or higher deductible, depending on the type of damage you’re willing to pay more out of pocket to repair. Keeping both policies at a similar deductible can help you better gauge your insurance payout and out-of-pocket cost.

Comprehensive vs. Collision Insurance Costs: What to Expect

The exact cost of comprehensive and collision insurance depends on your location, your driving record, the value of your car and other factors. However, in general, collision coverage is more expensive.

The reason why is simple — cars are much more likely to sustain major damage in an accident than from non-accident causes. It’s possible for a vehicle to be totaled by a fallen tree, but far more vehicles are totaled in car accidents.

Factors That Influence the Cost of Insurance

If you’re worried about what you might end up paying for auto insurance, and comprehensive or collision coverage in particular, it will be worth it to figure out the likely cost of your insurance before you purchase a vehicle.

The type of vehicle you drive plays a significant role in the total cost of your car insurance. In almost all cases, newer, more expensive high-performance cars, such as Teslas, cost more to insure than a Subaru. Look over a list of the most dangerous cars to get a better idea of what you can expect to pay.

Other factors to consider include:

• Age: Drivers under 25 and seniors tend to pay more
• Gender: Males are involved in more accidents than females
• Marital Status: Single people are statistically more prone to accidents
• Residence: Accidents and thefts occur at higher rates in urban areas
• Daily Miles: How much you drive will also affect your premium

What’s more, your previous coverage can impact how much you pay for car insurance. If your insurance has previously lapsed or you’ve only carried the minimum amount required by law, you might pay a higher premium for a new policy.

Comprehensive vs. Collision: When You Might Choose Neither

The average cost of car repairs has been climbing faster in recent years than ever before. In 2024, this average is expected to reach $5,500, a 10% leap over the figures for 2023.

That’s a big chunk of money to pay out if you hit someone or something without collision insurance or your car is damaged due to a weather event or theft.

Still, there are situations where you might consider dropping full coverage on your vehicle. To determine whether that’s a good idea, use the 10% rule. This involves comparing an estimated payout from your insurer based on the age and value of your car to your annual premium for comprehensive and collision insurance.

You can look up the actual cash value (the amount your insurer will pay you) of your old vehicle on Kelley Blue Book or Edmunds and calculate 10% of that amount. If you’re paying more than that number for your comprehensive and collision insurance, you might think about dropping those coverages.

When Should You Drop Comprehensive or Collision Coverage?

Some people opt to keep comprehensive and collision insurance for the entire life of their vehicle. However, this might not always make the most financial sense. The value of a car depreciates over time, and if you’re paying more in premiums than your car is worth, it may be best to switch to liability-only coverage.

Your car insurance company will only pay up to your car’s cash value, and a very old car may only be worth a few thousand dollars. Many drivers follow a general rule of thumb that recommends switching to liability-only coverage (bodily injury and property damage liability) after their vehicle is 10 years old or older.

However, if you want to be certain you’re making the right choice, you can do the math yourself. For example, imagine your car is worth $2,500. Your premiums (for just your collision and comprehensive policy) are $250 per month. That means you’re paying $3,000 annually for a policy that will only pay you up to $2,500 if you file a claim.

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