Comprehensive and collision are both types of car insurance coverage that cover your vehicle. Although they’re often sold as a pair, comprehensive and collision insurance cover different types of damage.
Collision insurance covers damage to your car after an accident, no matter who was at fault. Comprehensive coverage (sometimes called anything-but-collision) covers damage that can happen when your car is parked, like damage from animals, weather, falling objects, vandalism, and theft.
Coverage name | What it does | What kind of damage it covers |
|---|---|---|
Comprehensive | Covers damage that's not caused by a collision | Damage from animals, weather, theft, falling objects, hail, flooding, riots, fire, vandalism |
Collision | Covers collisions, whether they’re with objects or other cars | Damage from hitting another car or object, like a fence or telephone pole. |
Comprehensive vs. collision
Comprehensive and collision insurance are the parts of a full-coverage policy that cover physical damage, meaning damage to your car.
Both types of insurance can pay for repairs to your car, but the main difference between comprehensive and collision coverages is the types of damage they cover.
Like its name suggests, collision coverage covers damage to your car that’s caused from crashes, whether it’s a single-car accident or a collision with another driver. Collision coverage can also help pay for the damage to your car after a hit-and-run.
Your comprehensive coverage covers damage that’s not caused by a collision with another driver or object. Your comprehensive coverage will pay for damage from things like:
Animals
Falling objects (like tree branches)
Flooding
Hail
Fire
Riots
Vandals
Theft
Comprehensive and collision insurance will not cover any damage to the other driver’s vehicle after you’re responsible for a crash. Your liability insurance is what would pay for the other driver’s repair bills after a crash you caused.
What are comprehensive and collision deductibles?
Comprehensive and collision insurance both require per-claim deductibles. A deductible is the amount of money that you pay out of pocket on a claim.
You choose your comprehensive and collision deductibles while you’re purchasing your policy, they’re typically set at $500 or $1,000. You don’t have to have the same deductible amount for both comp and collision though, you can set different amounts for each.
When choosing the deductibles for your comprehensive and collision insurance, avoid setting them too high. A higher deductible means slightly lower insurance rates, but a lower deductible means more will actually be covered by insurance if you need to make a claim.
Let’s say you have a $500 collision deductible and you accidentally back your car into a concrete column while parking in a garage. The damage will cost around $1,200 to fix — so you make a claim.
Your collision coverage will pay for the repairs, but minus your $500 deductible amount, so the check you receive will be for $700. You’ll have to pay the $500 deductible amount yourself.
What are comprehensive and collision deductibles?
Comprehensive and collision insurance both require per-claim deductibles. A deductible is the amount of money that you pay out of pocket on a claim.
You choose your comprehensive and collision deductibles while you’re purchasing your policy, they’re typically set at $500 or $1,000. You don’t have to have the same deductible amount for both comp and collision though, you can set different amounts for each.
When choosing the deductibles for your comprehensive and collision insurance, avoid setting them too high. A higher deductible means slightly lower insurance rates, but a lower deductible means more will actually be covered by insurance if you need to make a claim.
Let’s say you have a $500 collision deductible and you accidentally back your car into a concrete column while parking in a garage. The damage will cost around $1,200 to fix — so you make a claim.
Your collision coverage will pay for the repairs, but minus your $500 deductible amount, so the check you receive will be for $700. You’ll have to pay the $500 deductible amount yourself.
How do comprehensive and collision insurance work?
When your car is damaged by a covered peril — meaning a kind of damage covered by your insurance policy — you can make a claim with your comprehensive or collision coverage depending on what caused the damage. Insurance will pay to repair the damage to your car, minus your deductible amount.
If you make a claim after your car is totaled (and it’s successful), you ’ll be paid based on your car’s actual cost value. Actual cash value (ACV) is the value of your car minus the amount it’s depreciated over time.
This means that the amount of money you get from a comprehensive or collision insurance claim after your vehicle is totaled will be less than what you paid for the car.
Let’s say that your 2017 Honda Civic is totaled in a crash after you skid on ice and crash into a roadway ditch. Your collision coverage will pay for your totaled car. The car was valued at $15,000 in 2017, but over the past few years its value has decreased to $10,000. In this example, your settlement would be $10,000 (minus your deductible).
Comprehensive and collision vs. other types of insurance
Since comprehensive and collision don’t cover all types of damage, they have to work alongside the other types of coverage in your car insurance policy.
While your comp and collision wouldn’t cover you in the following situations, other parts of a basic insurance policy would:
You hit another person’s car: Your liability insurance covers damage (or injuries) that you’re responsible for. The other driver would make a claim through your company for the cost of their injuries and damaged car.
You’re injured in an accident in a no-fault state: If you live in a state that requires personal injury protection (PIP), that’s what could pay for your injuries, lost wages, and long-term care.
You’re hit by an uninsured or underinsured driver: In this case, your uninsured or underinsured coverage (UM/UIM) would ensure that you weren’t on the hook for damage caused by someone else.
→ Read more about what types of damage your car insurance covers
How much do comprehensive and collision insurance cost?
The most up-to-date data from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners shows that from 2015 to 2019, drivers spent an average of $43 per month or $518 per year on comprehensive and collision. [1]
Coverage type | Average monthly cost | Average annual cost |
|---|---|---|
Comprehensive | $13 | $160 |
Collision | $30 | $358 |
Liability | $50 | $605 |
But since car insurance rates vary depending on where you live, what you pay for comprehensive and collision insurance will change with your location.
States where physical damage claims are more common will usually have higher rates for comprehensive and collision coverage.
State | Comprehensive | Collision insurance | Liability insurance |
|---|---|---|---|
$169 | $359 | $472 | |
$144 | $375 | $569 | |
$200 | $308 | $602 | |
$216 | $355 | $450 | |
$98 | $451 | $564 | |
$234 | $317 | $627 | |
$133 | $395 | $740 | |
$132 | $340 | $851 | |
$228 | $504 | $738 | |
$136 | $331 | $947 | |
$170 | $380 | $718 | |
$105 | $342 | $469 | |
$131 | $246 | $400 | |
$136 | $332 | $495 | |
$131 | $274 | $423 | |
$205 | $240 | $332 | |
$264 | $277 | $396 | |
$156 | $295 | $581 | |
$234 | $459 | $924 | |
$109 | $284 | $367 | |
$162 | $395 | $690 | |
$143 | $422 | $639 | |
$158 | $457 | $892 | |
$199 | $256 | $483 | |
$228 | $354 | $510 | |
$203 | $301 | $484 | |
$267 | $277 | $418 | |
$250 | $259 | $407 | |
$117 | $341 | $813 | |
$115 | $320 | $424 | |
$130 | $402 | $925 | |
$197 | $300 | $547 | |
$176 | $434 | $875 | |
$129 | $321 | $373 | |
$246 | $267 | $304 | |
$128 | $293 | $432 | |
$251 | $336 | $492 | |
$102 | $258 | $654 | |
$161 | $360 | $533 | |
$138 | $456 | $856 | |
$197 | $298 | $637 | |
$305 | $232 | $323 | |
$158 | $337 | $454 | |
$242 | $417 | $609 | |
$120 | $291 | $563 | |
$141 | $322 | $369 | |
$145 | $305 | $466 | |
$114 | $296 | $657 | |
$215 | $344 | $513 | |
$151 | $242 | $405 | |
$292 | $289 | $350 |
Annual costs of comprehensive, collision, and liability insurance. Source: Policygenius analysis of NAIC’s 2022 Insurance Industry Database Report.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is comprehensive or collision coverage better?
Comprehensive and collision coverage both cover different types of damage. Neither is better than the other. Drivers should get both comprehensive and collision coverage to fully protect their cars.
Are comprehensive and collision coverage worth it?
Yes, comprehensive and collision coverage are both worth getting even if you’re not required to. While adding these coverages causes your policy to get more expensive, not having comprehensive and collision insurance leaves you open to having to pay hundreds or thousands of dollars to repair or replace your car after an accident.
Is collision and comprehensive the same as full coverage?
Sort of. Full-coverage car insurance isn’t a type of coverage you can buy, it just refers to a policy that includes comprehensive and collision insurance (on top of the coverage required by your state).
What’s not covered by comprehensive car insurance?
Comprehensive car insurance doesn’t cover any damage that you do to someone else’s car. It also doesn’t cover another person’s injuries. If you were responsible for an accident, your liability insurance would cover the other driver’s injuries and damaged property.
