Glossary
Comprehensive coverage, defined
The part of an auto policy that pays for damage to your own vehicle from causes other than a crash: theft, vandalism, fire, hail, flood, falling objects, glass breakage and striking an animal. It is the companion to collision coverage, which handles crashes.
In practice
It carries its own deductible, often lower than the collision one, and is priced separately on the declarations page. Lenders require it on financed cars. In the desert and mountain states it earns its keep on hail, flash floods across low roads, dust-storm debris and deer or elk on a highway at dusk. On an older car the yearly cost is worth weighing against the car's value.
A worked example
Suppose a hailstorm dents a car's roof and hood and the repair is $3,200, with a $250 comprehensive deductible on the policy. The insurer pays $2,950 and you pay $250. Suppose the same car is worth $2,000; then carrying the coverage for years may cost more than it could ever return. Hypothetical figures.
Applies to: Auto InsuranceMotorcycle Insurance