Get Cheaper Truck Insurance
Comprehensive car insurance is insurance that covers any damage to your vehicle that is not caused by the insured actually driving it. For example, if you wreck your car, that is not covered by your comprehensive policy. On the other hand, if your vehicle is stolen, or is damaged by a storm, a falling tree, or the neighbor’s kid with a spray can, that is all covered.
Theft is another province of comprehensive coverage. That is why cars that have been found more likely to be stolen cost more to insure than you may think. That is not always the most expensive car either. According to the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) list for July, 2008, the most frequently stolen vehicle nationwide was the 1995 Honda Civic.
Stolen vehicle statistics vary by location. For instance, in California the top 5 most stolen vehicles were the 1991 Honda Accord, the 1995 Honda Civic, 1989 Toyota Camry, the 1994 Acura Integra, and the 1994 Nissan Sentra. The top 10 locations in the U.S. with the highest auto theft rate are all in the west. 4 are in California, 2 in Arizona, and one each in Texas, Washington, Nevada, and New Mexico. Look for higher insurance rates than you would otherwise expect to pay in these locations.
You’ll notice all of the vehicles on the list of the most frequently stolen are over 10 years old. Part of that is because older vehicles do not have modern anti theft systems, such as smart key systems. Another reason is that most vehicles are taken for their parts, not the car itself. That means the demand for parts drives some of the thefts, not the vehicle’s overall desirability.
Locations that are highly frequented by natural disaster are also more expensive to insure, because comprehensive policies must cover damage caused by storms, floods, and wild fires. If your region has frequent hail storms, wild fires, floods, tornadoes or hurricanes, you’ll see that reflected in your insurance rates.
You need comprehensive car insurance because most lenders will not give you a car loan unless their collateral (your car) is protected against damage or loss. If you buy your vehicle outright, you don’t technically need comprehensive insurance at all. However, if your vehicle is fairly expensive (and which vehicles aren’t these days?), protecting your investment is usually important enough to justify a comprehensive policy.
As with most types of auto insurance, a deductible applies before the policy begins paying. The higher the deductible is, the lower the rates in most cases. For example, if you have a $500 deductible, your insurance would pay the damage less $500. So, if your car is damaged in the parking lot and it costs $1,200 to repair the damage, you’ll pay $500, and the insurance company would pay the other $700. Typically you would not want to file a claim on the $1,200 though. If your car was damaged and the repair was $4,000, that would probably justify filing a claim.
Keeping a high deductible is a great strategy to keep your insurance rates low, because most people will see a rise in rates after a certain amount of claims are filed against the company anyway. As was touched on above, that means there is no reason to file relatively small claims, so it is best to structure the policy so it doesn’t cover small losses.
So, in a nutshell, comprehensive car insurance covers your vehicle for loss and damages not caused by driving it. It is required by lenders to protect the security on their loan, and that is why you need it.
