Hello. I’m Ron Philleo with Philleo Agency Insurance. Today I’m going to help you decide whether you need to carry what’s known as collision and comprehensive on your vehicle, or it’s sometimes referred to full coverage.
Now, there’s a couple different aspects of the insurance policy you’re going to want to be aware of. Liability is coverage in case you injure or damage someone else’s property. You’ve got to have that. Your uninsured and underinsured motorist protection, in case somebody hits you and injures you, you’ve got to have that.
Collision and comprehensive covers the vehicle itself. OK? The collision covers if the vehicle is damaged when it collides with something, whether you hit something or someone hits you. And comprehensive covers things that are not collision-related, things like flood, hail, theft of the vehicle, vandalism, those types of things, where you didn’t actually collide with something but damage did occur to a vehicle.
Today we’re going to talk about if you need that full coverage, or that collision and comp.
Collision and comprehensive coverage, it’s going to depend, if you need them, based on the age of the vehicle and the value of the vehicle. Those are probably going to be the two biggest things. If you’ve got an old car, has a lot of miles on it, not worth much, you probably want to not carry collision and comprehensive because the payout to you is not going to be that much. You’re not protecting that much.
But you’ll also want to take into account your ability to absorb the loss. If $3,000 or $4,000 is going to make a big difference to you financially, and that’s all your vehicle is worth, well, you may want to consider having that full coverage on there to protect against those losses. If a couple thousand dollars isn’t going to hurt you much, and that’s all the vehicle is worth, you may want to save that extra money and not pay for that coverage and take the risk yourself.
So you may want to consider that. Your ability to absorb the loss is going to be a big thing. If it’s going to be a big hit to you, carry that collision and comprehensive.
Also, a couple of things to take into consideration, too. The area you live in. How likely is your vehicle to get stolen or vandalized? Or is it a high-congestion area where traffic accidents occur a lot more? You may want to take that into consideration. If you live in a low-risk area, maybe you’re better off without the collision and comprehensive.
And your driving record, too. If you have a bad driving record, you’re going to pay more for that collision and comprehensive coverage than you will for somebody who has a great driving record. So, if you have a bad driving record and you’re looking for ways to save some money, you may want to take off that collision and comprehensive coverage and absorb that risk yourself. But remember, though, you are absorbing that risk yourself, and if something happens, you’re not going to have any money from the insurance company if you decide not to carry that collision and comprehensive.
There’s some additional coverages as far as towing and rental you may want to add on to your policy, too. Talk with your agent, or call us. We’d love the opportunity to see if we can help you as well. We’d be happy to go through the coverage with you line by line and see if you need each coverage.
But make sure to check out our other videos at philleo.com. And please feel free to call or email or fax us with any questions or topics you’d like to see on the Video Insurance Agency.
