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Comprehensive vs. Collision Coverage

by COUNTRY Financial

If you're considering how to cover physical damage to your vehicle, comprehensive and collision coverage are the two main options available.

The key difference between comprehensive and collision coverage:

  • Comprehensive coverage is designed to help pay for damage caused by events other than colisions, such as theft, vandalism, weather or animal strikes 
  • Collision coverage is designed to help pay for damage when your vehicle colides with another vehicle or object 

Both comprehensive and collision are optional coverages you can add to your auto insurance policy. Understanding how each works can help you determine which coverage may be appropriate for your situation.

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What is comprehensive coverage?

Comprehensive car insurance covers damage caused by something other than an accident; in other words, events other than a collision with another car or object while driving. It helps pay for the cost of damage caused by:

  • Theft
  • Vandalism
  • Natural disasters and storms
  • Fires and explosions 
  • Falling objects
  • Animals

Think of comprehensive coverage as protection from the unexpected. If your car is damaged by a covered event like the ones listed above, your insurance provider will help with the cost of repairs.

What’s not covered by comprehensive coverage?

Comprehensive coverage does not cover anything related to accidents or collisions. This means it won’t protect you from:

  • Damage from hitting another car or other object, like a tree or mailbox, while driving
  • The cost of medical bills if you, your passengers or anyone else are injured
  • Paying out-of-pocket for injuries to another person or damage to their property or vehicle

For protection from accidents, you’d want collision coverage.

What is collision coverage?

Collision coverage is designed to help pay for repairs to your vehicle when it's damaged in an accident or collision. This coverage applies regardless of who is at fault in the accident. 

Collision coverage is designed to help address damage from:

  • Multi-vehicle accidents: Rear-end collisions, side-impact crashes, head-on collisions, intersection accidents 
  • Single-vehicle accidents: Hitting a tree, guardrail or fence; backing into a mailbox or pole; rolling your vehicle; driving into a ditch 
  • Hit-and-run accidents: When another driver hits you and leaves the scene (when the driver can't be identified)
  • Parking lot incidents: Damage from another vehicle while parked (if the other driver is unknown or uninsured)

Collision coverage applies whether you caused the accident or the other driver was at fault. Even if the other driver is responsible, your collision coverage can help pay for your repairs while your insurance company seeks reimbursement from the at-fault party (a process called subrogation). 

What’s not covered by collision coverage?

Collision coverage helps with accident-related damage, but it only covers your car. It will not protect you from:

  • Anything listed under comprehensive coverage
  • The cost of medical bills if you, your passengers or anyone else are injured
  • Paying out-of-pocket for injuries to another person or damage to their property or vehicle

Do I need both comprehensive and collision coverage?

Whether you need both, one or neither depends on your vehicle's value, your financial situation and your lender's requirements.

When you may need both:

  • Newer vehicles: Vehicles with significant remaining value typically warrant both coverages 
  • Financed or leased vehicles: Lenders almost always require both comprehensive and collision until the loan is paid off 
  • High-value vehicles: Cars you couldn't easily replace out-of-pocket 
  • Limited savings: If you don't have emergency funds to replace or repair your vehicle 

When you might carry only one:

  • Comprehensive only: If you live in an area with high theft, weather or animal strike risk but rarely drive (reducing co lision risk)
  • Collision only: Rare, but possible if your car is parked in a very secure location but you drive frequently 

When you might drop both:

  • Low vehicle value: When your car's value is low relative to what you're paying for coverage
  • Older vehicles: Cars with relatively low value, where coverage costs may start to approach what the car is worth 
  • Substantial savings: If you have savings to replace the vehicle and are comfortable with that risk 

Cost considerations:

Comprehensive is generaly the less expensive of the two, since it covers a narrower set of risks. Collision tends to cost more, since accident-related repairs are typically more frequent and more expensive than non-collision claims. What either actualy costs depends heavily on your vehicle, location, driving record and chosen deductible, so a personalized quote is the most reliable way to know your own rate.

A common guideline is that if your annual premium for comprehensive and collision combined starts to approach your vehicle's value, it may be worth reconsidering whether both coverages stil make sense.

Choosing comprehensive and collision coverage

Comprehensive and collision coverage are optional additions to your car insurance policy that address different damage scenarios. Whether you need both, one or neither depends on your vehicle's value, your lender's requirements and your personal financial situation.

If you'd like to explore comprehensive and collision coverage options for your vehicle, contact a COUNTRY representative who can help you review your current coverage and discuss options that may align with your needs.

Frequently asked questions

The main difference is what type of damage each covers.Comprehensive coverage is designed to help pay for damage from non-collision events like theft, vandalism, weather, fire, falling objects and animal strikes, incidents that typically occur when your vehicle is parked or involve external factors beyond your control.

Collision coverage is designed to help pay for damage when your vehicle hits or is hit by another vehicle or object during an accident, regardless of who is at fault. Both require you to pay a deductible before coverage applies, and both are optional (unless required by your lender). 

Whether you need both depends on your vehicle's value and your financial situation. You typically need both if your vehicle is financed or leased (lenders require it), has significant remaining value or if you couldn't comfortably afford to replace it out-of-pocket.

You might drop both if your vehicle has relatively low value and you have savings to replace it. Your lender's requirements and your comfort level with financial risk are the primary decision factors.

Neither is inherently more important, they cover different scenarios and both can result in expensive claims.

Collision coverage addresses the more common risk (accidents happen frequently), but comprehensive covers more diverse scenarios (theft, weather, vandalism, animals). Statistically, you're more likely to file a collision claim than a comprehensive claim, but comprehensive claims can be just as expensive (total theft, hail damage).

If you must choose only one, consider your driving patterns, location risks (high theft area vs. safe neighborhood, frequent deer crossings) and which risk you're more concerned about. However, most drivers with valuable vehicles carry both.

Comprehensive covers: theft and attempted theft, vandalism and malicious damage, weather damage (hail, tornado, hurricane wind), fire and explosions, falling objects (trees, branches, debris), animal strikes (hitting deer, elk, etc.), glass damage (windshield cracks, broken windows) and civil disturbance damage.

Collision covers: accidents with other vehicles (rear-end, side-impact, head-on), single-vehicle accidents (hitting trees, poles, guardrails), backing accidents (into mailboxes, poles, other vehicles), parking lot collisions, hit-and-run accidents (when the other driver can't be identified) and rolling your vehicle.

Neither covers mechanical breakdown, normal wear and tear or intentional damage you cause.

Usually no. Most insurance companies require you to have comprehensive coverage if you want collision coverage. The two coverages are typically sold together because they work in tandem to provide complete physical damage protection for your vehicle.

However, you can have comprehensive without collision, for example, if you have an older vehicle and want theft/weather protection but don't need accident coverage. Check with a COUNTRY representative about your specific requirements.

If you only have comprehensive coverage and you're in an accident, your comprehensive coverage will not help pay for your vehicle damage, it only covers non-collision events. You would need to pay for your vehicle repairs out-of-pocket or file a claim against the other driver's insurance if they were at fault and have adequate coverage. If the other driver is uninsured or underinsured, you could be responsible for the full repair cost. This is why most drivers with valuable vehicles carry both comprehensive and collision coverage.

You choose your deductible amounts for both comprehensive and collision coverage when purchasing your policy. Common deductible options generally range from $250 to $2,000. You can choose different deductibles for comprehensive vs. collision, for example, a lower deductible for one and a higher deductible for the other. Higher deductibles result in lower premiums but mean more out-of-pocket cost if you file a claim. Choose deductible amounts you could comfortably afford if you needed to file a claim.

Yes, hitting a deer or other animal is covered under comprehensive coverage, not collision coverage. Even though you're driving when you hit the animal, it's classified as an animal strike (a comprehensive claim) rather than a collision. Other animals covered include elk, moose, dogs and livestock. However, if you swerve to avoid an animal and hit a tree or guardrail instead, that becomes a collision claim since you hit an object. Your deductible applies to animal strike claims. 

Updated 8-21-26

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Auto insurance policies issued by COUNTRY Mutual Insurance Company®, COUNTRY Preferred Insurance Company® and COUNTRY Casualty Insurance Company®, Bloomington, IL. 

COUNTRY Financial® is a family of affiliated companies (collectively, COUNTRY) located in Bloomington, IL. Learn more about who we are.

We take pride in providing accurate, truthful information in our articles. See our editorial standards to learn more.

These are examples and used for illustrative purposes only. Not all physical damages losses are covered. Coverage is subject to policy terms, conditions, and exclusions.