FULL COVERAGE CAR INSURANCE
Full coverage car insurance is a policy that pays for your own car as well as for other people’s. It means liability, which the law requires, plus collision for crash damage to your car and comprehensive for theft, hail, fire, flood and glass. It is not a legal term, and lenders require it while a car is financed.
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Nobody sells a policy called full coverage. What people mean is a policy that pays for your car as well as for everybody else’s: liability, plus collision for a crash, plus comprehensive for the things that are not crashes, which is theft, hail, fire, flood and a deer at dusk.
FULL COVERAGE AT A-MAX
The decision is mostly financial. While a car is financed you do not have a choice, because the lender is protecting its own asset. Once it is paid off and worth little, the question is whether replacing the car out of pocket is something you could absorb, and dropping full coverage can be a reasonable decision worth doing the arithmetic on.
WHAT IS FULL COVERAGE INSURANCE?
Full coverage insurance, sometimes called full cover insurance or, in Spanish, “aseguranza full cover”, is shorthand for three coverages sold together on one auto policy:
Liability. Pays for injuries and damage you cause to other people. It is the part the law requires, and every state sets its own minimum limits.
Collision. Pays to repair or replace your car after a crash, whether you hit another car or an object, regardless of fault.
Comprehensive. Pays for damage to your car that is not a crash: theft, hail, fire, flood, falling objects, glass, and hitting an animal.
Because it is a shorthand and not a product name, two full coverage quotes can contain different things. Always check the declarations page for the actual coverages and limits.
HOW FULL COVERAGE WORKS
Liability pays the other party, up to the limits on your policy, when you are at fault. Collision and comprehensive pay you, for your own car, minus your deductible. The deductible is the amount you pay toward a claim before the insurance company pays the rest, and you pick it when you buy. A higher deductible lowers the price; a lower one means less out of pocket after a claim.
Collision and comprehensive pay up to the car’s actual cash value, which is what it was worth just before the loss, not what you paid for it or what you still owe on the loan.
WHAT DOES FULL COVERAGE INSURANCE COVER?
Covered by full coverage
Injuries and damage you cause to others (liability)
Your car after a crash, at fault or not (collision)
Theft, hail, fire, flood, glass and animal strikes (comprehensive)
Usually not covered unless you add it
Your own medical bills (add medical payments, or PIP in Texas)
A rental car while yours is in the shop (add rental reimbursement)
Towing and roadside help (add roadside assistance)
What you still owe on a loan above the car’s value (add GAP)
Injuries caused by a driver with little or no insurance (add uninsured/underinsured motorist)
Full coverage never pays for wear and tear, mechanical breakdown or routine maintenance. Those are not insurance losses.
COVERAGE YOU CAN ADD TO A FULL COVERAGE POLICY
Uninsured and underinsured motorist. Pays for your injuries when the at-fault driver has no insurance or not enough. Insurers must offer it in Texas, California and Arizona.
Medical payments or PIP. Texas policies include personal injury protection unless you reject it in writing. California and Arizona have no PIP; medical payments coverage is the optional equivalent.
GAP. Covers the difference between the car’s value and what you owe on the loan if it is totaled. See GAP insurance.
Rental reimbursement and roadside assistance. Small add-ons that help on the day things go wrong.
BENEFITS OF FULL COVERAGE AUTO INSURANCE
Your own car is protected. A crash you cause, a stolen car or a hailstorm does not leave you paying for the car yourself.
It meets your lender’s terms. Financed and leased cars need collision and comprehensive for the life of the loan.
Protection when fault is unclear. Collision pays for your car regardless of who caused the crash, minus your deductible.
Cover for things you cannot control. Comprehensive handles weather, theft and vandalism, which no amount of careful driving prevents.
One policy, one bill. Liability and physical damage sit on the same policy and renew together.
DO YOU NEED FULL COVERAGE?
The law only requires liability: 30/60/25 in Texas, 30/60/15 in California (effective January 2025 under SB 1107) and 25/50/15 in Arizona. Full coverage becomes a requirement only when a lender or leasing company says so, which it does while a car is financed or leased.
Outside of a loan, it is a judgment call. Full coverage makes sense when the car is worth more than you could comfortably replace. Liability only can make sense on an older, paid-off car. See liability car insurance for the other side of that decision, or your state’s minimum: Texas, California, Arizona.
WHAT AFFECTS THE PRICE OF FULL COVERAGE?
Your deductible. It moves the premium a lot. Pick one you could actually pay after a claim.
The car. Its value and what it costs to repair drive the collision and comprehensive price.
Your driving record. Accidents and tickets in recent years raise it.
Where the car is kept. Rated by ZIP code.
Your liability limits. Choosing more than the state minimum costs more, and protects more.
FINDING THE BEST FULL COVERAGE CAR INSURANCE FOR YOU
The best full coverage policy is the one with the right limits and deductible at a price you can keep paying, and insurance companies price the same driver very differently. As an independent agency, A-MAX shops for you, so you see more price options. Low down payment options and monthly plans are available, and a binding fee applies at purchase.
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THE THINGS PEOPLE ACTUALLY ASK US
Full coverage car insurance is liability plus collision and comprehensive on one policy. Liability pays others when you are at fault; collision and comprehensive pay for your own car.
Liability, collision and comprehensive. It is a shorthand rather than a product name, so it is always worth confirming what a quote actually contains.
No. Comprehensive is one part of full coverage. It pays for non-crash damage such as theft, hail and fire. Full coverage adds collision and liability to it.
Not by itself. Rental reimbursement is a separate add-on. Ask for it on your quote if you would need a car while yours is being repaired.
Only if a lender requires it, which they do while a car is financed or leased. The law only requires liability.
When the car is paid off and replacing it is something you could handle. If the annual cost is approaching a meaningful share of what the car is worth, do the arithmetic.
PEOPLE LOOKING AT FULL COVERAGE USUALLY LOOK AT AUTO, SR-22 AND ROADSIDE TOO
About this page
Reviewed by a licensed A-MAX insurance professional. A-MAX Insurance Services, Inc. is an independent agency and has been writing this line since 2002.
Last updated 2026-09-23
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