Comprehensive car insurance: what it covers
A-MAX Editorial Team
Reviewed by Rajesh Sankaran, Licensed Insurance Agent
Short answer
Comprehensive car insurance pays to repair or replace your own vehicle when it is damaged by something other than a collision: theft, fire, weather such as hail or flooding, vandalism, falling objects, and hitting an animal. You choose a deductible, and the policy pays the rest up to the car's value. Lenders require it on financed or leased cars.
Comprehensive auto insurance
Comprehensive coverage is part of the physical damage section of your auto insurance policy, which covers damage to your own vehicle. It applies to damage that results from an incident that does not involve a collision with another vehicle or an object.
What does comprehensive car insurance cover?
Comprehensive car insurance provides coverage for damages resulting from:
Animals
Fire
Theft
Vandalism
Weather
On many policies, comprehensive also pays for glass damage on its own, such as a windshield cracked by a rock, as long as the body of the car is not damaged too. If there is additional damage to the body of the car, comprehensive or collision applies, depending on how the car was damaged.
Comprehensive insurance is valuable and will help you pay for repairs to your vehicle resulting from most things out of your control. Comprehensive insurance does carry a deductible, which you select when you add the coverage to your car insurance policy. You pay the deductible first, and then your insurance company pays the rest of the repair cost.
If you do not finance or lease your car and the car is in storage for a period of time, you can use comprehensive insurance as "storage coverage" on the car. When you do this, you remove the other coverages (liability, collision and so on) and carry comprehensive only. This covers the parked car against the situations listed above without paying for coverage you are not using.
Comprehensive-only does not meet the liability requirement for a car that is being driven, so it only works while the car truly stays parked. Ask before you drop liability on a registered vehicle.
How auto comprehensive coverage works
Auto comprehensive coverage works the same way whatever the cause of the damage. Here is what a claim looks like:
Something damages the car. Hail dents the roof, someone breaks a window to steal what is inside, or a deer runs into the road.
You report the claim to your insurance company. Photos of the damage and a police report for theft or vandalism help.
The carrier inspects and estimates the repair. If the repair would cost more than the car is worth, the car may be declared a total loss and the carrier pays its actual cash value instead.
You pay your deductible and the policy pays the rest. With a $500 deductible on a $2,000 repair, you pay $500 and the policy pays $1,500.
Auto insurance comprehensive coverage pays up to the car's actual cash value, not what you paid for it or what you still owe on it. If you owe more than the car is worth, gap insurance covers the difference.
What comprehensive does not cover
Knowing the limits of auto comprehensive insurance avoids surprises at claim time. Comprehensive does not pay for:
Collisions. Hitting another car, a pole or a guardrail is a collision claim.
Damage you cause to other people. Their car, their property and their injuries fall under liability.
Mechanical breakdown or wear. A failed transmission or worn tires are maintenance, not a covered loss.
Your medical bills. Injuries are handled by medical or injury coverages, not physical damage coverage.
Personal belongings stolen from the car. Those usually fall under a homeowners or renters policy.
What is the difference between comprehensive and collision?
Comprehensive and collision are the two coverages that make up the physical damage part of your auto policy. Which one responds depends on how the damage happened. Comprehensive pays for damage from things outside your control: animals, fire, theft, vandalism and weather. If your vehicle is damaged in a collision with another car or an object, collision responds.
The liability part of your policy (bodily injury and property damage) covers damage you cause to someone else's vehicle or property, and their medical bills, in an accident that is your fault. When you carry comprehensive and collision together with liability, the policy is what people mean by full coverage, because it covers damage to your own vehicle as well as to other people's property.
Choosing your comprehensive deductible
Pick a deductible you could actually produce on the day you have a claim. A higher deductible lowers your premium, but if you cannot cover the deductible, the policy will not repair your car.
Comprehensive is usually the less expensive of the two physical damage coverages. Most of what you pay for physical damage comes from the collision side, if you carry it. That is why raising your comprehensive deductible often moves the premium very little, and may not be worth doing. Ask for quotes at several deductibles so you can see the difference before you choose. Your current deductible is listed on your declarations page.
Do I need comprehensive coverage?
Comprehensive is not required the way liability is. A lender or a leasing company will require it, along with collision, until the loan is paid off.
If you own the car outright, it is your call, but not an automatic no. Keep an eye on what the car is worth using an actual cash value estimator such as Kelley Blue Book. If your car still has real value, dropping comprehensive can be an expensive decision.
How do I get a policy with comprehensive coverage?
If you already have a policy, call your carrier and ask to add it. They can price it at several deductibles so you can choose. If you are shopping for a new policy, an independent agency such as A-MAX compares carriers for you in one quote.
Get a quote with comprehensive coverage
A-MAX can price your policy with and without comprehensive, at more than one deductible, so you can see the real difference. Get a quote online or call 1-800-921-AMAX.
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About this page
Written by the A-MAX Editorial Team. Reviewed by Rajesh Sankaran, Licensed Insurance Agent. We review and update it as state rules and carrier availability change.
Last updated October 29, 2026
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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Damage to your own car from animals, fire, theft, vandalism and weather, whether the car is being driven or stored. On many policies it also covers glass damage on its own.
No. If your car is damaged in a collision with another vehicle or an object, that is covered by collision insurance, which is a separate coverage.
Not by the state. Liability is the legal requirement. Your lender or leasing company will usually require comprehensive and collision until the car is paid off.
Usually yes. Glass damage from a rock, hail or vandalism is typically a comprehensive claim, and your deductible applies unless your policy includes separate glass coverage.
You can add it to your current policy through your carrier, or get a quote from an independent insurance agency such as A-MAX, which compares carriers for you.
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