What Is Comprehensive Auto Insurance?
Collision insurance offers you considerable protection if you happen to come out of an accident with a badly damaged car. However, there are countless other things that can go contrary to your expectations when your car is not parked in the garage. What do you do then? The answer is Comprehensive insurance.
The term ‘comprehensive’ car insurance refers to a complete coverage plan for your automobile car including damages that may be caused as a result of theft, fire, natural calamities, floods and even vandalism. Many other types of unforeseen incidents are also covered in a comprehensive insurance plan. In general, it covers most physical damages inflicted upon a car by objects that are not other cars.
People who own the classiest, latest and most expensive cars are usually the first ones to apply for a comprehensive car insurance plan. This is because the best cars are really hard to miss being in the eye of the general public, and as a result, they run a higher risk of getting stolen from the road or taking damage as a result of vandalism.
Collision Insurance
A collision insurance plan insures your car for instances where you run into a collision with another car on the road. It is meant to offer you protection for the damage that your car suffers as a result of serious accidents. In the event that you do get involved in an accident, you can promptly make a claim before the insurance company. It is then the responsibility of the insurance provider as per the terms of the collision insurance policy to bear the expenses of repair.
Comprehensive Insurance
As explained earlier, a comprehensive insurance cover protects your car from a wide range of factors (other than vehicles) that can inflict damage on your car. The main damage-dealing factors covered in a comprehensive insurance plan are detailed below:
ü Weather Damage – If you do not a proper garage to park your car and rather, you park it on the road, there is a high chance that it will fall prey to bad weather. Comprehensive coverage plan covers damages sustained by a car as a result of turbulent weather conditions, such as a twisters, tornadoes, hailstorm, earthquakes and hurricane. The plan offers an appropriate amount in payment to compensate for the damage. A comprehensive cover also considers damages resulting from lobbed projectiles such as rocks, fires, and falling objects like trees and or snapped power lines.
ü Theft – Comprehensive coverage also pays for damages that your car will have sustained due to theft or vandalism. It does not, however, cover items that have been installed in the car by the user as part of personalizing and customizing it. Therefore, the insurance provider cannot be expected to pay an amount equaling the price of the laptop that was stolen from your car. Similarly, music systems and accessories that were installed in the car will not be compensated for by the insurance provider.
ü Animal Damage – If you think that your car is an animal magnet, and you have run into a deer or a dog more than once, then comprehensive coverage is what you need. Comprehensive plan covers damage that your car may sustain as a result of a collision with an animal. It covers all sorts of damages which may be caused by the collision such as a broken windshield or a wrecked bonnet and front grill. A good Comprehensive insurance plan even compensates you upon colliding with a bird; it is that comprehensive.
ü Deductible – Without exceptions, it is mandatory upon the policyholder of Comprehensive coverage to pay the “deductible” amount before the insurance provider will make payments for anything. Imagine that your car runs into a cow and the accident completely wrecks your bonnet. If you have set a deductible of $300 and it costs you $700 to repair, the insurance company will ask you to pay $300 of the repair charges and it will pay the remaining amount.
It should be remembered that it is highly unwise to get comprehensive coverage for an old sacred car that has traditionally been passed down for generations as a family heirloom. This is because the costs of insurance coverage along with the deductible amount will add up to a sizable total which could be more than the worth of the car. A majority of companies in the South African market require drivers to have a comprehensive insurance coverage before they lease them a car or grant them auto loan coverage. For those people who are the actual owners of a vehicle, they may be more willing to run the risk of paying for repairs out of their pocket. Such people may not consider a applying for a Comprehensive insurance plan.