Frequently Asked Questions
Clear answers to help you compare car insurance with confidence.
What should I do after a car accident?+
First check for injuries and call emergency services when needed. Move to a safe location if possible, exchange information, take photos, and avoid admitting fault at the scene. Notify your insurer promptly and keep copies of incident numbers, repair estimates, and communications related to the claim.
Can a student get a car insurance discount?+
Many insurers offer discounts for eligible students, such as good-student, student-away-at-school, or driver-training discounts. Requirements can include grades, age, distance from home, or proof of course completion. Ask each insurer for its exact eligibility rules because programs vary.
What is uninsured motorist coverage?+
Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage may help with certain injuries or damages when the at-fault driver has no insurance or not enough insurance. Rules, required limits, and available types vary by state. Review your policy language and ask your insurer which options apply where you live.
Will a speeding ticket raise my insurance premium?+
A ticket may affect premiums, but the result depends on the violation, your record, the state, and the insurer?s rating rules. Some insurers offer accident or violation-related features only for eligible drivers. The most useful next step is to keep a clean record and compare like-for-like quotes at renewal.
Liability-Only vs. Full Coverage: How to Choose the Right Policy+
Liability-only and full coverage sit at opposite ends of the car insurance spectrum, and the right answer depends less on which one is “better” and more on your vehicle, your finances, and how much risk you are comfortable carrying yourself.
What liability-only really covers
A liability-only policy pays for injuries or property damage you cause to other people in an accident you are responsible for. It does not pay to repair or replace your own vehicle under any circumstances, whether the accident was your fault, a hit-and-run, a storm, or a theft. Many states require some minimum liability coverage to legally drive, but that minimum is often lower than what most drivers would want if a serious accident happened.
What “full coverage” usually bundles together
“Full coverage” is not an official policy type, it is shorthand most people use for a policy that adds collision and comprehensive coverage on top of liability. Together, that combination protects the other party in an accident and protects your own vehicle from collisions, theft, weather, and other covered events. If you finance or lease your car, the lender will typically require this level of coverage as a condition of the loan.
When liability-only can make sense
Liability-only tends to fit drivers with an older, lower-value vehicle that is fully paid off, where the cost of collision and comprehensive premiums over a year or two could approach or exceed what the car is actually worth. It can also fit drivers who have enough savings set aside to replace their vehicle out of pocket if something happened and would rather keep the premium as low as legally possible.
Compare liability and full coverage options together
Enter your ZIP code to see side-by-side pricing for both coverage levels.
When full coverage is worth the extra premium
If your car is financed, leased, or simply worth more than you could comfortably replace out of pocket, full coverage is usually the safer choice, and often the required one. It also matters if you drive frequently in areas with higher theft rates, severe weather, or heavy traffic, since those conditions raise the odds of a comprehensive or collision claim regardless of how careful a driver you are.
Questions to ask before you decide
- What is my vehicle actually worth right now, not what I paid for it?
- Could I afford to repair or replace it today without insurance help?
- Does my lender or lease require collision and comprehensive coverage?
- How much would dropping to liability-only actually save me per year?
- Am I comfortable with the state minimum liability limits, or do I want higher limits regardless of which path I choose?
Bottom line
Liability-only keeps costs down but leaves your own vehicle completely unprotected, while full coverage costs more but protects both sides of an accident and most non-collision events too. Run the numbers on your specific car before assuming either option is automatically the smarter one.
Do I need comprehensive coverage on an older car?+
It depends on the vehicle value, your budget, financing status, and tolerance for replacing the vehicle after theft, weather damage, or another non-collision loss. Compare the annual cost and deductible with the vehicle?s value and your available savings. A local insurer can explain available options for your situation.
Comprehensive vs. Collision Coverage: What’s the Real Difference?+
Collision and comprehensive coverage get bundled together so often (see our in-depth collision vs comprehensive breakdown) that many drivers assume they are the same thing. They are not, and knowing the difference matters the next time a shopping cart dents your door or a hailstorm rolls through town.
Collision coverage, in plain terms
Collision coverage is designed to pay for damage to your own vehicle when it hits, or is hit by, another vehicle or object, regardless of who caused it. That includes a fender bender in a parking lot, sliding into a guardrail, or rear-ending the car in front of you. Because it applies to collisions you may have caused yourself, it usually carries a higher premium than comprehensive coverage.
Comprehensive coverage, in plain terms
Comprehensive coverage, sometimes called “other than collision,” is built for damage that does not come from hitting something with your car. Think theft, vandalism, fire, falling tree branches, hail, flooding, or hitting an animal in the road. That last one surprises a lot of drivers, since hitting a deer feels like a collision but is almost always processed as a comprehensive claim.
Situations that trip people up
A few scenarios consistently confuse drivers shopping for coverage, so it helps to see them side by side.
- Hitting a pothole and bending a rim: usually collision, since it involves impact with an object.
- A tree branch falling on your parked car: usually comprehensive, since your car did not hit anything.
- Your car is stolen: comprehensive, not collision.
- Someone keys your car in a parking lot: comprehensive, treated as vandalism.
- You hit a deer crossing the road: comprehensive, even though it feels like a collision.
Compare policies with clear coverage details
Enter your ZIP code to see options that spell out collision and comprehensive coverage separately.
Do you actually need both?
If you finance or lease your vehicle, your lender will almost always require both collision and comprehensive coverage until the loan is paid off. If you own your car outright, the decision comes down to the vehicle’s value and how much you could comfortably absorb if you had to replace or repair it out of pocket. As a car gets older and its market value drops, some drivers choose to drop one or both coverages, since the payout in a claim may not be much more than the deductible itself.
How deductibles work differently for each
Collision and comprehensive coverage almost always carry separate deductibles, and you can often set them at different amounts. A common approach is choosing a slightly higher collision deductible, since at-fault collisions tend to be more expensive claims, while keeping a lower comprehensive deductible for smaller, more random events like a cracked windshield. Review both numbers together rather than assuming they match.
Bottom line
Collision covers damage from hitting something, comprehensive covers nearly everything else that can happen to a parked or stationary car. Knowing which one applies before you file a claim helps you understand your deductible, your likely payout, and whether either coverage is still worth carrying on an older vehicle.
Why did my car insurance rate increase?+
Rates can change for many reasons, including claims, traffic violations, vehicle changes, local repair costs, changes in coverage, and insurer-wide pricing updates. Your renewal notice can help identify what changed. Review the policy details, ask about eligible discounts, and compare equivalent options before deciding.
Can I change my car insurance coverage before renewal?+
In many cases, yes. You can usually request changes during the policy term, but the effective date, price, and any refund or additional premium depend on the insurer and state rules. Contact your insurer before making a change so you understand how it affects protection and payments.
What is full coverage car insurance?+
Full coverage is an informal term, not a single policy type. It often describes a policy that includes liability plus collision and comprehensive coverage. Your lender may require collision and comprehensive if you finance or lease a vehicle. Read your declarations page to see exactly what your policy includes.
What does liability car insurance cover?+
Liability coverage is designed to help pay for injury or property damage you cause to others in a covered accident, up to your policy limits. It usually does not pay to repair your own vehicle. Minimum requirements differ by state, and many drivers choose limits above the minimum for greater protection.
What is a car insurance deductible?+
A deductible is the amount you may pay from your own pocket on certain covered physical-damage claims before the insurer pays the remaining covered amount. Liability coverage generally works differently. Higher deductibles can lower premiums, but choose an amount you could reasonably afford after an accident or other covered loss.
Is the cheapest car insurance policy always the best choice?+
Not necessarily. A lower premium can come with lower limits, a higher deductible, fewer optional protections, or different service features. First choose coverage you can live with after a loss, then compare insurers using those same settings. Price is important, but it should not be the only decision point.
What information do I need to get an auto insurance quote?+
Most quote forms ask for your ZIP code, vehicle details, driver basics, coverage preferences, and recent driving history. Having your current declarations page nearby can make it easier to compare equivalent limits. Exact information and eligibility requirements vary by insurer and state.
Does getting a car insurance quote affect my credit score?+
A quote request itself is not the same as opening a credit account. Insurers may use insurance-based credit information where permitted by law, but their process and its effect can vary by state and company. Ask the insurer how it handles the quote process and review the final application details before purchasing.
How often should I compare car insurance quotes?+
Compare your policy at renewal and after a major life or driving change, such as moving, adding a driver, buying a vehicle, or a claim. A quick review helps you confirm that your limits and deductibles still fit. Keep the comparison fair by using the same drivers, vehicles, mileage, and coverage limits in every quote.