“Full Coverage” Means Nothing

The term “full coverage” is something that many people believe is a type of coverage that provides the maximum amount of car insurance coverage possible. However, the term “full coverage” doesn’t actually mean anything at all and it’s far more misleading than it is descriptive of what type of insurance someone may have.

Here’s the truth: there’s no such thing as “full coverage” car insurance. This may be a surprise to  many people, but the term “full coverage” doesn’t mean anything at all.

Here’s where the confusion lies: “Full coverage” isn’t a formal insurance product, but rather a term that has been adopted to describe an insurance policy that includes all or several common types of protection offered by auto insurance companies. Those who believe that they have “full coverage” believe that they have the best policy protections available to them, including liability coverage, collision coverage, uninsured/underinsured coverage and even medical payment coverage.

The problem is that most of the time these individuals don’t have all of these types of coverages and they have a false sense of security of the coverages they do have and that they are covered for all types of losses.

Below, our friends at The Gordon Law Firm take a deeper look into what “full coverage” really means or rather what it doesn’t mean.

What People Think “Full Coverage” Means

When most people say they have full coverage, they’re usually referring to a combination of three main components:

1. Liability coverage – This is required in almost every state. It pays for damages or injuries you cause to others in an accident.
2. Collision coverage – This pays to repair or replace your own vehicle if it’s damaged in a crash, regardless of who’s at fault.
3. Comprehensive coverage – This covers non-collision incidents like theft, vandalism, fire, falling objects, or weather damage.

These three types of coverage (liability, collision, and comprehensive) form a very solid foundation for any auto policy and they offer quite a bit of protection and security, but they don’t protect one from everything.

What Other Coverages Do You Need?

Even with liability, collision, and comprehension coverage, there are still plenty of gaps in the protections afforded by the policy. Some of the other insurance coverages that everyone should look into and consider adding to their policy are:

• Uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage (UM/UIM)
• Medical payments or personal injury protection (Med Pay or PIP)
• Roadside assistance
• Rental car reimbursement
• Gap insurance (which covers the difference between your car’s value and what you owe if it’s totaled)
• Wear and tear or mechanical breakdowns

Each of these can be a vital part of an auto insurance policy depending on one’s own situation. However, one of these additional coverages that should never be overlooked and should always be included, if possible, is Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Coverage.

Just know that “full coverage” does not mean much of anything and when obtaining insurance coverage ask specific questions about what types of coverages and protections the policy affords and continue to ask questions until all coverages and protections are fully explained.