Full Coverage Car Insurance: What It Covers and What It Costs

What is Full Coverage Car Insurance?

Full coverage car insurance is an informal name for a car insurance policy that combines your state's required liability coverage with collision and comprehensive coverage.

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) states that "there is no such thing as a 'full coverage' auto insurance policy. Policies are made up of different types of coverages."

Not sure what coverage options you need? Talk to an Insurance Navy insurance agent for more information.

How Much Does Full Coverage Auto Insurance Cost?

Full coverage car insurance costs $1,612.81 a year on average, or about $134.40 a month, according to the NAIC's 2024 combined average premium. The combined average premium is the sum of the average liability ($813.27), collision ($516.39), and comprehensive ($283.15) premiums.

Full coverage costs about twice as much as liability coverage alone. The NAIC combined average premium rose 12.12% from 2023 to 2024. The motor vehicle insurance index in the Consumer Price Index fell 5.1% in the 12 months that ended in August 2026, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Your deductible applies only to collision and comprehensive, the physical-damage coverages on your policy. Liability coverage has no deductible. According to the Insurance Information Institute (Triple-I), collision is generally sold with a $250 to $1,000 deductible, and comprehensive is generally sold with a $100 to $300 deductible.

Some insurance companies may offer $0 deductibles.

What Factors Determine Your Full Coverage Insurance Rates?

Sometimes, finding the cheapest full coverage insurance depends on specific factors related to you. All across the board, insurance companies look at the same things when quoting a potential policyholder.

Your car insurance rates depend on your car, driving record, age, location, and ZIP code.

In most states, insurers can also use a credit-based insurance score. Hawaii, Massachusetts, and California prohibit the use of credit history in auto insurance rating, according to the NAIC.

What Types of Insurance are in a Full Coverage Policy?

A full coverage policy has 3 core coverages: liability, collision, and comprehensive. Uninsured motorist coverage, medical coverage, and the other coverages below are add-ons. Some states require certain add-ons, and other states leave them optional. An add-on is part of your policy only when you buy the add-on or your state requires it.

Liability Car Insurance

Liability insurance coverage is what people often refer to when they talk about car insurance. Liability insurance includes both bodily injury liability and property damage liability coverage.

Every state except New Hampshire requires liability insurance. Each state sets the minimum limits for bodily injury liability and property damage liability.

Collision Car Insurance

Collision coverage pays for repairs or replacement of your vehicle if it hits another vehicle or object, regardless of who is the at-fault driver.

Collision insurance is a type of physical damage coverage that will protect your vehicle in the event of a crash with another driver, guardrail, or any other covered accident.

Comprehensive Car Insurance

Comprehensive coverage covers your vehicle for damage not related to a collision. Comprehensive insurance protects against theft, vandalism, and damage from events like floods, hail, or animal related incidents.

You may find a tree branch has fallen and cracked your windshield, or your car was keyed. Comprehensive insurance coverage pays for these types of damages.

Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Coverage

Uninsured motorist coverage will protect you if you get into a car accident with an uninsured driver. Underinsured motorist coverage will cover you if the at fault driver doesn’t have enough insurance to cover your damages.

These coverages will help pay for injuries or property damage from those accidents. The requirements and availability of these coverages vary by state. We can help you or you can check the car insurance by state page for more info.

Medical Coverages

Medical payments coverage (MedPay) and personal injury protection coverage (PIP) are the two most common medical coverages.

This combination of coverages will protect you, your family members and in some cases passengers in your vehicle after an accident. Each state determines if these coverages are required and who and what medical expenses are covered.

Additional Coverages

Additional types of auto insurance coverage can make up full coverage auto insurance.
Some popular optional coverages are listed below.

• Rental Reimbursement: Rental car reimbursement coverage pays for transportation expenses if your vehicle is not available due to a covered loss.

• Emergency Roadside Service: Roadside assistance for tire changes, jump-starts or towing when needed.

• Mechanical Breakdown Insurance: Covers unexpected mechanical repairs.

• Upgraded Accident Forgiveness: Won’t increase your premium if you have a covered accident

• GAP Insurance: Gap insurance pays the difference between what you still owe on a financed or leased car and the car's actual cash value if the car is totaled or stolen. Gap insurance is usually optional. According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), a lender cannot require gap insurance unless the contract explicitly says gap insurance is required.

What Does Full Coverage Not Cover?

Full coverage car insurance does not pay for every loss. Full coverage has 4 main gaps:

• What you still owe on the car: Collision and comprehensive "only cover the market value of your car, not what you paid for it," according to the Insurance Information Institute. If you owe more on the loan than the car is worth, you pay the difference unless you carry gap insurance.

• Wear and tear or mechanical failure: Collision and comprehensive do not pay for mechanical breakdown or normal wear and tear.

• Business and rideshare driving: A personal auto policy does not cover commercial use of your car or driving for a ride-sharing service such as Uber or Lyft.

• Lost wages, in most cases: Personal injury protection (PIP), available in no-fault states, can cover lost wages and funeral costs. Medical payments coverage pays medical and funeral costs only.

Do I Need Full Coverage Car Insurance?

No state law requires full coverage car insurance. Your lender or leasing company usually does. According to the NAIC, "Most often, you must have comprehensive (sometimes called 'other than collision') and collision coverages until you pay off your loan." Lenders require collision and comprehensive because the car is collateral for the loan.

If you own your car outright, full coverage is optional. Most insured drivers carry collision and comprehensive anyway. A Triple-I analysis of 2023 NAIC data found that 80% of insured drivers buy comprehensive coverage and 77% buy collision coverage.

Full Coverage vs. Liability-Only Insurance

Liability-only insurance pays for injuries and damage you cause to other people. Liability-only insurance pays nothing toward damage to your own car. Full coverage adds collision and comprehensive coverage, which pay to repair or replace your own car, minus your deductible.

How Do I Know If I Have Full Coverage?

Check the declarations page of your policy. The declarations page lists each coverage you carry with its limit and deductible. If the declarations page shows liability, collision, and comprehensive, you have what most people call full coverage. If collision and comprehensive are missing, you have liability-only coverage.

How to Get Affordable Full Coverage Car Insurance

Getting affordable full coverage car insurance means shopping around and comparing car insurance quotes. Insurance companies rate risk differently so their quotes can vary a lot. Beyond comparing quotes try these to lower your insurance cost:

• Raise your deductible: Raising your deductible will lower your auto insurance premium but make sure you can afford to pay the deductible if needed.

• Bundle your policies: Bundling car insurance with other policies like home or renters insurance from the same insurance company usually gives you discounts.

• Check for discounts: Many insurers have various discounts so make sure you’re getting all the discounts you’re eligible for.

When Should You Drop Full Coverage on Your Vehicle?

Drop full coverage only after your loan or lease is paid off. Dropping full coverage means removing collision and comprehensive coverage. Keep the liability coverage your state requires. These 3 factors help you decide when to drop full coverage:

• Loan and financial readiness: If you can pay to repair or replace your car after an accident, you can drop comprehensive and collision coverages.

• Car value and premium cost: As a car ages its value decreases and so do the insurance premiums. At some point many drivers choose to save the money spent on collision and comprehensive coverage especially if the insurance payout would not be enough to buy a similar car.

• Weighing cost and savings: How much are you paying for extra coverage compared to your car’s current value. Saving the premium amount is a smart move; if you don’t get into an accident the money stays with you and if you do get into an accident you may have enough savings to cover the expenses.

Full Coverage Vehicle Insurance Cost by State

Full coverage costs the most in Georgia ($1,972.56 a year) and the least in Indiana ($1,142.11 a year) among the 6 states below, according to the NAIC's 2024 combined average premium.

*The NAIC marks the 2023 and 2024 California data as preliminary. Source: NAIC, 2024 Auto Insurance Database Average Premium Supplement (September 2026), Table 5.

Keep in mind average costs vary by state. These variations are due to factors such as the number of car insurance claims, the number of lawsuits from car accidents and other state specific factors.

Get Full Coverage Car Insurance Quotes in Your State

Insurance Navy agents compare full coverage quotes from multiple insurance companies. You see the liability, collision, and comprehensive prices side by side.

Get a free quote online for affordable car insurance, call 888-949-6289 or visit one of our offices for a personal touch.