If you own a car, you are required by law to carry a certain amount of liability insurance, or in some states you can waive the insurance if you can prove financial responsibility. While this coverage will pay for damages that you cause to others, including vehicle repairs and medical costs, it is not going to take care of any of your own expenses. For instance, if you want to be sure that you are going to be covered no matter what happens to your vehicle, you should have comprehensive car insurance.

What is Comprehensive Car Insurance?

Many things can happen to our vehicles, and we don’t have to be in actual accidents for things to happen. This is why it is wise to have comprehensive car insurance. This type of coverage will pay for damages that are caused by acts of God, such as earthquakes, hail or other severe weather. If your vehicle is stolen, your comprehensive car insurance will pay to replace it. If your vehicle is vandalized, this coverage will pay for repairs.

Full Coverage Insurance Policies

Most of the time people include comprehensive car insurance in a full coverage policy. In addition to comprehensive insurance, these policies also offer the liability coverage that you are required by law to have, as well as collision coverage so if you are at fault in an accident you will have a means of paying for your own damages. Without this type of coverage you may or may not be able to afford to pay for your own expenses, which could include extensive medical bills.

Discounts You May Qualify For

When you are shopping around for comprehensive car insurance, you need to be aware of the many discounts that are offered by insurance companies. Not all insurers will offer the same discounts, which is why you need to get quotes from many different insurance companies to compare products and rates. Some of the discounts you should inquire about include:

• Multi-Vehicle Discounts – If you have two or more vehicles, you will save money on your comprehensive car insurance by having them all insured under one policy. Some exceptions to this include motorcycles and RV’s, which must have separate coverage.
• Multi-Policy Discounts – If you are carrying more than one type of coverage, you can combine it with your car insurance. Many insurers will offer discounts to customers who buy their home, life and auto insurance from them. It not only saves you money, it also saves a lot of hassles because you are only dealing with one insurer.
• New Vehicle Discounts – If you are planning on purchasing a vehicle, take note of the fact that buying a newer model vehicle will help you to save money on your comprehensive car insurance. New vehicles usually come equipped with the newest safety features. These features are what insurers want to see, and they will help you get discounts.
• Customer Loyalty Discounts – If you have been dealing with the same insurance company for many years you should ask if you can get a discount for your loyalty. Many insurance companies offer these discounts. The more discounts you qualify for, the better your insurance rates are going to be.

Maintain a Good Credit Rating

Your credit record is going to help decide what your insurance rates will be. While this may sound kind of dumb, it does make sense when you look at it from the point of view of insurance companies. If you don’t have good credit, it means that you have a history of having late or delinquent payments to creditors. Insurance companies will charge you higher rates because of this, at least until you have a history of paying your premiums on time every single month.

It’s Time to Do Some Comparison Shopping

When you are trying to get the best deals on comprehensive car insurance you need to do a bit of comparison shopping. Just like with any big-ticket purchase, insurance is not something that should be taken lightly. You need to check out what the different insurance companies have to offer. As noted earlier, not all insurers offer the same discounts, and they all offer varying products at different rates. You can do your comparison shopping online, which is going to save you a lot of time, and in the long run, money. Give us your zip code and we will search through our data bases to get you free quotes from local and national insurers. Then you can do your comparison shopping and decide which insurer has the best deal on the coverage you need, including comprehensive car insurance.