What is the difference between collision and comprehensive car insurance?  Do I really need to invest in both, or can I get away with only one?

The difference between collision and comprehensive insurance is in how the damage was caused.  Collision insurance will pay for any damage incurred in a collision.  This doesn’t have to be a collision with a car; often, a “collision” is defined more as your car running into something, whether that something is another car, a pedestrian, or the side of a building.  Comprehensive insurance covers damages that come to your car when it’s not moving, like fire damage, flood damage, theft, and damage incurred through riots.

So do I really need comprehensive car insurance, or will collision insurance cover my needs?  The basic answer is that it depends what you drive, and how important the appearance of your car is to you.  If you’re leasing a car and want to make sure you can keep it in the same condition you got it in, you’ll want to invest in some cheap comprehensive car insurance.  If you’re driving a Fiat you inherited from your grandfather, you probably aren’t going to care too much if your paint job gets nicked in a hailstorm.  If you don’t think your car is worth the trouble, or if you don’t think you’re at a great risk, you might want to ditch the comprehensive insurance altogether and just go with collision insurance.

Some companies may make this out to be long and complicated, but you’re not looking for commercial truck insurance; it shouldn’t be complex.  There are a lot of companies that will help you decide exactly which insurance policies you should be investing in, and they’ll be more than willing to help you understand exactly what your money is going to get you.  Don’t get your insurance from a company that’s going to make things complicated.  Choose a company that will help you make decisions and understand their policies.

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