What’s the Difference Between Collision and Comprehensive Car Insurance Coverage?    

When you are purchasing car insurance coverage, it is important to understand the available options. Many people make the mistake of not thinking enough about the insurance coverage they have until after they’ve already been in a car accident. Upgrading your insurance coverage now to include collision or comprehensive insurance could serve you well in the event of a Tampa motor vehicle collision.

Required Types of Car Insurance in Florida

Florida is unique in that it is one of only 12 states in the country that abide by no-fault laws. Under this insurance rule, drivers seek financial compensation from their own car insurance policies after an accident, regardless of fault for the crash. The no-fault law requires drivers in Florida to carry a minimum of $10,000 in personal injury protection (PIP) and $10,000 in property damage liability (PDL) insurance.

After a car accident takes place, a driver’s PIP insurance would offer at least $10,000 to pay 80 percent of his or her own required medical bills and 60 percent of lost wages. The PDL insurance would pay $10,000 toward someone else’s vehicle repairs or the replacement of a totaled car. If you wish to have greater coverage available, however, you will need to add insurance to your policy.

What Does Collision Insurance Cover?

Collision automobile insurance is an optional type of coverage in Florida. It pays for damage to your own vehicle that occurs as the result of a car accident, whether or not you were at fault. If you cause a rear-end collision with the vehicle in front of you, for example, you can use collision coverage to pay for your vehicle repairs. Without collision coverage, you may be responsible for paying for repairs to your own vehicle out of pocket.

Collision coverage pays for the policyholder’s vehicle repairs or replacement after a multi-car accident or single-vehicle accident. This can include rear-end collisions, intersection accidents, sideswipes, and collisions with parked cars and fixed objects. If someone strikes your parked car, collision insurance will pay for this, as well. However, you cannot rely on collision insurance to cover damage caused by something other than a car accident.

What Does Comprehensive Insurance Cover?

Comprehensive automobile insurance pays for damage caused by something other than a car accident. While collision insurance can cover your vehicle repairs in the event of a traffic accident in Tampa, this will not pay if something else caused the damage to your vehicle. Only comprehensive car insurance offers this type of first-party coverage.

Comprehensive insurance can pay for vehicle damage caused by the following:

• Auto theft
• Vandalism
• Animals
• Fires
• Floods
• Falling tree limbs
• Weather events
• Natural disasters

Comprehensive insurance will not pay for damage to your vehicle caused by a collision with another vehicle. You must have collision insurance for this type of coverage. Note that neither collision or comprehensive insurance pays for medical bills or damage to other vehicles. This is why they serve as available policy add-ons but are not part of Florida’s required types of automobile insurance.

For more information about the types of insurance coverage that may be available after your car accident in Tampa, contact the Tampa car accident lawyers at Vanguard Attorneys to request a free consultation.