Full Coverage Car Insurance: The Term That Does Not Exist (2026)

Full transcript

I. A term, not a policy

The NAIC, the standard-setting body for state insurance regulators, tells shoppers there is no such thing as a full coverage policy. Policies are built from separate coverages. What people mean is one bundle: liability, collision and comprehensive, each priced on its own.

II. What the bundle costs

The NAIC does price that exact bundle. Countrywide in twenty twenty-three, liability averaged about seven hundred thirty-seven dollars, collision about four hundred sixty-four, and comprehensive about two hundred thirty-eight. All three came to one thousand four hundred thirty-eight dollars and forty-six cents. What drivers actually spend averaged one thousand two hundred eighty-one dollars and sixty cents.

III. Two averages, one gap

The gap between those two figures is one hundred fifty-six dollars and eighty-six cents. The guide explains it is not a discount. It is the footprint of every driver who declined the physical-damage coverages.

IV. Who carries it

Most drivers still carry the bundle. Of about two hundred thirty-five million liability car-years in twenty twenty-three, seventy-six point five percent also carried collision and seventy-nine point nine percent carried comprehensive.

V. Who requires it

State law does not require collision or comprehensive. A lender may, until the loan is paid off. After that, the two coverages are a choice rather than a requirement.

VI. The payout ceiling

Both pay the car's actual cash value, minus the deductible. In the Texas Department of Insurance example, a one thousand five hundred dollar claim with a five hundred dollar deductible pays one thousand. Nationally the pair costs about seven hundred dollars a year. The full guide is free at Dreamy Leads Research. What state do you live in, and how many dollars a year do you pay for collision and comprehensive together? Tell us in the comments.