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Comparing Full Coverage Car Insurance and Liability Insurance

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There are two main points to consider when acquiring car insurance: getting liability coverage, which is the basic policy required to all vehicle owners; or getting full coverage car insurance, which combines collision and comprehensive policies. If you are at the point of deciding whether to get either, you may want to compare the two different concepts first.

On Liability Coverage

Insurance for vehicles, including cars, are regulated by the state. In every state, liability coverage is a must. This means that all vehicle owners should get an insurance that pays for the damage that the owner causes to other people during accidents, whether it is damage to property or bodily injuries.

Every state differs in their minimum liability that drivers must have. Colorado, for instance, requires that all car owners must have a minimum of 25/50/15 liability policy. These numbers are represented in thousands and refer to the amount of coverage. Number 25 refers to the maximum amount that the provider has to pay for injuries to a single person in one accident. Number 50 refers to all injuries in one accident. Number 15 is the maximum amount that the insurer will pay for the damage to property in one accident. Again, these are only minimum requirement by the state of Colorado. You can always choose to get higher amount to cover all possible costs during accidents.

On Full Coverage Car Insurance

Apart from the basic liability requirements, you may want to get insurance for the damage on your car during accident. This is when the full coverage car insurance comes in handy.

The term full coverage refers to two more policies in your insurance: comprehensive and collision. Nevertheless, some legal minimum may consider you “fully covered” when you have comprehensive and liability policies.

Comprehensive covers damages to your vehicle other than caused by collision, thus this is also named “Other Than Collision” or OTC. This covers damages due to theft, weather, fire or vandalism.

Collision covers damages to your car due to collision to things or another car. This coverage is mostly required by financial institutions if you loaned the car.

Now that you know the nature of liability and full coverage car insurance, you can now evaluate which ones you need for your own protection. True, car insurance may cost a lot, but you should remember that it is a protection from the risks you face on the road. You just have to choose which provider can give value for your money while you get higher coverage.