Amongst the more important types of coverage that you need as a car owner, is comprehensive insurance. The law doesn’t mandate any form of insurance other than third party liability insurance. This is why a lot of people don’t push themselves to purchase any other form of insurance. But, having a decent coverage for car damage repairs is very important to ensure that you are not troubled by unexpected expenses. Comprehensive coverage for example, provides insurance for damages to the car caused by factors other than a motorist. Your car could be damaged by a large number of forces and in such scenarios this coverage could come quite handy.
If you are trying to decide whether or not you require comprehensive coverage, you will have to understand the factors in play. Comprehensive insurance provides coverage for damages due to fire, natural disasters like lighting, hurricanes, cyclones and floods and even acts of vandalism. All these are factors which are beyond your control, which is why it is always a good idea to have comprehensive coverage, especially if you are vulnerable to such issues. For example, if you live in a city that is frequently struck by floods or hurricanes, you might want to pay for this insurance to be able to relax, instead of worrying about your car thoroughly damaged or worse still, washed away in the floods. Similarly, the coverage is also for fire, theft of the whole car or parts of it and also when you hit a deer or some other wild animal.
How much comprehensive coverage you would need is another pertinent question once you have decided to go for comprehensive coverage. If you are worried about minor thefts in your neighborhood, you might not need excessive coverage. But, if you are worried about the car washed out in floods or damaged by hail, then you will need a more extensive coverage. You can also go for higher deductibles, which means that you will be paying lesser premiums but will also take a bigger share of the eventual damage repair costs. In some cases people get discounts for taking total auto insurance which is a combination of comprehensive and collision insurance, providing complete coverage for the vehicle from accidents as well as natural disasters. A thumb rule for comprehensive insurance is to check what your car is worth. You would want to go for it if it is valuable and costs several thousands of dollars.
