Car accidents can throw a lot of things out of place and cause a lot of questions to arise. You are going to be wondering if you or a loved one are hurt and, if so, to what extent. You will want to know what medical procedures and treatment are going to be required and what that is going to cost. You will ponder the idea of suing for your injuries. The last thing that will probably be on your mind is whether you had the right kind of insurance coverage for your accident.
The two main kinds of coverage relevant to a car accident that protects your car are collision and comprehensive coverage. Collision coverage covers you when you are in an accident, while comprehensive coverage will cover damage that happens for reasons other than a car accident. In order to account for any circumstance involving a car accident, you will need an insurance policy that has both kinds of coverage.
Call Rice, Murtha & Psoras’s Maryland car accident lawyers at (410) 694-7291 to get a free case analysis.
What is Collision Coverage?
Collision coverage is car insurance that protects policyholders when they are driving their car and it collides with something. Collision coverage will protect events that people typically think of when they hear the term “car accident.”
Importantly, many collision coverage policies will cover accidents that the insurance company deems to be your fault. Remember, just because an insurance company says the accident is your fault right off the bat does not necessarily mean that it is in reality. Our Baltimore car accident lawyer can help talk to insurance companies and get to the bottom of what the reasons for your accident are. However, in the short term, it is helpful that insurance will assist you financially regardless of what they think.
What is Comprehensive Coverage?
Comprehensive coverage can be thought of as covering things other than what someone would consider a car accident. Most damage that happens to your vehicle when it is parked and you are not in it will be protected by comprehensive coverage. Comprehensive coverage will also cover damage done by the elements or other things that are out of your control.
Examples of Things Collision Coverage Protects Against
Collision coverage, as the name would suggest, protects against damage that happens because of a collision. Below are some examples of what that entails.
Traditional Car Accidents
A “traditional” car accident will be protected by comprehensive coverage. By “traditional” car accident, we mean another car colliding with your vehicle. Most of the time, this would involve you being in your vehicle when it is hit. However, another driver hitting your car while it is parked and you are not in it may be covered by collision insurance, depending on your provider. It is best to examine your insurance policy with the help of our Ocean City, MD car accident lawyers and figure out what coverage that incident would fall under.
Colliding With Another Object
If your car hits another object besides a motor vehicle while you are driving it, that will also fall under collision coverage. This could include things like losing control of the vehicle on an icy road or hitting a pothole.
Do not make the assumption that you colliding with another object means that the damage is your fault. That is not always the case. For example, if you swerve to avoid an aggressive driver and hit a telephone pole, that would fall under collision coverage.
Examples of Things Comprehensive Coverage Protects Against
Comprehensive coverage can be thought of as coverage for damage that happens outside of a car accident. Some of these things could be considered “car accidents,” but for insurance purposes, they are covered by comprehensive coverage, not collision coverage. Here are some examples of what comprehensive coverage may protect against:
Environmental Damage
Cars can get damaged by the elements in many different ways. This type of damage will be protected by comprehensive coverage since it generally does not involve colliding with something. This area covers things like tree limbs falling on your parked vehicle, damage from hail, damage from a fire, or flooding.
Hitting a Deer or Other Animal
If your car impacts a deer or other large animal on the road, it can get very seriously damaged. Impacting a deer can lead to anything from dents to totaling the car entirely. In some cases, you may also be injured.
While impacting a wild animal is technically a collision, such incidents are covered by comprehensive coverage, not collision coverage. However, if you swerve to avoid hitting an animal and hit something else that damages your car, like a pothole, that would be covered by collision coverage, not comprehensive coverage.
Stolen Vehicles
If your car is stolen, comprehensive coverage would apply. Most of the time, your car needs to not be recovered in order for comprehensive coverage to kick in since the “damage” to your vehicle, in this instance, is that it is stolen and you are not getting it back.
Do I Need Both Collision and Comprehensive Coverage?
It is generally advised to have both collision and comprehensive coverage in your insurance policy so that you have coverage for the widest possible variety of issues that may come up. Often, you will be required to have both if you have a car loan. Once that loan is gone, you can decide whether you wish to keep both or only keep one type of coverage. Whatever you decide to do will be based on the unique facts of your situation.
Call Our Car Accident Lawyers Today
For a free case analysis with our Ellicott City car accident lawyers, call Rice, Murtha & Psoras at (410) 694-7291.