What is full coverage auto insurance?

‘Full coverage’ isn’t a single product — it’s an informal term for a policy combining three coverages: liability, collision, and comprehensive.

Liability pays for damage and injuries you cause to others. Collision pays for damage to your own vehicle from a crash. Comprehensive pays for damage to your vehicle from non-crash events (theft, weather, vandalism, animal strikes).

What ‘full coverage’ does NOT automatically include:

• Personal injury protection (PIP) / MedPay for your own medical bills (often required in no-fault states, optional elsewhere)
• Uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage (sometimes required, often optional)
• Rental car reimbursement while your car is being repaired
• Roadside assistance
• Gap insurance for the difference between value and loan balance

If you’re financing or leasing, your lender requires full coverage. Once your car is paid off, some drivers drop collision and comprehensive when the vehicle’s value drops below the cost of those coverages.