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Ieuter Insurance Group Blog

All You Ever Wanted to Know About Insurance

Collision Coverage: What's the Difference?

When we meet with clients to discuss their auto coverage we typically hear “PLPD” or “Full Coverage.” But many people don't completely know what the terms mean. We're here to clear things up for you! Full coverage refers to policy that has both liability coverage and coverage for physical damage. The physical damage portion entails two parts: Comprehensive (damage not caused by a collision) and Collision (damage caused from car accidents, etc.). What a lot of people don’t know is that you have options when it comes to what type of collision coverage you purchase.

  • Broad Collision – or broad form collision, broadened collision is the level of coverage that waives paying any deductible unless you are AT-fault in a collision. That means if someone hits you, you don't pay!
  • Regular Collision – or basic, standard collision. Regardless of whether or not you are at fault you will pay the deductible at this level. But with this type you can file a mini-tort claim against the at-fault party, provided you know who it is, up to a $1000 to help offset your payment of the deductible. Parking lot damage or hit-and-run situations are tough with regular collision since you are still responsible for paying. However, the difference in premium on your auto policy can be significant enough to ease this.
  • Limited Collision – This is the lowest level of collision coverage. With these types of policies, you are "limited" to coverage only if you are not at fault in the accident that caused damage. That's right, if you have caused an accident there is NOT coverage to fix your vehicle.

As you can see there are huge differences in coverage and what you’ve chosen will have a big impact when it comes time to make a claim. Also, I’m sure you figured out that Broad is the most expensive and Limited is the least expensive. Limited can be a good option to keep your premium down but still give you some collision coverage for an older car or a car that is driven by a young driver. If you’re curious about what coverage you have or if you would like to talk about changing your coverage, please contact your friends at Ieuter Insurance Group.