Does my lender require full coverage?

Most lenders and leasing companies require collision and comprehensive on the car until it's paid off or returned. Your loan or lease contract says exactly what they need.

Is the state minimum the same as full coverage?

No. The state minimum is the least the law lets you drive with. It doesn't repair your own car, and it may be far less than a serious crash costs.

How do I know what I actually have?

Look at your declarations page. It lists every coverage, limit and deductible on your policy. Here's where to find it .

What "full coverage" actually means — From Elona’s desk

Q: Is "full coverage" a real type of car insurance?

No. No policy is sold under that name. People usually mean liability plus collision and comprehensive, but what's included varies from policy to policy.

“Full coverage” isn’t a type of policy. Most people use it to mean liability plus collision and comprehensive, but no two “full coverage” policies are exactly alike, and many still leave gaps you’d only find out about after a crash.

“I just want full coverage” is one of the most common things people say when they shop for car insurance, and it’s a completely reasonable thing to ask for. The trouble is that the phrase means something different to almost everyone who says it, including the person selling you the policy. Florida’s own Chief Financial Officer tells consumers to be wary of it for exactly that reason.

So let’s take it apart.

The three pieces people usually mean

When someone says “full coverage,” they’re usually picturing three things together:

Liability. Pays for the damage and injuries you cause to other people. It protects you, but it never fixes your own car.
Collision. Repairs your car after it hits another car or an object, or rolls over, no matter whose fault it was.
Comprehensive. Covers your car for things other than a crash: theft, fire, vandalism, a falling branch, flood water and storm damage.

If you have a car loan or a lease, the lender or leasing company almost always requires collision and comprehensive. That requirement is often where the phrase “full coverage” comes from in the first place.

What the law actually requires

The legal minimum and “full coverage” are two very different things. The minimum is the least the state lets you drive with. Here’s where that line sits.

Florida

In Florida

Every owner of a car that has to be registered in Florida must carry personal injury protection (PIP) and property damage liability, at least $10,000 of each (Fla. Stat. 627.733 and 324.022). The coverage has to stay in force the whole time the car is registered.

Notice what isn’t on that list: bodily injury liability, the coverage that pays when you injure someone else. Florida doesn’t require it for most drivers. A policy can meet the law and still leave you personally on the hook if you seriously hurt someone.

Illinois

In Illinois

Illinois requires liability insurance on every car driven on public roads, with limits of at least $25,000 for injury to one person, $50,000 for injury to two or more people and $20,000 for property damage in one crash (625 ILCS 5/7-601 and 7-203).

Illinois policies must also include uninsured motorist coverage at those same minimum limits, which protects you if a driver with no insurance, or a hit-and-run driver, injures you (215 ILCS 5/143a).

Either way, the state minimum doesn’t repair your own car at all. It also doesn’t change with the cost of a hospital stay or a new SUV.

What “full coverage” can still leave out

This is the part that surprises people. A policy with liability, collision and comprehensive can still be missing:

Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage. It pays you when the driver who hurt you has no insurance or not enough. In some cases it can be turned down or lowered in writing, so it’s worth checking whether yours was. (More on uninsured motorist coverage.)
Bodily injury liability that fits your life. Having it at all is one question. Whether the limit fits what you own and earn is another.
Rental reimbursement. How you’ll get around while your car is in the shop.
Roadside assistance. Towing, jump-starts, lockouts.
Gap coverage. If your car is totaled and you owe more than it’s worth, this covers the difference. (More on gap insurance.)

None of these are automatic. Two people can both say “I have full coverage” and have very different protection.

Good to know

Your declarations page is the real answer. It lists every coverage, every limit and every deductible. If a line isn’t on it, you don’t have it. (Here’s where to find yours.)
Deductibles count. Collision and comprehensive each come with a deductible, the part you pay before the policy does. Pick one you could actually pay tomorrow.
Read the limits, not just the names. Having a coverage is one question. Having enough of it for your situation is another.
Ask what you turned down. If you signed a form rejecting or lowering a coverage years ago, it may still apply at every renewal until you ask to change it.

Want me to look at what you have?

If you’re not sure what your policy really covers, upload your declarations page at /quote/ or send it to me. I’ll walk you through it line by line, in plain words, and show you where the gaps are.

Talk to Elona