The phrase sounds reassuring. The reality is a little more complicated.
“I have full coverage.”
It’s one of those things many of us say about car insurance with complete confidence.
Full coverage means… full coverage. Right?
Your car is covered. You’re covered. If something goes wrong, insurance handles it. That’s more or less the idea most people have in their heads.
Except “full coverage” doesn’t actually tell you what coverage you have.
It isn’t the name of one specific type of auto insurance coverage or a magic package that means every possible accident, expense, or scenario is covered. What matters is what is actually included in your policy: the individual coverages you purchased, the limits attached to them, your deductibles, and the terms and exclusions that apply.
In other words, two Texas drivers can both say they have “full coverage” and have very different insurance protection when an accident happens.
So there may be a better question than, “Do I have full coverage?”
What coverage do I actually have?
Start With the Page You’ve Probably Never Looked At
If you’re like a lot of people, your auto insurance declarations page is somewhere in an app, an email, or a stack of documents you opened exactly once.
It’s worth finding.
Your declarations page is essentially the summary of your policy. It generally lists your coverages, coverage amounts or limits, deductibles, premiums, covered vehicles, and other basic policy information.
Think of it as the cheat sheet for your auto policy.
And if you haven’t looked at yours recently, here are some of the terms you may find on it.
Liability Coverage
Liability coverage generally comes into play when you cause an accident. It can pay for another person’s vehicle damage, medical bills, and certain other losses, up to the applicable policy limits.
Texas requires drivers to be able to pay for accidents they cause, and most drivers satisfy that requirement through liability insurance. The minimum liability limits in Texas are commonly written as 30/60/25:
$30,000 for injuries to one person,
$60,000 total for injuries in one accident, and
$25,000 for property damage in one accident.
Those numbers are limits, not a promise that every loss will be paid in full.
That distinction can become particularly important when an accident causes significant injuries or involves an expensive vehicle, multiple vehicles, or multiple injured people.
Collision Coverage
Collision coverage generally helps pay to repair or replace your vehicle after an accident, subject to the terms of your policy and your deductible.
This is different from liability coverage, which is designed to address damage or injuries you cause to someone else.
If you finance or lease your vehicle, your lender may require you to carry collision and comprehensive coverage.
Comprehensive Coverage
Despite its name, “comprehensive” doesn’t mean “everything.”
Comprehensive coverage generally applies to certain damage to your vehicle caused by something other than a collision…for example, theft, hail, flooding, fire, or vandalism.
So yes, insurance terminology occasionally makes this more confusing than it needs to be.
Personal Injury Protection (PIP)
This is one worth knowing.
Personal Injury Protection, usually called PIP, can help pay certain medical expenses for you and your passengers after an accident. PIP can also provide benefits for certain lost income and other nonmedical costs, depending on the circumstances and policy.
Texas insurers must offer PIP coverage. If you don’t want PIP, it must be rejected in writing.
That makes “Do I have PIP, and how much?” a very good question to answer before an accident happens, not after one.
Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Coverage
Now imagine the person who hits you either doesn’t have insurance at all or has insurance, but not enough to cover the losses resulting from the accident.
That’s where uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage, usually abbreviated UM/UIM, may become important.
UM/UIM coverage can apply when an at-fault driver has no insurance or insufficient insurance to cover certain losses. It may also apply in certain hit-and-run situations.
Texas insurers must offer UM/UIM coverage, and a named insured may reject the coverage in writing.
Again: worth checking your declarations page.
Then There Are the Other Coverages
Depending on your policy, you might also see things like medical payments coverage, rental reimbursement, towing and labor, gap coverage, or other optional protections.
Each does something different. Each can have its own limits, deductibles, requirements, and exclusions.
Which brings us back to the problem with the phrase “full coverage.”
It can make a policy sound much simpler, and much more universal, than it really is.
Don’t Skip the Numbers Next to the Words
Knowing that you have a particular type of coverage is only part of the equation.
You also need to know how much coverage you have.
Some auto coverages have dollar limits. A limit is generally the maximum amount an insurer will pay under that coverage, subject to the policy’s terms. Other coverages may require you to pay a deductible before insurance pays its portion of a covered claim.
So simply seeing “collision,” “PIP,” or “UM/UIM” on a declarations page doesn’t tell the entire story.
Look at the numbers next to them.
Your Five-Minute Insurance Homework
This is the rare homework assignment you can complete from your couch.
Pull up your auto insurance policy and find the declarations page.
Then answer five questions:
- What coverages are actually listed?
- What are the limits for each one?
- What deductibles apply?
- Do you have PIP, and what is the limit?
- Do you have UM/UIM, and what are the limits?
You don’t need to become an insurance expert tonight.
If something on the declarations page doesn’t make sense, or you’re unsure whether the coverage you have fits your needs, ask your insurance agent or company to explain it.
The important part is simply knowing what you have before you need to use it.
“Full Coverage” Is a Starting Point, Not the Answer
Most of us don’t spend much time thinking about auto insurance until something happens.
That’s understandable. Insurance isn’t exactly recreational reading.
But the side of the road after an accident probably isn’t where you want to discover what your policy does, or doesn’t, include.
Find the declarations page.
Know the coverages.
Look at the limits.
Ask the questions now.
Hopefully you never need this information.
But know it anyway.
This article is for general informational and educational purposes only and is not legal advice. Insurance coverage depends on the specific language, terms, conditions, exclusions, and endorsements of the applicable policy and the facts of each situation. Reading this article or interacting with Torry Law Group’s content does not create an attorney-client relationship. Consult a licensed attorney regarding your specific circumstances.
