When should I drop full coverage from my car insurance?

Unlike other necessities, insurance feels intangible. You can’t see or touch it, and you cross your fingers you’ll never use it. You may only think about insurance when you make a payment or need to file a claim. The out-of-sight, out-of-mind nature of auto insurance could lead some Americans to ask if it still makes sense to keep full coverage on their auto policy.

The truth is, dropping full coverage today will save you money, but it could also cost you much more if you get into an accident.

Short-term savings; long-term costs

Cutting full coverage, which typically refers to comprehensive and collision coverage, from your car insurance can feel like an instant win when you’re trying to bring down your premium. However, the trade-off is steep. If your car gets totaled or stolen, you may be on the hook for thousands in repair or replacement costs, expenses most households aren’t prepared for.

According to the Insurance Information Institute, the average claim for collision damage was $5,470 in 2023, and the average comprehensive claim was $2,306. On average, car insurance rates for a 2015 Toyota Camry are $2,023 per year with full coverage. With comprehensive and collision coverage removed, the average rate decreases to $1,123, saving you $900 a year. However, those savings could be quickly erased if you need to file a claim — especially for a total loss.

Should I drop full coverage?

Deciding whether to drop full coverage depends on your car’s value, your budget and your ability to pay for vehicle repairs. Repairs have become more expensive, especially for cars with advanced driver assistance systems, which are loaded with sensors and cameras. Even a minor fix, like replacing a bumper, can cost thousands.

Also, drivers are keeping their cars longer — currently for an average of 12.6 years. While it may feel like your older car isn’t worth much, inflation has increased the cost of parts and labor, keeping used car values higher than in the past. With tariffs set to increase vehicle parts even more, this means full coverage can still protect meaningful value even on an aging car.

There are also hard rules to consider. If you lease your car or have a balance on your car loan, you must keep full coverage to honor your contract with the lender.

Beyond that, you need to look at your personal finances. If going without a car would disrupt your life, or if it would take months for you to save up for a down payment on a replacement, keeping full coverage may give you the safety net you need. However, dropping full coverage may make more sense if you live in a walkable city or have a healthy enough savings account to purchase another car in a reasonable timeframe.

There also comes a time when, even if full coverage is affordable, keeping the additional coverage doesn’t make sense when considering the vehicle’s value.

In some ways, the real question isn’t just how much money you can save by eliminating coverage, but how much you can get back if your car is totaled or stolen. Every driver and financial situation is different. You should speak with your agent before removing coverage from your policy.

Liability and comprehensive coverage: the middle ground

Many drivers think that physical damage coverage is all or nothing, but there is another option. Carrying a liability policy with comprehensive coverage gives you some wiggle room with a lower premium while maintaining coverage for damage from non-collision incidents like fire, theft, hail and hitting an animal.

However, if you still have a lease or loan on your car, this option will not meet your lender’s requirement for full coverage since it does not include collision insurance.

If you keep comprehensive coverage and remove collision coverage, the average cost of coverage is $1,466 per year, significant savings compared to the full coverage average rate of $2,023 per year for a 2015 Toyota Camry.

This could matter most for drivers living in extreme weather locations, areas with high theft and vandalism rates, or who frequently encounter deer and other wildlife when driving.

State-by-state breakdown of insurance costs by coverage level

^{*Rates are for a 2015 Toyota Camry, as of August 2025}

^{**All rates shown reflect the following liability limits: 100/300/50}

How to budget for full coverage

If you lease or finance your vehicle, or if your car still holds significant value, removing comprehensive and collision coverage from your policy may not be an option. But if the price of full coverage is putting pressure on your wallet, there are strategies to help you make room in your budget:

1. Make sure your policy information is accurate: Confirm that your annual mileage, listed drivers and other details are correct. Additional mileage, an extra driver or even where you park could be increasing your rate.
2. Inquire about auto insurance discounts: Most carriers offer savings for safe driving, telematics programs and paperless billing. Some offer more unique savings options, like loyalty discounts or affiliation programs.
3. Remove non-essential coverage: If you’re thinking about reducing coverage to save on your premium, start with less essential add-ons like rental car reimbursement or roadside assistance. Discuss with your agent how these add-ons are affecting your premium.
4. Speak with your agent about increasing your collision deductible: Increasing your deductible reduces your premium without sacrificing coverage. Bumping up one or more of your deductibles could find you some room in your budget.
5. Shop your policy with multiple carriers to find the best rate: Shopping around is key to low auto premiums. All carriers rate risk differently, so shop around often to make sure you’re still getting the best bang for your buck.

Frequently asked questions

• How do I find the value of my car?
  

  Understanding the ACV of your car is crucial when deciding if it’s time to drop full coverage. To calculate your car’s value, head to trusted sources like Kelly Blue Book or Edmunds. Each insurance company has its own algorithms to determine ACV, but the closest option usually to select is “trade-in value”. You can input your car’s vehicle identification number or use the year, make and model, along with other stats like mileage, condition, and the car’s features.

• Can I put full coverage back on my car?
  

  Yes, in most situations, you can add full coverage back to your vehicle at any time before a loss. However, carriers can issue insurance moratoriums during extreme weather events.  When this happens, current coverage is frozen, and changes in limits or coverage are usually off the table until the event passes and the moratorium is lifted.

• Do I have to have the same deductible for my comprehensive and collision coverage?
  

  Unless your comprehensive and collision coverage share one deductible, which is rare, you can have different deductibles. Collision is typically the more expensive coverage of the two. Since increasing the comprehensive deductible usually doesn’t save enough to justify the added out-of-pocket expense, it may be a good idea to quote removing collision independently of comprehensive coverage, before deciding to remove both coverage types.

• Methodology
  

  Bankrate utilizes Quadrant Information Services to analyze August 2025 rates for all ZIP codes and carriers in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. Rates are weighted based on the population density in each geographic region. Quoted rates are based on a single, 40-year-old male and female driver with a clean driving record, good credit and the following full coverage limits:

  • $100,000 bodily injury liability per person
  • $300,000 bodily injury liability per accident
  • $50,000 property damage liability per accident
  • $100,000 uninsured motorist bodily injury per person
  • $300,000 uninsured motorist bodily injury per accident
  • $500 collision deductible
  • $500 comprehensive deductible

  To determine minimum coverage limits, Bankrate used minimum coverage that meets each state’s requirements. To determine comprehensive-only coverage, we removed collision coverage from our full coverage base profile above. Our base profile drivers own a 2023 Toyota Camry, commute five days a week and drive 12,000 miles annually. Bundling and paperless billing discounts are applied.

  These are sample rates and should only be used for comparative purposes. Your quotes will differ.

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