Full Coverage vs. Liability: Understand Your Options

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Key Takeaways

Full coverage car insurance offers more protection than just liability insurance because it helps protect your own vehicle from damage. Liability only pays for injuries and property damage you cause to others.
Most states require all drivers to carry liability coverage at certain minimums. In addition, if you have a lease or loan on your vehicle, your lender will likely require you to have full coverage car insurance, consisting of collision and comprehensive coverage.
For drivers who own their car outright, the liability coverage versus full coverage decision often comes down to personal factors, like your vehicle’s value, budget and coverage goals, as well as your comfort level with vehicle risks, injuries and out-of-pocket expenses.

What’s the Difference Between Liability and Full Coverage?

The difference between liability and full coverage insurance is that liability only helps pay for injuries and property damage you cause to others. Full coverage provides more protection, most notably for damage to your own vehicle. Full coverage car insurance refers to a policy that meets any liability requirements in your state and includes both comprehensive and collision coverage, giving you broader financial protection on the road.

What Does Liability Cover?

Liability coverage helps protect you when you’re responsible for an accident, specifically for others’ bodily injuries and property damage.

There are two types of liability coverages:

Bodily injury liability coverage, which helps protect you from financial loss if you hurt someone in an accident.
Property damage liability coverage, which helps pay for damage that your car causes to property you don’t own.

What Does Liability Insurance Not Cover?

While liability coverage offers essential protection, it doesn’t help cover injuries to yourself, others or damage sustained to your vehicle.

Specifically, these scenarios are not covered by liability insurance:

Medical expenses for you or your passengers after an accident.
Car repairs or replacements needed after an accident or from things like theft, vandalism or fire.
Required fixes to your personal property resulting from an accident, like repairs to a mailbox.

What Does Full Coverage Cover?

Full coverage car insurance is a combination of different coverages that together offer broad protection and usually meet your specific state or lender requirements. These coverages typically include liability insurance, collision coverage and comprehensive coverage.

On top of liability insurance, collision coverage helps pay for damages to your car if you hit another vehicle or object. Comprehensive coverage helps pay to fix your car if it’s damaged from:

Fire
Theft
Vandalism
Collision with an animal
Natural disasters

What Does Full Coverage Not Cover?

Injuries that require medical attention after an accident as well as the associated costs are not covered by a full coverage car insurance policy (liability, collision or comprehensive coverages). To get protection, drivers can take advantage of:

Medical payments coverage to help pay for medical care for you and your passengers if you’re hurt in a car accident. It even helps pay expenses if you’re hit by a car when walking.²
Underinsured/uninsured motorist bodily injury coverage to help pay your medical expenses if you’re injured in an accident by a driver who doesn’t have enough or any insurance, like a hit-and-run driver.
Personal injury protection coverage (PIP), also known as no-fault insurance, to help pay treatment costs and other expenses, like child care, if you’re healing from a covered accident. It’s important to know that PIP isn’t available in every state.

Liability vs. Full Coverage: A Comparison

It’s crucial to understand the key aspects of your policy and the differences between coverages. We’ve broken down what you need to know when comparing liability-only coverage to a full coverage car insurance policy.

Coverage Feature	Liability Coverage	Full Coverage
Damage to Your Vehicle	No	Yes
Other People’s Injuries and Property	Yes	Yes
May Be Best For	Older cars that are less expensive to repair or replace	Newer or high-value cars that are costly to fix after an accident
Typical Cost	Often costs less than full coverage	Often costs more due to increased protection
Required by Law	Required in most states	Not required by state law, but may have lender requirements

The Costs of Full Coverage Car Insurance vs. Liability

It will usually cost more to have a full coverage car insurance policy than just liability coverage. That’s because you are receiving increased protection from risks both on and off the road, making it a wise financial choice for most drivers.

While prices will vary based on factors like driving history, where you live and coverage amounts, The Harford’s customers pay between $121 to $162 a month for car insurance on average.^† AARP Auto Insurance from The Hartford is the only auto insurance endorsed by AARP, complete with exclusive benefits, discounts and savings just for experienced drivers.

Enjoy an average savings of $963 by bundling home and auto insurance with The Hartford.**
Take advantage of a 5% defensive driving discount by taking an approved defensive driver course.
Save up to 15% just for participating in The Hartford’s TrueLane Program, and earn a renewal discount of up to 40%, depending on your driving habits.^{^}
Maintain a driving history of no collisions, at-fault accidents or violations for at least five years and you can save up to 10% on your auto insurance policy with our safe driver discount.

customers protected by knowing what's the difference between liability and full coverage

Liability Car Insurance vs. Full Coverage: How To Choose Your Policy

Taking time to answer these questions can help you decide how much coverage you should have on your policy without paying for insurance you may not need.

1. What Type of Car Do You Drive?

The type of car you drive directly influences how much insurance coverage you need. For example, if you have an older vehicle and don’t mind paying out of pocket for repairs, liability-only may be adequate as opposed to carrying both collision and comprehensive coverage. On the other hand, if you have a newer or highly valuable car, you’ll likely want a full coverage policy with enough protection to fully cover any repairs or replacements.

Driving an EV or hybrid? The Hartford offers electric vehicle insurance with customizable coverage options to meet your specific needs and budget.

2. Do You Lease or Finance Your Vehicle?

If you lease or finance your vehicle, your lender will likely require you to have collision and comprehensive insurance on your policy as this helps protect their financial investment. If you own your car outright, you can decide if paying for coverage is worth it.

3. What Hazards Exist in Your State?

Full coverage car insurance, through comprehensive coverage, helps pay for vehicle damage caused by things like fire, natural disaster, hail, colliding with an animal or falling objects, like a branch from the weight of snow. It also helps cover damage from theft, vandalism and civil riots. Assess your risks based on where you live. Usually, it’s a smart choice to have coverage if those are potential hazards for you.

4. What Insurance Is Required in Your State?

The most important factor to consider is that you’re legally required to carry at least the legal minimum insurance mandated by your state. To learn more, we’ve compiled auto insurance information for your state.

However, most drivers choose to carry more than their state’s minimum requirements to increase their protection. Whether you’re debating coverage needs, looking to learn more about state requirements or thinking about your personal insurance goals, The Hartford’s car insurance calculator can help ensure you get the policy you need.

Unsure About Your Coverage?

Answer three quick questions to learn which coverage might be right for you.

Which State Do You Drive In?

Why Do We Ask This?

States have requirements for how much car insurance coverage drivers must have. The minimum required amount can vary for bodily injury liability, property damage liability and uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage.

Do You Own, Finance or Lease Your Vehicle?

Why Do We Ask This?

If you lease or finance your car, the lender or leasing company typically has coverage requirements and may have to be named on the policy.

When It Comes To Insurance, What Matters Most?

Paying a lower cost

Getting the most protection

Why Do We Ask This?

Everyone has different needs for car insurance. If you want to pay less for coverage, you'll have higher out-of-pocket costs with a claim. If you want the most protection, you'll pay more for coverage but have lower out-of-pocket costs with a claim.

male customer protected by knowing the difference between liability coverage vs full coverage

Get a Quote for Liability or Full Coverage

Debating liability insurance versus full coverage protection doesn’t have to be complicated. In fact, we make it simple. For over 40 years, AARP Auto Insurance from The Hartford has helped protect AARP members on the road. We proudly offer industry-leading customer service, exclusive benefits and savings for experienced drivers and customizable coverage options to meet the unique needs of every driver.

To get a quote for the only auto insurance endorsed by AARP, call The Hartford at 888-546-9099 or get a quote online.

Frequently Asked Questions About Full Coverage vs. Liability

Is It Better To Get Liability or Full Coverage?

Liability coverage only pays for injuries or property damage you cause to others. Full coverage also protects your own vehicle through collision and comprehensive insurance. It will likely be required if your vehicle is financed or leased. Full coverage usually costs more but offers increased protection that’s worth it for many drivers. Ultimately, decisions about car insurance liability versus full coverage typically come down to how much financial risk you’re comfortable taking on.

At What Point Is Full Coverage Not Worth It?

Full coverage may no longer be worth it when your car’s value is low enough that repairs or a replacement aren’t worth the cost of the extra insurance coverage. If you’re comfortable paying out of pocket after an accident, it may make sense to only carry liability coverage. Remember, if your car is leased or financed, your lender will likely require you to still have collision and comprehensive coverage.

Is It Worth Getting Full Coverage on an Old Car?

Since older cars lose value over time, it may make sense to drop collision and comprehensive coverage (as long as you own your car outright) instead of paying for coverage. That’s because the cost to repair or even replace the vehicle may not be worth the insurance premium. It all depends on the value of your car and your comfort with out-of-pocket expenses.

How Do I Tell if I Have Full Coverage or Liability?

A full coverage car insurance policy typically includes liability coverages plus collision and comprehensive coverage. If you have questions about your policy, policyholders can call The Hartford at 800-423-6789. Not a customer? We can help you understand your current coverages and answer any liability versus full coverage auto insurance questions at 888-546-9099.