What is comprehensive insurance – explained simply
Comprehensive insurance is a motor vehicle insurance coverage that insures damage to your own vehicle.
It is called fully comprehensive insurance because it includes the benefits of partial comprehensive insurance, plus the benefits in case of collision. This means damage to your car is covered – whether the damage was caused by you or by external factors. For example, if you have an accident due to your mistake, your auto insurance from your comprehensive will cover the repair costs on your vehicle. The liability insurance would cover the damage to the other car and the partial cover would have taken effect if neither you nor the other driver was at fault, but caused, for example, the storm (hail, storm, etc.).
What is covered by comprehensive insurance
The fully comprehensive cover includes the same benefits as a partial cover but additionally covers damages that you have caused yourself. The insured perils are theft, glass breakage, wildlife collision, marten damage, vandal damage and collision (due to falling, sinking or self-inflicted collision – for example, if you drive into a wall).
In addition to comprehensive insurance, you can include other insurance modules, such as the current value supplement. This coverage insures you a higher reimbursement in the event of a total loss than the effective vehicle value at the time of the loss. The current value supplement (other variants are basic value supplement or purchase price protection) can normally be taken out for newer vehicles. With an older car, you usually won’t find an insurance company that would take this (unless the insurance was attached from the beginning with a current value add-on and always maintained).
In addition, you can take out parking damage insurance, which does not cover damage during parking, but damage to your parked car, e.g. if your parking neighbor slams the door into your car in your absence and drives away. You do not know the culprit and therefore the liability insurance of the other party cannot be asked for compensation. In such cases, parking damage insurance covers the cost of repair.
Fully comprehensive or partially comprehensive – what’s the difference?
The biggest difference between the two building blocks is: who or what caused the damage. In the case of partial cover, damage to the above-mentioned risks is insured if you did not create them yourself. The fully comprehensive insurance, on the other hand, pays the damage costs even if you generated them yourself, e.g. if you hit the wall while parking and scratch your car. Furthermore, in addition to the “natural” hazards, comprehensive insurance also covers the risk of collision (with other vehicles or objects, such as a wall).
Comprehensive insurance comparison Switzerland
Liability benefits are regulated by law, as are most of the risks to be insured under a partial or fully comprehensive insurance policy. Accordingly, it is important to compare the insurance premiums of different insurance companies – you should not pay more for the same services.
But beware: cheap is not always better. When comparing, you should certainly consider the price, as well as deductibles, an insurer’s rating, and other possible special conditions.
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FAQ – Frequently asked questions
For whom is fully comprehensive insurance worthwhile
Comprehensive insurance is usually worthwhile for a new car, or for vehicles with a high value, as well as for inexperienced drivers, since the risk of own fault is greater than for experienced drivers.
In the case of a leased vehicle, comprehensive insurance is even mandatory.
Is fully comprehensive insurance mandatory
Yes for vehicles that are on lease.
What deductible for comprehensive insurance
Mostly the deductible for fully comprehensive insurance is 500.- or 1’000 CHF, because the price-performance ratio is the best. However, other variants are also possible, but very rarely chosen.
When is fully comprehensive insurance no longer worthwhile
From vehicle age of 5 years, it may be more profitable to cancel the comprehensive insurance. This is especially true if the value of the vehicle has dropped a lot. However, since the premium is also correspondingly cheaper, it is worth comparing how much the fully comprehensive insurance really costs and whether it would not be worthwhile to keep it.
When to switch fully comprehensive to partially comprehensive insurance
The exact time for the perfect change from fully comprehensive to partially comprehensive cannot be determined in general. On the one hand, it always depends on the price of the insurance, as well as the value and age of the vehicle. A rule of thumb is to convert comprehensive insurance to partial coverage when the vehicle is 4-5 years old and the value of the vehicle has increased so much that in the event of a total loss, the amount paid out is no longer worth a high premium for comprehensive.
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