VII. Collision and Comprehensive Coverage:
Depending upon the value of the vehicle being insured, your insurance budget, and how much risk you are willing to live with, you will want to consider collision and comprehensive insurance coverage. Both these coverages are required if your motor vehicle is financed. Collision covers damage to your vehicle from collision and comprehensive covers damage to your vehicle from causes other than collision. The difference between “collision” and “other than collision,” is both important and complex, and is beyond the scope of this memorandum. Basically, these are the two coverages that will pay money to you (or your finance company if your vehicle is financed) if your vehicle catches fire, is stolen, is hit by another car, is damaged by a flying object, or if you accidentally wreck it yourself. These are separate coverages, and, generally, can be purchased individually or together, and are usually priced at a rate or fee per hundred dollars covered (like, $.55 per $100.00 coverage for each, or $1.10 per $100.00 for both). When insuring a daily driver type vehicle, should you have a claim, your insurance carrier will pay the cost to repair or the fair market value of the vehicle, whichever is less. If repairs will exceed 80% of the cost of replacing the vehicle with one of like quality, it is considered a total loss under Florida law (Florida Statute §319.30(3)(a)(1)(b). Handling a collision or comprehensive claim is filled with pitfalls for the average person, and the problems and techniques of dealing with this coverage is beyond the scope of this memorandum. Even the issue of whether the claim is classified as collision or other than collision can have financial consequences related to your insurance costs for many years after the claim has been resolved.
