It is a personal decision to make when you want to change from full coverage (liability plus collision and comprehensive) to just liability coverage if you own the car, meaning you do not have a lien holder that requires you to carry a certain amount of auto insurance coverage. The best way to decide if you should continue to carry full coverage is to see if it still makes economical sense to carry it.

Owners normally decide to stop carrying physical damage coverages (collision and comprehensive) when their deductible and these coverages' premiums start to equal your vehicle's "actual cash value." This is the fair market value of your vehicle in the condition it is in. You can normally determine what your car is worth by going to Edmunds.com, Kelly Blue Book, Nada Guidebooks, etc.

Each person is different, but if you have a $500 deductible and the car's value is $5000 then the most you can recover in a total loss is $4500. Is it worth it to you to pay the physical damage premium in return with the option of re-couping that money in the event of an accident then you should keep the full coverage.

Thus in order to determine if you think physical damage (PD) insurance, comprehensive and collision, are necessary for your vehicle first determine the value of your vehicle. You than can weigh the value of your vehicle against your PD premium, as well as the deductible amount you would pay if you needed to use the coverages.

An older vehicle that has a lowered actual cash value (ACV) may not be worth the extra expense of comprehensive and collision coverage. You do not want to pay more for insurance than the vehicle you are protecting is actually worth.

If you decide want to keep comprehensive and collision on the vehicle, you may see if you can lower your premiums for these coverages by raising your deductible. You may also see if there are any discounts available to you.

Car insurance and the types of optional insurance put on a vehicle are personal choices one has to make depending upon ones financial and overall situation. If you need help on deciding what insurance coverage is right for you use our Coverage Calculator or compare the costs of different insurance coverages by getting quotes through our site.