No.

State laws have minimum insurance coverages that you must carry on your vehicle. These coverages normally include property damage liability (PDL) and bodily injury liability (BIL) but depending upon if your state is a tort or no-fault state you may also be required other coverages such as personal injury protection (PIP), and uninsured/underinsured motorist to name a few.

Liability coverages cover those that you may harm in an accident either their vehicle or other property with PDL and injuries through BDL and not you or your vehicle. Physical damage coverages such as comprehensive and collision cover your vehicle and thus are optional coverages and not mandated by the state for you to carry. State laws are basically concerned with your ability to pay for damages or injuries you cause to others, not to the damages you may cause to your own vehicle. You are thus left to decide if you want the extra coverage of protecting your asset, the car, with comp and collision.

Collision covers damage to your car when your car hits, or is hit by, another vehicle, or other object. Pays to fix your vehicle less the deductible you choose. To keep your premiums low, select as large a deductible as you feel comfortable paying out of pocket.

For older cars, motorists may consider dropping this coverage, since coverage is normally limited to the cash value of your car. Coverage is limited to the terms and conditions contained in the policy. This is not required by a state, but if you have a loan or a lease then the lien holder will require it which if you paid for your vehicle in full with cash you do not have a lien holder on the car.

Comprehensive covers your vehicle, and sometimes other vehicles you may be driving for losses resulting from incidents other than collision (OTC). For example, comprehensive insurance covers damage to your car if it is stolen; or damaged by flood, fire, or animals. Pays to fix your vehicle less the deductible you choose. As with collision coverage, comprehensive coverages are not required by state laws, but if you have a loan or a lease then the lien holder will require it.

When you pay for a car in full you then have to decide if you think comp and collision are worth being added to your policy since they are optional coverages. So while you are not required to carry comprehensive coverage on your vehicle you will need to weigh how much it would cost you to fix or replace the car if it is damaged in a way that comprehensive coverages would cover (hail, flood waters, etc) or if your car is stolen compare with the cost of putting comprehensive coverage on the vehicle.

You can use our insurance coverage calculator to help determine what coverages would be best for your situation. You can also get quotes with and without comprehensive coverages on it to see what the price difference is. You can always have a higher deductible on your comprehensive coverage to make your comp rates lower.

Get instant car insurance quotes here with us.