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Written by:
Shivani Gite
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Shivani Gite is a personal finance and insurance writer with a degree in journalism and mass communication. She is passionate about making insurance topics easy to understand for people and helping them make better financial decisions. When not writing, you can find her reading a book or watching anime.
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Laura Longero
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Executive Editor
Laura Longero is an insurance expert and Executive Editor at CarInsurance.com, where she specializes in helping consumers navigate the complexities of the financial and insurance industries. She has 15 years of experience educating people about finance and car insurance. Prior to joining CarInsurance.com, she worked as a reporter and editor at the USA Today Network. Her expertise provides readers with practical guidance, helping them make informed choices about their financial and insurance needs.
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With car insurance, the physical damage coverage of collision insurance covers damage to your automobile caused by a collision with another vehicle or object — or the upset of your vehicle.

Insurance companies’ definitions of upset vary depending upon the company’s internal guidelines and policy terms; however, in general, upset of a vehicle means if it was caused to tip or turn over. So if you roll your vehicle down an embankment, then that is usually classified as an upset of the vehicle.

If your vehicle flips over and hits a tree, this would be a collision claim due to both the upset of your vehicle and the collision with the tree.  But your car doesn’t have to collide with anything for your collision insurance to be used.  Running off the road and the car tipping over due to the slope of the ground and being damaged would fall under the upset portion of your collision insurance coverage.

Comprehensive coverage is the other physical damage coverage.  Loss caused by missiles, falling objects, fire, theft or larceny, explosion, earthquake, windstorm, hail, water, flood, malicious mischief or vandalism, riot or civil commotion, colliding with a bird or animal, or breakage of glass are other than collision losses and thus claims for these incidents would fall under your comprehensive coverage.

To find out how your insurance provider defines upset as part of a collision loss, read through your policy and speak to your agent if you need clarification about anything.

 — Michelle Megna contributed to this story.

Laura Longero

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Laura Longero

Executive Editor

Laura Longero is an insurance expert and Executive Editor at CarInsurance.com, where she specializes in helping consumers navigate the complexities of the financial and insurance industries. She has 15 years of experience educating people about finance and car insurance. Prior to joining CarInsurance.com, she worked as a reporter and editor at the USA Today Network. Her expertise provides readers with practical guidance, helping them make informed choices about their financial and insurance needs.

John McCormick

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John McCormick

Editorial Director

John is the editorial director for CarInsurance.com, Insurance.com and Insure.com. Before joining QuinStreet, John was a deputy editor at The Wall Street Journal and had been an editor and reporter at a number of other media outlets where he covered insurance, personal finance, and technology.

Leslie Kasperowicz

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Leslie Kasperowicz

Executive Editor

Leslie Kasperowicz is an insurance educator and content creation professional with nearly two decades of experience first directly in the insurance industry at Farmers Insurance and then as a writer, researcher, and educator for insurance shoppers writing for sites like ExpertInsuranceReviews.com and InsuranceHotline.com and managing content, now at CarInsurance.com.

Nupur Gambhir

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Nupur Gambhir

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Nupur Gambhir is a content editor and licensed life, health, and disability insurance expert. She has extensive experience bringing brands to life and has built award-nominated campaigns for travel and tech. Her insurance expertise has been featured in Bloomberg News, Forbes Advisor, CNET, Fortune, Slate, Real Simple, Lifehacker, The Financial Gym, and the end-of-life planning service.

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Contributing Writer

Shivani Gite is a personal finance and insurance writer with a degree in journalism and mass communication. She is passionate about making insurance topics easy to understand for people and helping them make better financial decisions. When not writing, you can find her reading a book or watching anime.