Coverage Calculator
Two quick checks in one place: how much liability coverage fits what you have to protect, and whether full coverage still makes sense for what your car is worth.
Estimate Your Liability Limits
Liability coverage pays for injuries and damage you cause to others. If a claim goes past your limits, the rest can become your responsibility, so start with what you have to protect.
What you have to protect
Home equity is what your home is worth minus what you still owe on it. Other property can include paid-off vehicles, a second home or land. In many states, part of future wages can be used to pay a court judgment, so including some income gives a more cautious estimate. The example values are illustrations.
Limits to price first
per person / per accident / property damage, in thousands of dollars
- Assets to protect
- $140,000
- Income included
- $75,000
- Total to protect
- $215,000
- Bodily injury, per person
- $100,000
- Bodily injury, per accident
- $300,000
- Property damage, per accident
- $100,000
- Umbrella policy
- Not needed yet
Check Whether Full Coverage Still Pays
Collision and comprehensive pay for damage to your own car, but never more than the car is worth. Compare what they cost each year with what they could pay out.
Your car and your quote
Find the collision and comprehensive lines on your quote or declarations page and add them together. For the car's value, use a used-car pricing guide; insurers pay actual cash value, which may differ from your estimate. If the two deductibles differ, enter the collision deductible. The example values are illustrations, not typical rates.
Your result
of the car's value goes to collision and comprehensive each year
- Yearly collision and comprehensive cost
- $720
- 10% of the car's value
- $900
- Most you could collect after the deductible
- $8,000
- Years of premiums to equal that payout
- 11.1 years
How the liability estimate works
If you cause an accident and the costs go past your liability limits, the injured people can seek the difference from you. Depending on your state, that can reach savings, investments, home equity and future wages. The calculator adds up what is at stake:
Amount to protect = savings and investments + home equity + other valuable property + the years of income you choose to include
It then matches that amount to a band of limits worth pricing first:
| Amount to protect | Limits to price first |
|---|---|
| Under $50,000 | 50/100/50, and never below your state's minimum |
| $50,000 to $299,999 | 100/300/100 |
| $300,000 to $500,000 | 250/500/100 |
| More than $500,000 | 250/500/100 plus an umbrella policy |
These bands are this calculator's own starting points, not a legal requirement or an industry standard. Each state sets its own minimum limits, and some states also require uninsured motorist coverage or personal injury protection, so check your state's rules. Many drivers also set uninsured and underinsured motorist limits to match their liability limits where the state allows it. If you are unsure what the three numbers mean, the Coverage Levels Guide explains them.
A personal umbrella policy adds liability protection above your auto and home or renters policies and is usually sold in amounts of $1 million or more. The umbrella suggestion rounds the amount above $500,000 up to the next million. Insurers usually require certain underlying auto limits before they will sell an umbrella, so ask a licensed agent what those are.
How the full coverage check works
Collision and comprehensive typically pay up to the car's actual cash value, minus your deductible. As a car ages and loses value, the most they can pay shrinks, while the premium may not fall as quickly. The check puts the two numbers side by side.
The 10% figure is a common rule of thumb: when the yearly cost of collision and comprehensive passes about a tenth of the car's value, many drivers start to ask whether the coverage is still worth it. It is a prompt for a closer look, not a rule. Even above that line, keeping full coverage can make sense when:
- You have a loan or lease. The lender or lessor usually requires collision and comprehensive until it is paid off.
- You could not repair or replace the car from savings if it were totaled or stolen.
- You depend on the car for work or family and have no backup.
- You park outside where theft, hail or flooding are common. Comprehensive is often the less expensive of the two, and many insurers let you keep it after dropping collision.
Before you drop anything, ask your insurer or agent for a quote without the coverage so you know the exact saving, and consider a higher deductible as a middle step. The Deductible Calculator shows how long a higher deductible takes to pay off.
Your next step
Ask for quotes at two or three limit levels, and with and without collision if your car is older, then line them up in Compare Quotes. For more on how value changes your choices, read How Car Depreciation Affects Your Coverage and Comprehensive vs. Collision. The Coverage Needs Worksheet covers the other coverages on your policy, and the Budget Calculator shows how the premium fits your monthly budget.
This calculator gives general estimates from the numbers you enter. It is not a quote and not advice about your policy. The right limits and coverages depend on your state's laws, your insurer's terms and your circumstances; a licensed agent can review your situation.
Your freedom on the road starts with the right coverage
Compare smarter, understand your policy and keep more of your money. Our plans are guidance services, not insurance.