For my first blog on insurance, I will write about THE most commonly used and most misleading term used in insurance: “full coverage” auto insurance. I have been wanting to write about this for so long because it is so widely used and misunderstood, it is important for me to educate my clients and whoever cares to learn about this widely used term. What is wrong with the term “full coverage” auto insurance? Why is it important that this term be debunked? Here are a few reasons:

• “Full coverage” does not exist. You will not find “full coverage” listed on your declarations page, application or in any documentation you receive from your insurance carrier. As insurance agents, in our pre-licensing stages, there is no text that defines “full coverage” auto insurance.
• “Full coverage” is a term used by car salesman who do not have a license to sell insurance, or a person selling you an insurance policy who is NOT licensed to sell insurance, or worse, by a person who is licensed but does not advise & educate you on the term. Explaining to a customer that “full coverage” does not exist adds 5 extra minutes to the sales cycle – there are some people who do not want to take that extra step.
• “Full coverage” implies that everything is covered. “Full coverage” – those 2 words are very powerful as far as gaining a customer’s trust and confidence, however, no policy in the world, even the most exotic and expensive, will cover everything. Be very wary of anyone that tells you “everything is covered”.
• “Full coverage” oversimplifies a not-so-complicated but not-so-simple to understand policy. By you not understanding that this term is in fact not a coverage at all, you put yourself at risk for being underinsured or not being covered at all! Learning that something is not covered when it was what you actually needed makes you feel sick! I can personally attest to this feeling. It is a feeling you want to avoid.

Your auto insurance policy has many options. Every person has different needs, so one policy can look very different than another, not just in terms of price, but in coverage as well. Remember, auto insurance is not a commodity, like a phone that Wal-Mart buys 100,000 units of and sales it to you at a discount, you cannot buy auto insurance in bulk, as many commercials who advertise “$17 a month insurance” would have you think. When shopping for auto insurance, and, when deciding to actually buy, don’t skimp on coverage & definitely STAY AWAY FROM anyone that lets you walk away without explaining to you what “full coverage” really is.. or is not.