Collision
Covers damage to your own vehicle from a crash, regardless of fault.
Collision is the part of an auto policy that pays to repair or replace your own vehicle after it hits something. That is the line that separates it from liability. Property damage liability pays for the other person's car; collision pays for the one in your driveway.
It generally responds when a vehicle strikes another car, a guardrail, a tree, a pole or a deep pothole, and when it rolls over. Who caused the crash does not decide whether the coverage pays — it only affects what happens afterward. A driver who backs into their own garage door can still open a collision claim.
Every collision claim runs through a deductible. If the shop estimate is $2,800 and the deductible is $500, the insurer typically pays $2,300 and the remainder is the owner's. When another driver was clearly at fault, many insurers pay the repair first and then pursue that driver's carrier, a process called subrogation. If the recovery succeeds, the deductible is usually refunded, in full or in part depending on how much comes back.
Collision generally pays no more than the vehicle is worth. If repairs climb past a share of that value, the car is declared a total loss and the insurer pays actual cash value instead — today's value after depreciation, not the purchase price and not the loan balance.
No state requires collision as a matter of law. A lienholder usually does, and dropping it while a loan or lease is open generally breaches the financing agreement.
In real life
A driver slides on ice and clips a concrete median. The body shop quotes $4,200. The policy carries a $1,000 collision deductible, so the insurer issues $3,200 and the driver covers $1,000. No other car was involved and no ticket was written, and the claim still pays. The same crash on a liability-only policy would have paid nothing toward that vehicle.
Common questions
Does collision cover hitting a deer?
Usually not. Animal strikes are generally handled by comprehensive coverage, not collision, even though the car hits something. Comprehensive has its own deductible, which is often lower. The distinction matters because the two coverages are priced separately and a policy can carry one without the other.
Is collision insurance required by law?
No state requires collision coverage. Lenders and leasing companies typically do, because the vehicle is their security until the balance is paid. Once a car is owned outright, keeping or dropping collision becomes a personal decision, and the coverage appears as its own line on the declarations page.
Does collision pay if the accident was my fault?
Yes. Collision responds to damage to the insured vehicle whether or not the driver caused the crash. The deductible still applies. Fault generally does not change the payout, though an at-fault claim can affect pricing at renewal through a surcharge, depending on the insurer and the state.
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Definitions describe how these terms are generally used across the U.S. market. Wording, limits and exclusions vary by insurer, policy form and state — the policy you hold is what controls. See the full Insurance Glossary.