Liability-Only vs Full Coverage Break-Even Calculator: When to Drop Comp and Collision
Check your numbers
At your car's current value, does paying for comprehensive and collision still make financial sense, or has the coverage become more expensive than what it can ever pay out? Use the figures from your own policy. This calculator runs in your browser and does not send the numbers you enter.
Look it up on a valuation guide (each opens in a new tab; we do not fetch or store values): Kelley Blue Book, Edmunds, J.D. Power. Insurers settle a total loss at actual cash value. Texas Department of Insurance: "Actual cash value is the cost to replace your car, minus depreciation."
If your comprehensive and collision deductibles differ, enter the lower one. That gives coverage its best case.
Your result
This calculator needs JavaScript. The method below shows the same math: the most the coverage can pay is your car's value minus your deductible, and dividing that by the yearly cost of comprehensive and collision gives the years of premium it takes to equal it.
How this calculator works
The most comprehensive and collision can ever pay you is your car's value minus your deductible, in a total loss settled at actual cash value. Partial losses pay less.
Dividing that maximum by what the two coverages cost you per year gives the number of years of premium that add up to the largest possible claim.
Dividing the yearly cost by the car's value places you on a scale. The Insurance Information Institute's rule of thumb reads: "Consider dropping collision and/or comprehensive coverages on older cars. If your car is worth less than 10 times the premium, purchasing the coverage may not be cost effective." That is a rule of thumb, not a regulatory threshold, so this calculator always shows the math beside it. The 5% start of the gray zone is our editorial choice.
The calculator ignores the odds of a loss and does not model your risk tolerance. If you enter different comprehensive and collision deductibles, use the lower one: that gives the coverage its best case, so when the tool errs it errs toward keeping coverage.
Texas Department of Insurance: "If you still owe money on your car, your lender will require you to have collision and comprehensive coverage." With a loan or lease, the calculator shows a stop instead of a result.
Disclaimer
This calculator is general educational information, not insurance advice, financial advice, or a recommendation to buy or drop any coverage. It compares numbers you enter; it does not know your car, your driving, your finances, or your odds of a loss, and it does not model risk tolerance. The 10 percent figure it references is a rule of thumb published by the Insurance Information Institute, accessed August 6, 2026, not a regulatory threshold. If your car is financed or leased, your loan or lease contract almost certainly requires comprehensive and collision coverage, and dropping it can lead your lender to buy expensive coverage that protects only them, per the Texas Department of Insurance. Whether to carry optional coverage is your decision to make with your own insurer, your lender if you have one, and your state's department of insurance.
FinanceRazor may be paid when you request quotes through this link. This does not change what we report.
How to use this calculator
First say whether you owe money on the car. If it is financed, leased, or you are not sure, the result stops there, because the decision is not yours yet. Otherwise enter three numbers from your own paperwork: the car's market value from a valuation guide, what collision and comprehensive cost per year (those two lines on your declarations page, not your whole premium), and your deductible, using the lower one if they differ. Whether you could replace the car out of pocket changes the wording of the result, not the math.
The result shows the most the coverage could ever pay you, how many years of premium add up to that, and where you sit against Triple-I's 10 times rule of thumb. It does not estimate premiums or promise savings.
What do collision and comprehensive pay for?
Per the NAIC, collision pays to repair your car after a crash, or its actual cash value if it is totaled. Comprehensive pays for damage that is not from a collision; the NAIC lists fire, theft, vandalism, falling objects, hail, flood and hitting an animal. No state requires either. Liability pays other people, never your own car. The NAIC also notes that "there is no such thing as a 'full coverage' auto insurance policy," only separate coverages. See what full coverage covers.
How do car value and deductible cap a claim?
The Texas Department of Insurance says insurers pay for repairs or replacement "only up to its actual cash value," which it defines as "the cost to replace your car, minus depreciation." Your deductible comes off the top: in the department's example, a $1,500 collision claim with a $500 deductible pays $1,000.
So the most the coverage can pay is the car's value minus your deductible. Take a $5,000 car, a $1,000 deductible and $600 a year for the coverage (illustrative inputs, not a quote). The ceiling is $4,000, paid only on a total loss or theft. About 6.7 years of premium equal it, and the car is worth 8.3 times the premium, under the 10 times line. In the calculator that lands in "Consider dropping", before the loan and replace-the-car checks.
Can you drop full coverage on a financed or leased car?
Generally no. The Texas Department of Insurance says that if you still owe money on your car, "your lender will require you to have collision and comprehensive coverage." If you cancel them, the lender "will buy single-interest coverage and add the cost to your loan payment. This coverage is expensive and protects only the lender." The NAIC says that with a loan or lease, you most often must keep both until it is paid off. See insurance requirements on a financed car.
FAQ
What is the 10 times rule for full coverage?
Triple-I's guidance: "If your car is worth less than 10 times the premium, purchasing the coverage may not be cost effective." It is a rule of thumb that ignores your odds of a claim.
Can I drop collision but keep comprehensive?
Usually, unless a lender requires both. Per the NAIC, comprehensive pays for damage that is not from a collision, such as fire, theft, vandalism, hail and flood, so keeping it still protects against those losses. Ask your insurer what comprehensive alone costs and run the calculator again with that figure.
Should I raise my deductible instead of dropping coverage?
It is a middle step. Triple-I says moving from a $200 to a $500 deductible could cut collision and comprehensive costs by 15 to 30 percent. That is a general figure, not a promise, and a higher deductible lowers the ceiling too.
How often should I check again?
At every renewal, as Triple-I advises. Your car loses value each year, so a keep result can change.
Sources
- Insurance Information Institute (Triple-I), “Nine ways to lower your auto insurance costs”, accessed October 2, 2026
- Insurance Information Institute (Triple-I), “What is covered by collision and comprehensive auto insurance?”, accessed August 6, 2026
- National Association of Insurance Commissioners, “NAIC Consumer Shopping Tool for Auto Insurance”, accessed October 2, 2026
- Texas Department of Insurance, “Auto insurance guide”, accessed October 2, 2026