What Does 21st Century Full Coverage Auto Insurance Cover?
21st Century is a subsidiary of Farmers Insurance, proudly serving California drivers with full coverage auto insurance policies.
Written by Drew Waterstreet
Reviewed by Amy Bobinger
21st Century exclusively serves California drivers, offering them localized full coverage insurance policies that include essential liability protection, collision coverage, and comprehensive insurance.
Compared to other states,
California’s minimum car insurance laws
have pretty low coverage limits. However, if you want to provide broader financial protection for your vehicle, you’ll need to invest in a full coverage auto insurance policy.And since the 21st Century has been solely operating in California for over 60 years and counting, they know precisely what Sunshine State drivers need! So here’s a closer look at what’s included in their full coverage auto insurance policies.
What does 21st Century full coverage insurance cover?
California drivers are only required to carry $15,000 bodily injury liability per person, $30,000 bodily injury per accident, and $5,000 of property liability per accident to meet the coverage limits set by the state’s minimum car insurance laws.
While maintaining a minimum car insurance policy allows you to legally operate a vehicle on California public roads, it still leaves you vulnerable to expensive repair bills in the event of an accident. That’s why it’s wise to look into a full coverage policy from 21st Century—here’s what that includes:
- Liability insurance: Requirement to meet minimum coverage limits. It covers medical bills and vehicle repairs for other drivers if you’re at fault in an accident—more on this next.
- Collision insurance: Collision coverage from 21st Century will reimburse you for repairs to your vehicle that stem from a collision with another vehicle or stationary object.
- Comprehensive insurance: Comprehensive coverage protects your vehicle from other outlying events that cause damage, like vandalism, falling objects, hitting an animal, and more.
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Does full coverage really cover everything?
While it may be unintuitive to its name, a full-coverage policy does not cover everything.
The purpose of a full-coverage policy is to provide financial protection for your vehicle after damage-causing events and fulfill your legal obligation for liability in an accident. However, there are additional coverages and services you can add to your policy that are not technically under the “full coverage” umbrella—let’s take a look.
Other types of 21st Century auto insurance coverage
Type of coverage | Description |
|---|---|
Pays for medical and related expenses if the at-fault driver does not have the state-required liability insurance. | |
21st Century Roadside Assistance program provides 24/7 access to towing, lock-out service, and much more. It comes at no additional cost with your full-coverage policy! | |
Available to drivers who must maintain this insurance after a severe traffic violation or car accident. | |
Vehicles 19 years or older may qualify for 21st Century classic car insurance. This coverage gets you affordable protection if you only use your classic car for occasional joy rides, parades, exhibitions, etc. |
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However, you may notice that neither
gap insurance
or MedPay
is offered through 21st Century. Both of these add-ons provide additional coverage once your full-coverage limits are met. So if you want the extra protection, you may have to look for another insurance company—like Farmers Insurance
, who is the parent company of 21st Century.Is full coverage car insurance from 21st Century worth it?
Before we determine whether or not a full coverage policy from 21st Century is worth it, we need to discuss how claims are processed in California.
California is a pure comparative negligence state, which means you can recover damages from a car accident according to your percentage of fault. For example, if you are deemed 20% at fault in an accident, you can claim 80% of the damages from the other driver's insurance policy.
But that still leaves you with 20% to cover out of pocket. Luckily, that’s where your full-coverage insurance policy comes to the rescue—let’s take a closer look.
Benefits of full coverage 21st Century car insurance
When you live in a densely populated metro area of California, like
Los Angeles
or San Francisco
, there are plenty of circumstances where a full-coverage policy makes sense—here are some examples:- Heavy traffic: Fender benders are not uncommon on packed California highways. Luckily, collision coverage has your back—even when you’re at fault.
- Crime rate: Cities in California have been experiencing higher rates of crime as of late. Fortunately, you’ll be able to rely on your comprehensive coverage when you file a claim for theft or vandalism.
- Natural disasters: California is highly susceptible to earthquakes and wildfires. Thankfully, comprehensive coverage will help you repair or replace your vehicle when disaster strikes.
Considering 21st Century exclusively operates in California, their agents will be more than willing to elaborate on how a full-coverage policy protects your vehicle from these local risks.
Drawbacks to full coverage 21st Century car insurance
However, a full-coverage policy doesn’t come without drawbacks:
- Full coverage is more expensive than basic liability insurance
- Your premiums will go up after a claim
For all you penny pinchers out there, 21st Century does offer a variety of
car insurance discounts
to help offset the added cost of a full-coverage policy, such as a safe driver discount, multi-car discount, billing discounts, mature driver discounts, and more!However, it’s also worth mentioning that Forbes’ review of 21st Century revealed a high rate of customer complaints for delayed claim payouts and disappointing settlements. Considering 21st Century Insurance has been in business for over 60 years, it’s obviously not too bad of a problem. But it’s certainly something to be aware of as a potential drawback when filing a claim with your full-coverage policy.
Does 21st Century have the best full coverage auto insurance?
To be honest, full-coverage policies don’t differ much across providers. But it’s more important to ask yourself whether or not 21st Century can offer you a fair auto insurance rate for full coverage on your vehicle.
21st Century will typically offer their best rates to policyholders with
clean driving records
. Simply put, your ability to avoid car accidents and traffic tickets directly reflects your commitment to safe driving habits. As a result, the less likely you are to file a claim, the more willing 21st Century is to offer you an affordable car insurance rate.Additionally, your auto insurance rate is also determined by the type of car you drive, your demographics, and where you live in California. So the only way to ensure you’re paying the lowest rate is to share your driving profile with three to five car insurance companies and compare quotes.
The bottom line
21st Century is a local car insurance company specializing in full-coverage policies for California drivers. Because full coverage allows you to submit claims for damage to your own vehicle, it’s worth the added cost on top of liability insurance—especially if you drive an expensive car around the Sunshine State. Having 24/7 roadside assistance included for free is also a nice perk!
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FAQs
At what point is full coverage not worth it?
There’s no strict cutoff point, but you don’t want your annual payments for full-coverage policy to be more expensive than the value of your vehicle.
What is the difference between full coverage and liability coverage?
Liability coverage is required by California state law. It pays for medical bills and vehicle repairs that you owe other drivers for your portion of fault in a car accident. A full coverage policy includes collision and comprehensive coverage (in addition to liability coverage), which helps provide financial protection for your vehicle.
What is a deductible?
Your car insurance deductible is the amount you must pay on a claim before your collision or comprehensive coverage begins providing financial assistance.
