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When your vehicle is damaged, it’s helpful to know whether your car insurance policy covers repairs. However, whether repairs are covered depends on the type of repair needed and the cause of the problem. Unless the issues are expressly caused by covered incidents such as accidents, acts of vandalism or severe weather, car insurance won’t pay for repairs.

The good news is that some auto insurance companies offer optional add-ons to cover a wide range of vehicle repairs. These policies often cover parts and labor as well, which can create major savings in the long run. 

In this article, our Home Media reviews team will examine what standard car insurance policies cover and how you can add more protection. We’ve also ranked the best car insurance companies to help you consider your auto coverage options.

Most states require drivers to have some level of car insurance. In states that require coverage, minimum liability insurance is typically all you need. That means you only have to carry enough insurance to cover other drivers’ property damage and injury costs in accidents you cause. However, liability car insurance doesn’t cover repairs to your vehicle. 

To protect your car from certain types of damage, you’ll want to consider adding comprehensive and collision coverage to your policy.

Standard car insurance typically doesn’t cover the cost of repairs related to routine wear and tear or mechanical breakdowns. However, some companies offer additional coverage options that may cover these costs.

While having comprehensive and collision coverage can save you from significant out-of-pocket costs, it won’t help you in the event of a mechanical breakdown. That’s where car repair insurance, often called mechanical breakdown insurance (MBI), comes in handy.

It’s important to note that not every auto insurance provider offers MBI, and those that do often have limitations on when it can be purchased. You might be limited to buying MBI when your vehicle is below a certain age or mileage level.

MBI is similar to an extended car warranty as it covers many of the same components. Although MBI doesn’t cover the replacement of wear-and-tear items like brake pads, spark plugs, filters or tires, it does help pay for repairs to key engine components and a host of other essential parts in the case of a breakdown. 

You’ll have more purchasing flexibility with an extended warranty than with MBI. For a manufacturer extended warranty, you typically have at least until your factory warranty expires to purchase additional protection. Many third-party warranty companies allow you to buy a plan at any point in time. That’s not true of MBI, which often requires you to purchase coverage within a much tighter window.

Not all providers offer car repair insurance or MBI, but a few top-rated insurance companies do. We recommend the following reputable car insurance providers if you’re considering adding repair coverage to your policy:

* Ratings are determined by our editorial review team. Learn more about our scoring methodology below.

Better Business Bureau (BBB) Rating: A+

AM Best Financial Strength Rating: A++

Geico is one of our team’s top-rated insurers due to its strong customer service, exceptional financial strength rating and wide range of coverage options. When it comes to MBI, Geico offers plans for new cars and leased vehicles that are less than 15 months old and with fewer than 15,000 miles. Once you’ve purchased MBI from Geico, you have the option to renew it for up to seven years or 100,000 miles. After a $250 deductible, repair, parts and labor costs are covered in the case of a mechanical breakdown.

Keep reading: Geico insurance review

AM Best Financial Strength Rating: A+

Progressive offers MBI to drivers in all states except Indiana and New York. The company’s mechanical repair insurance includes benefits like $100 per day for trip interruption and $60 per day for rental car costs. You can choose a deductible between $100 and $500 and pick between monthly or annual payments. Progressive lets you lock in your MBI rate for up to three years.

Progressive currently has an F rating from the BBB and has closed more than 3,800 BBB complaints in the last three years. We reached out to Progressive for a comment on its BBB rating but did not receive a response.

Keep reading: Progressive insurance review

AM Best Financial Strength Rating: A

American Family Insurance partners with ForeverCar to provide mechanical breakdown insurance. A ForeverCar vehicle service contract is a subscription-based plan that typically costs between $45 and $75 per month. You can choose any repair shop and pay a deductible of up to $250 for each service. 

ForeverCar plans cover nearly all vehicle parts up to 105,000 miles. From there, you receive powertrain coverage up to 225,000 miles. Drivers with American Family auto policies receive discounts on ForeverCar plans.

If you want your auto insurance policy to provide extra peace of mind when it comes to covering expensive repair costs, providers that offer MBI are the right choice for you. When reaching out to insurers for quotes, be sure to ask an insurance agent whether the company offers MBI coverage. We recommend getting car insurance quotes from multiple providers to find the best coverage for your needs.

Standard auto insurance policies typically don’t cover repairs related to normal wear and tear or mechanical failures. Liability coverage is required in most states and covers property damage and injuries to other drivers from car accidents you cause. Additional coverage is required to address damage to your vehicle from at-fault accidents or environmental hazards.

A comprehensive insurance policy pays for damages related to a car break-in. Broken windows and damaged locks are covered by many comprehensive policies. Personal belongings in your vehicle typically aren’t covered, although they’re likely covered by your homeowners or renters policy.

If a blown engine is the result of a mechanical failure, the damage won’t be covered by comprehensive or collision insurance. However, car repair insurance, or mechanical breakdown insurance (MBI), will often cover a blown engine.

Because consumers rely on us to provide objective and accurate information, we created a comprehensive rating system to formulate our rankings of the best car insurance companies. We collected data on dozens of auto insurance providers to grade the companies on a wide range of ranking factors. The end result was an overall rating for each provider, with the insurers that scored the most points topping the list.

Here are the factors our ratings take into account:

*Data accurate at time of publication.

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