As a personal injury lawyer in Seattle, I hear a lot of creative ways people try to describe insurance. And I get it, insurance is complicated, and there’s a natural instinct to simplify it into something that feels clear and manageable. One of the more common examples are the phrases: “double sided insurance” or “full coverage”
It’s usually said with confidence, as if it neatly explains everything that matters. The problem is, insurance doesn’t actually work that way. However much we want it to be simple, it isn’t. And “double sided insurance” and “full coverage” are not real terms. You will not find it in any policy, statute, or anywhere else that actually defines what is and isn’t covered.
Most of the time, what clients actually have is collision and comprehensive coverage in addition to liability insurance and call it “double sided insurance”. Somewhere along the way, that gets described as “full coverage” or “double sided insurance.” (I blame insurance sales agents for creating these terms as sales tactics!)
Collision and comprehensive deal with your car. They will fix it, replace it, or pay if it’s stolen or damaged. That part works. This coverage will do nothing to compensate you for injuries. No medical bills. No lost wages. No help if the other driver has no insurance.
And that’s exactly when this misunderstanding shows up. Someone is hurt in a crash, often involving an uninsured driver, and they assume their “full coverage” or “double sided insurance” will take care of everything.
Auto insurance doesn’t bundle everything together. It separates property damage from injuries. You have to choose coverage for each. Having one does not mean you have the other. So the phrase “double sided insurance” or “full coverage” ends up doing more harm than good. It creates confidence where there should not be any.
Here is what the most common coverages actually mean, in plain terms:
Liability: pays for damage or injuries you cause to other people only. Required in Washington State.
Collision: pays to fix your car after a crash, even if you are at-fault.
Comprehensive: pays for non-crash damage like theft or weather
PIP (Personal Injury Protection): pays medical bills, lost income (lots of limitations), essential services. This coverage applies regardles of who caused the crash.
MedPay: pays for medical bills. This coverage applies regardles of who caused the crash.
UM/UIM (Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist): protects you if the other driver has no insurance or insufficient insurance policy limits.
Besides liability coverage, these are all separate choices. You do not automatically get them just because your insurance agent told you that you are buying “full coverage.” So no, “full coverage” and “double sided insurance” is not a real category. It’s just a phrase that makes a complicated system sound simple.