Auto Insurers Announcing Credits on Premiums
As most of the country has fallen under a shelter in place orders, personal travel has declined dramatically. According to data from Inrix, a traffic data analytics company, since late March to early April personal travel traffic in the U.S. dropped 47% compared to traffic in late February.
In recent days and weeks, some of the country’s largest auto insurers have started announcing credits on premiums for the next month or two. The amount and time frame vary by insurance company, but most policyholders will welcome the payment break.
Here is a quick breakdown of what some insurers are offering:
State Farm: State Farm is the largest auto insurer in the United States. They have offered to give current policyholders a 25% credit on premiums paid between March 20 and May 31st. This amounts to State Farm returning almost $2 billion to policy holders on roughly 40 million insured vehicles.
Chubb Auto Insurance: Chubb is going a bit farther, offering a 35% premium reduction for April and May. They also claim they will be giving out additional discounts over the coming months if the virus is still impacting society.
Allstate: Customers of this insurance company will receive a 15 percent refund on their premiums in April and May. This amounts to roughly $600 million in refunds.
Liberty Mutual: This insurer is also offering a 15 percent refund for April and May. This shakes out to about $250 million being returned to its customers. The refund will happen automatically and will be issued via the customers’ recent payment option or by check.
Farmers Insurance and 21st Century Insurance: Farmers is limiting their refund to April at this point in time and will be refunding 25 percent of a drivers premium. It will be applied automatically to your next bill.
GEICO: This insurer is handing out a 15 percent credit to both car and motorcycle policyholders that come up for renewal between April 8th and October 7th, 2020. This discount will also be applied to new policies that are purchased during this time period.
Nationwide: Nationwide is only offering up a one-time $50 refund per auto insurance policy that are active as of March 31st. The refund will be credited to their bill or most recent payment method.
Progressive: Active auto insurance policies at the end of April will receive a credit of 20 percent on their policy. Progressive says they will offer the same discount in May and possibly extending it in upcoming months if customers are still stuck at home.
American Family Insurance: This insurer is issuing a onetime $50 refund per covered vehicle.
Consider Shopping Your Coverage
If your insurer is not offering a discount or refund you should consider asking for one and if they refuse, shop your home and auto insurance coverage.
‘You’ve got that leverage. They want to hold onto their customers, they’ve got to treat them right,” said Robert Hunter, director of insurance at the Consumer Federation of America in a recent NBC.com article.
Here are a few tips to help lower your car insurance rates:
- Shop Around: This is the best way to lower your premium. Insurers rate risk differently which can result in dramatic premium quote differences. Check at least five different insurance companies and make sure you are comparing apples to apples in regard to coverage levels and deductibles. Get a free home and auto insurance quote!
- Drop Coverages: If you are driving an older car that you would replace instead of repair if it was damaged, consider dropping collision and comprehensive coverage. Collision pays to repair your vehicle if it is damaged in an accident while comprehensive will pay for repairs caused by weather, fire, flooding, and even damage done by animals.
- Discounts: Just like homeowners insurance, car insurance comes with dozens of discounts. Make sure you are getting all discounts that you are qualified to receive. Ask your agent to do a discount review to make sure all available discounts are being applied to your account.