Are there Covid car insurance discounts available? Sort of…
Most car insurance companies have offered rate relief to current policyholders in the form of credits back to your policy. The average discount has been about 15% for your car insurance premium covering a month or two of your billing cycle. Some have offered 15% until your policy renews.
When Covid lockdowns hit people used their cars much less. No more commuting to and from the office or driving kids to school back and forth daily. The natural question is “Hey, I use my car less – shouldn’t my insurance cost go down?” Yes and insurance companies scrambled to get media attention as to who could win the consumer perception award the quickest. It appears Allstate Insurance was first to blast the tv and radio ads that they were offering a credit back because of the Covid-19 crisis and lockdown.
Within days most every auto insurer in the nation jumped on board to help give monies back to their customers. As we navigate towards going back to work or maybe continuing to stay home or anticipate the next lockdown that may occur – we can envision more carriers extending additional discounts to car insurance customers. As an independent agent we can see how carriers are reacting.
Back to Covid Car Insurance Discounts – We are seeing an uptick in the use of telematics devices – either plugins or mobile phone apps. These telematic devices offered by insurance companies track your driving habits – miles vehicle driven, time of day or night driven, braking, cornering and speeds of vehicles. Most carriers offer 10% for signing up and up to 20% at your next renewal if you are a safe driver.
Travelers offers Intelli-Drive, Safeco offers Right Track, Progressive offers Snapshot plug-in device and mobile app, Allstate Insurance offers Drive Wise and others are offering pay-per-mile. Some require a 60-90 day trial period and others require you to keep the telematic app for the first year. Many customers in the past would pass on having their driving habits monitored – “Don’t want Big Brother watching me!” was typical response when offered to car insurance shoppers. Now, with Covid-19 Pandemic auto insurance policyholders are starting to consider the use of these offerings to save money – especially if their cars are sitting at home for days, weeks, and now months.
As you navigate the 2020 Pandemic it might be time to consider researching your car insurance options. Speak to your independent agent because they have access to more than one car insurance company. Maybe you can save just by switching to a better carrier in your region. For example, for Arizona car insurance – rates have actually dropped a bit compared to other areas. Also, bundling your car, home and umbrella insurance can save you big dollars. Here is an example of someone who has stable financial stability, very few claims and bundles – Auto-Owners Insurance (Lansing, MI) Customer lives in Zip Code 85737 – 2 newer cars, higher liability limits 500/500, comp and collision deductibles $500 with full glass, emergency roadside, car rental protection annual car rates $1050 year, Home $300k replacement value $501 year and $1M personal liability umbrella $179 year.
So while there may be some relief from your car insurance company for the COVID-19 crisis – it may behoove you to ask about telematic mobile apps or contact an independent insurance agent to research all the options.
Authored by: John Foxworthy – Independent Agency Owner – www.ally.inswebkit.com Tucson, AZ Phone: 520-444-8607