Who owns The General insurance company?

The General touts affordable coverage for high-risk drivers, but our quote analysis found that the company's auto insurance rates weren't very competitive.

Low-risk drivers should avoid The General altogether. Geico and State Farm charged our sample 25-year-old and 30-year old drivers less than half of what The General did.

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After an at-fault accident, drivers should not expect to receive favorable rates from The General. While all insurers typically increase rates after an accident, rate increases from The General were significant — about 30% on average across the profiles we reviewed. For comparison, quotes from State Farm only increased by 20%. Therefore, you'd be better off comparing quotes from other companies.

How a crash affects insurance rates at The General

The General auto insurance discounts

The General's most unique discount is the double deductible discount. Available in some of the states where The General operates, the double deductible discount doubles your deductible for the first 45 days of your policy. This in turn causes your insurance costs to decrease over the same period. After that 45-day period, however, your auto insurance deductible returns to its normal level, limiting the usefulness of this discount for most customers.

In addition to the double deductible discount, The General offers a number of standard discounts you'd see from other major auto insurers, though not all discounts are available in all states. These discounts include:

The General does not offer rental car insurance coverage. If you frequently drive rental cars, you may want to consider another insurer. However, The General offers its policyholders all of the standard coverage options that most national insurance companies offer, plus optional coverage like:

• Transportation: This optional coverage reimburses you for expenses associated with renting a vehicle if your car is involved in a covered accident. While the coverage limits vary depending on your vehicle type, you can expect coverage to start at $20 per day for a maximum of 30 days. To use The General’s rental reimbursement, your policy must include comprehensive and collision coverage, a restriction not typically imposed by other insurance companies.
• Deductible waiver — safety equipment: The deductible waiver is an optional coverage that allows drivers to file a claim and forgo paying a deductible for repairs to applicable safety equipment. Currently, the deductible waiver applies to windshields and door and window glass.
• Custom equipment: This add-on pays for damage to any aftermarket parts you've added to your car such as fog lights, bed liners and camper shells. Policyholders can add up to $5,000 of additional coverage for accessories, except in California, where the limit is $1,000. This coverage is also only available to drivers with collision and comprehensive insurance.
• 24/7 roadside assistance: This option covers roadside services, such as towing, battery replenishment, fluid delivery (gas, oil, etc.) or lock-out services.
• Hospital indemnity plan: An optional add-on that provides up to $10,000 of accidental death and dismemberment coverages, $1,000 of medical expense coverage and $125 per day of hospital indemnity for up to one year.
• OBEL (optional basic economic loss) coverage: Additional no-fault coverage that covers expenses above the basic no-fault limitation, such as loss of earnings, therapy or other forms of economic loss like health care expenses.
• Towing and labor: An add-on that covers the cost of towing your car. It is only available in some states and to cars with collision and comprehensive coverage in place.
• Income loss: Pays up to whatever coverage limits you select if you are in an accident and unable to return to work.
• Funeral benefit: Covers funeral, burial or cremation expenses if an insured individual dies from injuries within 24 months after a covered accident.
• Accidental death: Pays the family or personal representative of an insured individual who dies as the result of a covered accident.
• Combination first-party benefits: Rolls together medical expenses, income loss benefits, accidental death benefits and funeral benefits into one. The total limit is $177,500, with limits on individual categories, as well.
• Extraordinary medical benefits: Provides up to $1 million in medical and rehabilitative care. Available only to policyholders who select $100,000 in medical coverage or combination first-party benefits.
• Loan/lease payoff: Covers the difference between what your vehicle is worth at the time it is totaled or stolen and what you still owe on it. You must have collision and comprehensive in place to purchase this insurance.

Typical coverage options available through The General

• Comprehensive coverage
• Collision coverage
• Liability coverage
• Uninsured motorist property damage
• Medical payments coverage
• Personal injury protection coverage

Policyholders can be confident about The General’s ability to pay claims, as the company is in great financial standing and was acquired by American Family, one of America's largest and most stable insurers. A.M. Best Rating Services, an insurance company rating agency, assigned The General an A Financial Strength Rating. This means that The General has an "excellent" ability to meet its financial obligations and pay out claims — even if that claims process is often slower than with other insurers.

Bottom line: The General can be a good choice for drivers who would have trouble obtaining insurance coverage through other companies. While the company lacks meaningful discounts, you won't run into any issues buying a policy and will even receive help with SR-22 filing.

Frequently asked questions

The General is an adequate insurer for people who aren't able to get coverage elsewhere, such as drivers with bad credit or multiple tickets. However, prices tend to be high, and claim service is subpar.

Yes, The General sells full coverage car insurance, including comprehensive and collision coverages, as well as less commonly seen coverages like gap coverage, income loss coverage and accidental death coverage.

The General specializes in providing coverage to higher-risk drivers who are more likely to get in a crash. Insuring a lot of drivers who often make claims makes insurance more expensive for everyone who uses that insurer, not just people who make a claim.

No, The General does not sell homeowners insurance.