The General Auto Insurance Review

Top Rated For

Best High-Risk Auto Insurance

COVID-19 Assistance

The General has implemented additional flexible payment options to assist customers with financial difficulty due to the COVID-19 pandemic. These include allowing customers to pay 50% of the amount due to help reinstate or prevent cancellation of a policy, and allowing customers to restore coverage within 90 days. Customers who need payment assistance are asked to call 1-800-280-1466.

The General Car Insurance Coverage

The General’s coverage options vary by state, but always include your state’s minimum liability insurance requirements or greater. Coverage limits and requirements will also vary by state.

Auto coverage from The General includes these fairly standard options:

Liability (bodily injury and property damage you cause to others), required in most states
Personal injury protection (PIP)
Collision
Comprehensive
Medical payments
Underinsured and underinsured motorist coverage

Optional coverage or endorsements that may be available to add to your policy, depending on your location:

Rental reimbursement
Roadside assistance
Towing and labor
Loan/lease payoff
Custom equipment coverage
Restricted coverage (only covers named drivers) and non-owner policies

If your state requires minimum insurance coverage proof due to your accidents or traffic citations, The General can help you obtain the proper SR-22 or FR-44 documentation.

If you use your car for business purposes other than driving to work, be aware that the General has numerous restrictions on business-related duties. For example, you may only be able to insure one car per policy; you might not be able to transport clients in your vehicle or travel to more than three jobsites per day. Disclose use, and ask for more information if you need to use your car for work.

The General Car Insurance Costs

Insurers offer unique rates depending upon individual factors, including your driving record, location, age, your vehicle, and how you use it (business, personal only), typical mileage, credit-based insurance score, and other factors that can vary between U.S. states. The amount of insurance coverage you want to purchase also impacts your premium.

We obtained sample auto insurance quotes from The General for the standard coverage annual premiums for Minnesota state minimum requirements. (The General does not allow self-selecting as transgender or non-binary.) Your premium may vary.

	45-year-old, female safe driver (0 prior accidents, 2018 Ford Explorer All-Wheel Drive.	24-year-old, male high-risk driver (2 prior at-fault accidents) Ford Explorer All-Wheel Drive.
Liability (bodily injury and property damage) $30,000/$60,000/$10,000	$828	$2,860.00
Uninsured/underinsured motorist bodily injury $25,000/$50,000	$85	$246
PIP medical with $100 deductible	$629	$1,804
Any other included items	PIP Economic	PIP Economic
Total Quoted Premium	$1,542.00	$4,910.00

The General accepts most drivers, even those considered high risk due to driving violations or accidents, poor credit, or who haven’t maintained insurance coverage.

The General Car Insurance Discounts

The General’s discounts vary by state, but may include the following:

Youth discounts: Good student discount
Safety discounts: Uninterrupted liability coverage discount, discount for restricted use, anti-theft and safety device discount
Payment discounts: Double deductible discount, paid in full discount
Other: Military discount (Louisiana only), homeowner discount

The General Car Insurance Availability

The General insurance is available in 47 states and the District of Columbia. It isn’t available in Michigan, New Jersey, or Hawaii.

How to Get a The General Car Insurance Quote

You can obtain a car insurance quote from The General online very quickly. Unlike many other insurers, you do not have to give your personal information to get an auto quote from The General. However, the site does recommend using your Social Security number to obtain the best quote.

Your quote is saved, and you can make the purchase online anytime you are ready and obtain insurance ID cards immediately. To receive a telephone quote, call 1-844-328-0306, option 2.

How to File a Claim with The General

You can file a claim with The General online, with the app, or call 1-800-280-1466, option 3. Claims services are available 24/7. Once you've submitted a claim, a claims adjuster will be assigned and contact you to schedule an inspection.

The General Customer Service

Study or Organization	How The General Fared
NAIC Complaints Index	0.61 Better than average

Claims

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners publishes the (NAIC) Complaints Index to show how a company fares compared to the industry average for complaints received. The NAIC rating in 2019 for The General is 0.61, which is better than the expected national complaint average index of 1.00.

This is a big improvement compared to previous years–in 2018, it was 2.30 and in 2017, it was 2.71. Historically, most NAIC complaints for The General have centered on claims—delays, denials, and unsatisfactory settlements.

Digital Service

The General offers a mobile app and a customer chat feature on the company’s website. The General’s opt-in text messaging program called, “Hi Marley,” can provide information on claims.

If your policy cancels but you make a payment after the cancellation date, The General says in most cases it can offer to reinstate coverage for up to 60 days after cancellation.

Financial Stability

AM Best is a rating agency that reports on the financial strength of insurance companies. The AM Best rating for The General Auto Insurance Company is “A-“ or Excellent. While this is not the best possible rating, it is still very strong.

Other Insurance Provided by The General

The General also provides term life insurance.

This insurance option may be offered by The General or by another company that the General coordinates with.

Compare Other Car Insurance Reviews

If you aren’t a high-risk driver and want to compare coverage for those companies who may offer more discounts for good driving records or even obtain comparable rates for high-risk drivers, you can compare quotes through other car insurers like Progressive, GEICO, or Allstate.

If you cancel your policy to move to a new company, you’ll pay 10% of the unearned premium as a penalty, in some states.

Final Verdict

The General Auto Insurance Company is a non-standard car insurance provider.
If you’ve had a lapse in your auto insurance coverage, have less than perfect credit, are a high-risk driver, or need SR-22 insurance The General may offer you insurance when others won’t.

Methodology

The Balance strives to give consumers unbiased, comprehensive reviews of auto insurance providers. To ensure that our content helps you make the right insurance decision for your needs, we review each insurance provider’s coverage options, discounts, customer service and satisfaction, and financial stability.

In addition, we look at the cost of a basic policy for a Ford Explorer—one of the most popular cars in the U.S., but not so popular that it’s among the most stolen cars and therefore, more expensive to insure. Our fictional applicants live in a residential suburb of Minneapolis. Insurance premiums in suburbs generally tend to be between the higher rates in urban areas and lower premiums in rural regions. We chose Minnesota because it has about average exposure to severe weather incidents (it has snow, but no hurricanes or tornadoes) and its rates are in the middle of the pack compared to other states.

To give an idea of the range of premiums available to different risk profiles, we got quotes for a middle-aged woman with a clean driving record and a young male with a couple of accidents. Your situation may be quite different, but our quote is not meant to cover every kind of situation, but rather give a sample of what premiums could be with this provider. We use the same profile for every car insurance provider we review, to give the best chance of comparing providers’ costs across the board.

Learn More

Article Sources

The Balance requires writers to use primary sources to support their work. These include white papers, government data, original reporting, and interviews with industry experts. We also reference original research from other reputable publishers where appropriate. You can learn more about the standards we follow in producing accurate, unbiased content in our editorial policy .

The General. "What is The General Doing to Help Customers During the COVID-19 Pandemic?" Accessed Oct. 8, 2020.
The General. "Common Definitions." Accessed Oct. 8, 2020.
The General. "Quote and Buy Car Insurance Online." Accessed Oct. 8, 2020.
NAIC. "CIS Refined Results The General." Accessed Oct. 8, 2020.
The General. "Help Center Billing and Refund Questions." Accessed Oct. 8, 2020.
The General. "The General FAQs." Accessed Oct. 8, 2020.
The General. "Is There a Penalty if I Cancel my Policy Early?" Accessed Oct. 8, 2020.