The General Car Insurance Review: Is It Good?
The General sells car insurance to high-risk drivers who need SR-22s, but you should expect high rates and poor customer service. ValuePenguin gives The General 2 out of 5 stars.
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Get The General if:
- You can't find insurance anywhere else
Skip The General if:
- Other companies will sell you a policy
- You have a good driving record
- You want cheap rates
Overall ValuePenguin rating: 2/5
Rating breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Price | 0/5
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| Coverage | 3/5
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| Customer service | 0/5
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| Unique value | 5/5
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ValuePenguin's insurance experts review companies by looking at cost, coverage options, customer service and unique features. Our team includes licensed insurance agents and brings more than 50 years of combined insurance experience to our reviews. Every ValuePenguin review is independent and unbiased.
Read the full breakdown of how ValuePenguin reviews insurance companies.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Offers coverage to high-risk drivers who can't get coverage elsewhere
- Offers SR-22 coverage
Cons
- Expensive rates
- Poor customer service
The General car insurance quotes
Despite advertising cheap coverage for high-risk drivers, The General's car insurance quotes are often more expensive than other companies.
- Full coverage from The General costs 11% more than average if you have a DUI.
- You can typically get cheaper rates from State Farm, Geico and Progressive.
- The General also has expensive rates if you have a ticket or accident on your record.
- And if you have a clean driving record, The General's rates are very high, at 43% higher than average for full coverage.
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DUI car insurance rates from The General vs. other companies
Company | Full cov. | |
|---|---|---|
| State Farm | $223 | |
| Geico | $313 | |
| Progressive | $328 | |
| The General | $499 | |
| Farmers | $557 | |
| Allstate | $854 | |
| USAA | $366 | |
Rates are for a 30-year-old man living in Texas with full coverage and one DUI. USAA is only available to military members, veterans and their families.
The General is also expensive if you have an accident or ticket on your record, despite these types of drivers being The General's target customer.
Drivers with clean records and teens can also find cheaper rates with another company.
Rates for full coverage
$449/mo
$313/mo
Rates for teens
$1,036/mo
$816/mo
Rates after a ticket
$449/mo
$368/mo
Rates for minimum coverage
$156/mo
$112/mo
Rates after an accident
$571/mo
$542/mo
Rates for poor credit
$792/mo
$639/mo
The General auto insurance discounts
The General offers most of the discounts you'd expect to see from a major auto insurance company.
Featured discount: Double deductible
The General's most unusual discount is the double deductible discount.
This discount lowers your insurance cost for the first 45 days of coverage by doubling your comprehensive and collision deductibles. If your car is damaged and you file a claim within those 45 days, you'll pay double your regular deductible.
After that 45-day period, your deductible returns to its normal level and the discount goes away. That means it's not very useful for most customers.
However, many companies offer more car insurance discounts than The General. Keep in mind that discounts change depending on where you live.
- Academic achievement: Full-time students who get good grades can get this discount.
- Defensive driving: Those who complete an approved defensive driving course may be able to get this discount.
- Good credit: If your credit score is in the "good" range, you may save on your car insurance from The General.
- Homeowners: If you own a home, you can get this discount, no matter what company your home insurance is with.
- Multicar: You have to insure more than one car with The General to get this discount.
- Paid in full: You might be able to save money by paying your 6- or 12-month policy in full rather than in monthly installments.
- Passive restraint: If your car has factory-installed passive restraint features, like seat belts or air bags, you might get a discount.
- Prior auto insurance: Get a discount if you've had insurance within the last five years.
- Safe driver: You might get a discount if you've avoided traffic violations and at-fault accidents for three to five years.
The General auto insurance coverages
The General offers a few add-on options to help you personalize your coverage.
The add-on options depend on where you live.
The General also has all of the standard coverage options you would expect, including liability insurance, comprehensive coverage and collision coverage.
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The General Insurance reviews and ratings
The General has poor customer service reviews, with most issues stemming from claims delays.
When you buy coverage from The General, your policy will come from one of three companies: Permanent General Assurance Corporation, Permanent General Assurance Corporation of Ohio and The General Automobile Insurance Company Inc. If you're in an accident and need to make a claim, you'll deal directly with the company that underwrites your policy.
All three companies have complaints about claims delays, low payouts and issues with claims adjusters, according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC). That means if you get into an accident, you might have problems getting your car fixed. That's one of the major reasons most drivers should avoid The General unless they can't get insurance anywhere else.
However, The General does have an A+ financial strength rating from AM Best, which means the company has enough money to reliably pay claims. The actual claims service might not be good, but the company isn't likely to run out of money before your claim is closed.
Frequently asked questions
Is The General good insurance?
The General isn't good insurance for most people. Only high-risk drivers who can't find insurance anywhere else should consider The General. You can almost always get a cheaper rate and better service with another company, even if you have a bad driving record.
Is The General good at paying claims?
The General gets a lot of complaints about its claims service, specifically regarding delays and low payouts. However, the company has an A+ financial strength rating from AM Best, which means it's financially strong enough to pay claims.
Is The General a legitimate company?
Yes, The General is a legitimate insurance company. It specializes in car insurance for people with bad driving records, such as someone who has multiple tickets, accidents or DUIs on their record.
Does The General sell home insurance?
No, The General does not sell home insurance. However, it does offer a discount on its car insurance if you own a home.
Methodology
To compare car insurance quotes from The General, ValuePenguin collected rates for a 30-year-old single man living in Texas who has good credit and drives a 2018 Honda Civic EX.
Minimum coverage rates include just the state minimum required coverage in Texas. Full coverage rates are for a policy with higher liability limits as well as comprehensive and collision coverage:
- Bodily injury liability: $50,000 per person and $100,000 per accident
- Property damage liability: $50,000 per accident
- Uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage: $50,000 per person and $100,000 per accident
- Comprehensive and collision deductible: $500
Rate data comes from Quadrant Information Services, which in turn gets its rates from publicly available insurance company filings. All rates in this article are for comparison purposes only. Your quotes will likely differ based on your unique circumstances.
ValuePenguin rates companies based on cost, coverage, customer service and unique features. All ratings are out of 10 possible points. Customer service info comes from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) and J.D. Power's annual studies.
About the Author
Senior Writer
Cate Deventer is a Senior Writer who specializes in health insurance, Medicare, auto and home insurance. She's been a licensed insurance agent since 2011.
She started her insurance career working as a customer service agent for State Farm. She later moved to an independent agency, where she worked with several insurance companies and hundreds of clients. She quoted policies, filed claims and answered insurance questions. In 2021, she pivoted her career and began writing about insurance for Bankrate. She moved to ValuePenguin in 2023 and began writing about health insurance and Medicare.
Cate has a passion for helping readers choose insurance to fit their needs. She enjoys knowing that her research and knowledge help people choose insurance products that make a positive difference in their lives.
How insurance helped Cate
Cate used her health insurance knowledge to navigate a surgery in 2023. Understanding how her policy worked let her focus on recovery instead of worrying about bills.
Expertise
- Health insurance
- Medicare & Medicaid
- Auto insurance
- Home insurance
- Life insurance
Credentials
- Licensed Life, Accident & Health Insurance Agent
- Licensed Property & Casualty Insurance Agent
Referenced by
- CBS
- NBC
- Wall Street Journal
Education
- BA, Theatre, Purdue University
- BA, English, Indiana University
Editorial Note: The content of this article is based on the author's opinions and recommendations alone. It has not been previewed, commissioned or otherwise endorsed by any of our network partners.
