John Egan is a veteran personal finance writer whose work has been published by outlets such as Bankrate, Experian, Newsweek Vault and Investopedia.
John Egan Personal Finance ExpertJohn Egan is a veteran personal finance writer whose work has been published by outlets such as Bankrate, Experian, Newsweek Vault and Investopedia.
Written By John Egan Personal Finance ExpertJohn Egan is a veteran personal finance writer whose work has been published by outlets such as Bankrate, Experian, Newsweek Vault and Investopedia.
John Egan Personal Finance ExpertJohn Egan is a veteran personal finance writer whose work has been published by outlets such as Bankrate, Experian, Newsweek Vault and Investopedia.
Personal Finance Expert Penny Gusner Insurance Writer and AnalystPenny Gusner is a senior insurance writer and analyst at Forbes Advisor. For more than 20 years, she has been helping consumers learn how insurance laws, data, trends, and coverages affect them. Penny enjoys translating the complexities of insurance.
Penny Gusner Insurance Writer and AnalystPenny Gusner is a senior insurance writer and analyst at Forbes Advisor. For more than 20 years, she has been helping consumers learn how insurance laws, data, trends, and coverages affect them. Penny enjoys translating the complexities of insurance.
Penny Gusner Insurance Writer and AnalystPenny Gusner is a senior insurance writer and analyst at Forbes Advisor. For more than 20 years, she has been helping consumers learn how insurance laws, data, trends, and coverages affect them. Penny enjoys translating the complexities of insurance.
Penny Gusner Insurance Writer and AnalystPenny Gusner is a senior insurance writer and analyst at Forbes Advisor. For more than 20 years, she has been helping consumers learn how insurance laws, data, trends, and coverages affect them. Penny enjoys translating the complexities of insurance.
| Insurance Writer and Analyst
Updated: Jan 3, 2024, 1:22pm
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The General may be worth a look if you’re having trouble finding insurance because of your driving record or poor credit. Otherwise, due to its high average rates and high level of complaints filed with state insurance departments, The General isn’t a compelling choice for car insurance.
Why You Can Trust Forbes Advisor
We analyzed car insurance costs, coverage options, complaint data and collision repair claims service. We use data-driven methodologies to evaluate insurance companies so all companies are measured equally. Our editorial content is not influenced by advertisers. You can read more about our editorial guidelines and the methodology for the ratings below.
Forbes Advisor analyzed Arizona car insurance costs for The General compared to top insurers that you can find in our best car insurance companies analysis. The General’s rates are on the high side for most driver profiles we evaluated.
Drivers with clean driving records in Arizona will find high car insurance costs with The General compared to top competitors.
The General See More See Less*USAA is available only to the military, veterans and their families.
If you get busted for speeding, The General is likely not a low-cost option. The General has the highest rates for drivers with a speeding ticket among the Arizona insurers we analyzed. Its costs are well above the average of $2,637 per year.
The General See More See Less*USAA is available only to the military, veterans and their families.
The General’s rates are very high compared to top competitors for drivers who have caused an accident with an injury. The car insurance costs for The General are over $2,000 above the average of $3,060 a year among the top insurers we analyzed in Arizona.
If you’ve caused an accident, it’s wise to compare car insurance quotes because of the wide range of rates among companies.
The General See More See Less*USAA is available only to the military, veterans and their families.
As The General’s high costs show, a DUI conviction can be very costly when it comes to car insurance. You can likely find a cheaper policy with competitors. The General’s rates are over $1,300 above the average in Arizona (3,330 a year) among the insurers we analyzed.
The General See More See Less*USAA is available only to the military, veterans and their families.
The General’s rates are on the high side for drivers with poor credit in Arizona compared to the competitors we analyzed. A poor credit score can result in very high car insurance rates. That’s why it’s so important to shop around for car insurance.
Insurance companies believe someone’s credit correlates with the chances that they’ll make an insurance claim in the future. This correlation leads to higher insurance rates. California, Hawaii, Massachusetts and Michigan ban insurance companies from using credit history as a factor when setting auto rates. But in other states, such as Arizona, poor credit can cause higher rates than even causing a car accident.
The General See More See Less*USAA is available only to the military, veterans and their families.
The General’s average cost to add a teen driver to a policy is fairly competitive. Its rate of $2,889 a year comes in right around the average price for adding a teen in Arizona.
Adding a teen to your car insurance can be expensive. Parents can easily pay more than $2,000 a year to add a 16-year-old driver to their insurance. Our analysis found that the average extra cost for adding a teen driver in Arizona is $2,882 per year among the companies we evaluated.
The General See More See Less*USAA is available only to the military, veterans and their families.
The General has very high rates for senior drivers ages 65 to 80. The average cost for seniors in Arizona among the companies we analyzed is $2,263 a year. The General’s rates are more than $1,800 above the average, coming in at $4,126 a year for senior drivers.
The General See More See Less*USAA is available only to the military, veterans and their families.
Companies that make up The General have a high level of auto insurance complaints, based on complaints made to state insurance departments across the country. Car insurance quotes from The General can come from three different insurance companies and complaints for all three are higher than those of many competitors.
The level of auto insurance complaints against The General is also higher than the industry average—one company is double the industry average while the other two are over triple the industry average.
The General’s most common auto insurance complaints are related to claim delays, adjusters’ handling of claims, claim denials and unsatisfactory claim settlement offers.
In a survey of collision repair professionals by the CRASH Network, The General earned a D grade.
Auto body repair professionals possess valuable insight into whether insurers encourage the use of proper repair procedures, if insurance companies use lower-quality repair parts and whether car insurance companies’ processes lead to fast and efficient claims for customers.
The General does not offer some of the optional coverage types you might find at other insurers, such as accident forgiveness or a diminishing deductible. But if you need SR-22 insurance, The General specializes in this process—some insurers do not offer SR-22s.
Yes, The General offers gap insurance, also called loan/lease payoff.
Gap insurance pays the difference between what you owe on a car loan and what you receive as an insurance settlement if the car is totaled.
Many insurance companies don’t provide SR-22 insurance, but The General specializes in the process. If you need an SR-22 form, let The General know when you get a car insurance quote, and it will include the form with your policy documents once you purchase coverage.
You might be required to file an SR-22 form, or “certificate of insurability,” with your state if you’ve been convicted of a DUI or of driving without insurance, or if you’ve had your license suspended or revoked. These forms are issued by your insurance company to certify that you are carrying the state minimum coverage required for liability insurance.
The General has add-on options you can buy to boost coverage.
The General provides a number of discounts that can lower costs. A “double deductible” discount lowers your premium if you agree to double your comprehensive and collision deductible amount for the first 45 days of your coverage. After the 45 days, your rate and deductible amount go back to their initial amounts.
Other discounts are available for:
Aside from offering car insurance to motorists, The General can connect consumers seeking other types of coverage with outside companies that are or are not affiliated with The General. Types of coverage that fall under this umbrella include:
Nashville-based The General specializes in nonstandard auto insurance for motorists who are considered high-risk drivers, such as people who have a history of driving violations, have less-than-perfect credit or have let their coverage lapse.
Drivers are typically grouped into tiers by insurance companies:
The General sells car insurance in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. It is an insurance agency that provides quotes from three related car insurance companies:
Unless otherwise noted, rates are based on a 40-year-old female driver with a clean record insuring a new Toyota RAV4 with $100,000 in bodily injury liability coverage per person, $300,000 per accident and $100,000 in property damage liability (known as 100/300/100), uninsured motorist coverage and any other coverage required in the state. Rates also include collision and comprehensive insurance with a $500 deductible. Source: Quadrant Information Services.
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