For instance, Henrico County-based Elephant Insurance announced in August that it would offer a discounted rate to customers working from home. The company said policyholders and spouses working from home and driving less would be eligible to receive the new discount, depending on the number of days driven to work and the customer’s occupation.
“Some part of the work force will be working from home for a while, and as long as they work from home they deserve this consideration,” said Alberto Schiavon, Elephant’s CEO.
State Farm, the nation’s largest auto insurer, started reducing auto rates in every state in May because of changes in driving behavior.
The company said the national average for those rate reductions is 11%, saving customers a total of about $2.2 billion. Rate changes depend on a customer’s individual renewals.
State Farm said its rate reduction went in to effect on July 27 for new customers in Virginia, while existing customers will see the rate change on their renewal date.
The rate reductions in Virginia average about 9.6% and are expected to save the 1.2 million State Farm customers in the state a total of $84.3 million.
Many other major auto insurers also offered deals in the spring that have since expired.
For instance, Allstate, the nation’s fourth largest auto insurer, refunded 15% of its customers’ monthly premiums in April, May, and June. The company said the paybacks amounted to more than $1 billion.