Insurance companies return money to customers: who can get the check

Drivers across the country still receive $ 400 in the mail from their insurers. Yahoo! Finance.

Photo: Shutterstock

Insurance companies were forced to fork out for pandemic driver assistance payments as they made huge surplus profits over the past year and offered drivers only modest discounts in return.

Now, a new wave of $ 400 claims is reaching some drivers after a group of insurers were accused of holding billions of cash.

Insurers received billions

The latest refunds are now being paid to drivers in Michigan, who get back $ 400 for every car they own.

“Billions of excess funds should not be held by insurers to be invested for their own profit,” Gov. Gretchen Whitmer wrote in a letter last month.

Whitmer accused the Michigan Disaster Management Association, which charges drivers an annual fee to cover the cost of damages, of holding $ 5 billion more than necessary.

The insurance companies that are members of the association quickly agreed to part with the roughly $ 3 billion in surplus.

The money will be released in early March and distributed among policyholders within 60 days.

While the refund is a welcome relief, it is just a one-off promotion, which means that drivers in Michigan and across the country will need to look for other ways to generate significant, long-term savings.

The pressure continues across the country

When the streets were empty and there were few accidents, Progressive reported an 82% increase in net income.

Geico's pre-tax profit tripled in the second and third quarters of 2020.

On the subject: Social Security Number and Immigrants: Who Needs an SSN and Why, and How to Get One

Insurance companies voluntarily returned more than $ 14 billion last year, according to the American Personal Accident Insurance Association, but many critics are dissatisfied.

“On behalf of consumers, I am losing patience,” California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara wrote in October, giving the three stingiest companies 30 days to “tell us once and for all how they are going to fix this.”

A state analysis found that insurers recovered an average of 2020% of car premiums on average between March and September 9, but the Insurance Department estimated they should have returned almost double that amount.

Washington and New Mexico are also evaluating whether the drivers got enough money back, and Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healy has sent several letters to the state's insurance regulator.

The conflict even made it to court, where class actions were filed this year in Nevada and Illinois.

Can I get money from my insurance company?

If more regulators don't get involved, or if class action lawsuits are unsuccessful, insurers won't be legally forced to give back more money than they've already paid.

Most of the discounts provided last year were minimal.

Rarely could you get back more than half a month's installment.

On average, according to human rights groups, insurers deprived policyholders of $ 125 per car.

But some companies did not return money at all or cut rates if customers did not call or ask.

If you have not contacted your insurer yet, you may be awaiting compensation.

And with today's pressure on insurers, your provider may be open to reviewing your insurance, especially if you still drive less than before.

But if your insurance company refuses to give you a pandemic discount, there are several other ways you can try to cut your insurance bill:

Opt out of additional coverage

Some auto insurance policies include additional services, which you can do without for a while.
For example, you can refuse to pay for a car rental while yours is at a repair shop.

Removing these add-ons can save you a few dollars.

You may be interested in: top New York news, stories of our immigrants and helpful tips about life in the Big Apple - read it all on ForumDaily New York.

Just make sure you have your state's minimum liability coverage and are protected in the event of an accident while grocery shopping.

Change insurance company

If your insurance company doesn’t give you indulgences, you may be able to find a new one that will.

Drivers who have not done any comparative analysis of their insurance company with others in the past six months could pay more than $ 1000 a year.

Read also on ForumDaily:

The 'advanced' version of the USSR: Lukashenko and Putin signed programs to unify the legislation of Russia and Belarus

Series of tornadoes in Kentucky became deadliest in US history

All for the money: a man got 10 COVID-19 vaccinations in one day

Do you want more important and interesting news about life in the USA and immigration to America? — support us donate! Also subscribe to our page Facebook. Select the “Priority in display” option and read us first. Also, don't forget to subscribe to our РєР ° РЅР ° Р »РІ Telegram  and Instagram- there is a lot of interesting things there. And join thousands of readers ForumDaily New York — there you will find a lot of interesting and positive information about life in the metropolis.