The General Insurance Review
- With 2.1/5 stars in 2024, The General is a decent insurance company.
- Read The General reviews, complaints and prices before you buy.
The General insurance: Ratings and reviews
The General, headquartered in Nashville, TN and founded in 1963, specializes in providing auto insurance for a wide range of drivers.Â
The General is one of the best insurance options for high-risk drivers with tickets on their records — and may also be a solid choice for drivers with good driving histories — as the company's rates are known to be affordable and its payment plans are more flexible than most.
Our overview of The General's auto insurance coverage options, discounts and customer satisfaction below can help you decide if the company is right for you.
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Has a long history of providing coverage for high-risk drivers
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Favorable third-party ratings
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Limited information on average premiums
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Not many opportunities for customizable coverage
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Higher-than-average complaint index
Is The General a good insurance company?
The majority of The Zebra's review incorporates how well The General scores in terms of customer service. In order to determine that we looked at the following third-party ratings.
Trustpilot Reviews: 4.7/5
- The General earned 4.7/5 stars from Trustpilot[1]
BBB Customer Reviews: 4.44/5
- The General has a 4.44/5 rating from Better Business Bureau customers[2]
Complaint Index: Above average
- The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) receives Above average customer complaints for The General[3]
Financial Stability: Excellent/Good
- The General received an Excellent/Good financial stability rating from A.M. Best[4]
The Zebra Customer Satisfaction Survey
Alongside third-party ratings, we like to include results from our own customer survey. Feedback from real customers indicated which auto insurance companies are the best in multiple categories. However, we did not collect a sufficient amount of data on The General for it to be included.
The General vs. top insurance companies
How much does The General insurance cost?
Information on The General average premiums is limited, which makes it harder to provide an accurate review and calculate a fair rating.
It's important to remember that several personal factors are considered when policies are written, and premiums will vary based on things like age, driving history, geographic location and vehicle type. It's worth getting a quote on auto insurance in your area to see if The General can offer coverage within your budget.
Discounts offered
You should always look for ways to save money on your premium when shopping for new car insurance. Detailed below are some discounts offered by The General that may help you save on your insurance rate. Keep in mind that these may vary by state.
- Double deductible:Â This will double your deductible for the first 45 days of your policy in exchange for a discount on your premium.
- Multi-car:Â Insure multiple cars on one policy from The General to receive this discount.
- Homeowners:Â Own a home? You might be eligible for auto insurance savings.
- Good student:Â If you meet The General's academic requirements, the company will reward your efforts in school with a student discount.
- Driver training:Â As long as the approved course was not court-ordered, you may qualify for this discount upon course completion.
Read more about The General's discount offerings here.
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What types of coverage does The General offer?
Standard coverage options like collision, comprehensive coverage, and liability insurance — along with personal injury protection (PIP), uninsured motorist and medical payments coverage can be expected from The General. For the most part, this insurance company offers many of the traditional coverage options you can expect when you're looking for a new policy. Additional coverage options include:Â
- Custom equipment coverage:Â If your car has any enhancements or accessories that were not originally included by the manufacturer, like customized wheels, paint, spoilers, performance-related parts, trailer hitches and camper shells, this will cover damage to these parts within a $5,000 limit.
- Roadside assistance:Â The General's roadside assistance plan is administered by Nation Safe Driver (NSD) and provides round-the-clock service and towing if your car has operational issues or breaks down on the side of the road.
- Rental reimbursement:Â If you're involved in an accident and your car is out of commission while it's being repaired, The General will cover the expenses of a rental car up to the per day limit and specified number of days.
Read more about the specifics of The General's coverages here.
Additional lines of insurance
The General offers several other lines of insurance that policyholders may bundle with their auto policies. These include:
The General insurance review: Summary
Because of the higher risks posed by The General's clientele, the company may not offer the most extensive coverage options and discounts. However, The General's coverages are sufficient and will cover your bases. Even if you have a good driving record and decent credit score, The Zebra considers The General worth looking into if you're shopping around for rates.
Methodology — how The Zebra reviews insurance companies
The team of insurance experts at The Zebra considers the company's standing in five main categories to come up with an overall rating. These metrics are weighted according to importance and are detailed below:
- Price (20%): Using the base profile detailed below, we compared the company's average rate with the national average. If it surpassed this average, we gave a lower rating; if it fell below, we awarded a higher rating.
- Coverage (20%): The highest-scoring companies offer a variety of coverage options, including bundling options, roadside assistance, telematics, beyond-basic coverage levels, and a variety of other coverage types.
- Customer service (30%): We averaged ratings from JD Power, the NAIC complaint index to come up with a rating for the company's customer service. In instances when a company is not rated, we may use alternative rating agencies such as the Better Business Bureau and Trust Pilot.
- Financial strength (10%): We use AM Best to determine a company's financial standing. In some cases when a company is not rated by AM Best, we may use an alternative measure such as Demotech.
- The Zebra's Customer Satisfaction Survey (20%): The Zebra conducts an annual survey measuring customer satisfaction for many of the top insurance companies with the goal of ranking both the best auto insurance companies and best home insurance companies. Read more below.
For our auto insurance review, we analyzed more than 83 million insurance rates spanning every U.S. ZIP code using a sample user profile: a 30-year-old single male driver with a Honda Accord, good credit and full coverage at these levels:
- $50,000 per person/$100,000 per incident for bodily injury liability
- $50,000 per incident for property damage liability
- $500 deductibles for collision and comprehensive coverage
For our home insurance review, rates are based on a sample user profile: a 45-year-old married homeowner living in a 2,500-square-foot single-story home built in 2011 with these coverage levels:
- $200,000 for the dwelling
- $20,000 for other structures
- $100,000 for personal property
- $100,000 for personal liability
- $1,000 deductible
These sample premiums are dynamic and automatically refresh whenever the newest data is made available.
To generate pricing for particular rating factors, we adjusted this profile based on common pricing factors used by major car insurance companies. These factors include credit score, coverage level and others.
For The Zebra's Customer Satisfaction Survey, findings are based on an online quantitative survey of 4,134 current U.S. auto and home insurance customers, with Census-balanced sampling by age, gender and region. Categories with n=<20 responses are considered insufficient sample size and are not reported. This survey was developed by The Zebra and executed by independent research firm Maru/Blue in 2023.
The General insurance: Frequently asked questions
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About The Zebra
The Zebra is not an insurance company. We publish data-backed, expert-reviewed resources to help consumers make more informed insurance decisions.
- The Zebra’s insurance content is written and reviewed for accuracy by licensed insurance agents.
- The Zebra’s insurance editorial content is not subject to review or alteration by insurance companies or partners.
- The Zebra’s editorial team operates independently of the company’s partnerships and commercialization interests, publishing unbiased information for consumer benefit.
- The auto insurance rates published on The Zebra’s pages are based on a comprehensive analysis of car insurance pricing data, evaluating more than 83 million insurance rates from across the United States.