With nobody driving, what about auto insurance? Agent says there is some relief

FOX 2 - Most of us across the state and country are working from home. But unfortunately, a lot of people are taking pay cuts and worse.

"Now the financial impact is starting to be real. And a lot of our customers are not working or laid off or furloughed," said David Arce, State Farm agent.

Auto insurance providers giving price breaks due to pandemic

Most of us across the state and country are working from home. But unfortunately, a lot of people are taking pay cuts and worse.

Arce, a State Farm agent for 25 years, is taking calls from worried customers consistently.

"You can look at any road in Michigan," he said. "The traffic is incredibly light. They're just not driving their cars."

The majority of customers are worried about paying their bills - and curious - if they can get a break.

State Farm is announcing a return of $2 billion to its customers under it's "good neighbor relief program" - the largest in the company's history.

"The credit is going to look like a payment reduction in, as early as June," Arce said. "They're really not going to have to do anything, it's going to happen automatically."

When the stay-at-home order first began the company deferred all policy can cancellations. Arce says it was well-received - but they knew they needed to do more.

The credits are now coming to policy holders on record from March 30th to May 31st.

"Just to be able to talk about it and offer that relief, really feels good," Arce said.

Progressive Insurance is offering a 20 percent credit for April and May. Liberty Mutual is offering 15 percent for two months and Farmers Insurance - 25-percent for April, so far, All State is announcing paybacks to customers totaling $600 million.

"All the big companies have made announcements, there are some companies that haven't announced yet," he said.

And while we all try to stop the spread of COVID-19 - by staying home - and driving less.

"Call your agent and get the details of that company's relief," Arce said.

Arce says he hopes folks out there know that they are not alone during this incredibly uncertain time.

"They are in a struggle but they're really appreciative of getting this relief," he said. "And we know there's a light at the end of the tunnel coming."