Better Ask Barry: Car insurance savings during shelter-in-place

(KION) The roads look a lot different these days. The number of cars on the street has dropped dramatically, and now, some auto insurance companies are issuing refunds because of it.

"What they are realizing, like all carriers, well there is less people on the road, less driving means less accidents and less accidents means less claims," said insurance agent Karl Susman.

Allstate, which also owns esurance and Encompass, is offering a shelter-in-place payback with most customers receiving 15 percent off their monthly premium in April and May.

American Family Insurance is sending auto policy holders a one-time full payment of $50 per vehicle.

Susman believes more companies will follow suit.

“Aytime one carrier does something,” he said, “other carriers move with the market."

Susman says - regardless of your insurance provider - if you're driving less or have lost any income due to the coronavirus outbreak, you could be eligible for a premium reduction or deferment.

"I even have clients who have called and said, ‘Can I just remove my car from their insurance policy, because I'm not driving it?’ And one of the things we are recommending is that we can suspend coverage on vehicles and only leave fire and theft coverage," Susman explained.

Insurance companies will be giving back hundreds of millions of dollars, but experts say with fewer people driving and fewer accidents, those companies will save much more.