Hugo Car Insurance Review: Ratings and Quotes (2023)

Hugo car insurance offers flexible on-demand, short-term car insurance. If you aren’t a frequent driver, its policies may help you save on car insurance costs. Hugo Flex policies allow you to pause or restart coverage at any time without a fee, and you can buy coverage for as little as three days at a time.

Unfortunately, this car insurance company only issues policies in 13 states, and exact policy offerings vary by location. Here’s a closer look at how Hugo car insurance works.

What is Hugo car insurance?

Hugo Insurance is a relative newcomer to the auto insurance market. The insurtech company first released its beta platform in 2020 and officially launched in January 2021. The insurer currently offers on-demand auto insurance to drivers in 13 states: Alabama, Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Mississippi, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas. Its exact policy offerings vary from state to state.

Hugo’s claim to fame is its flexible, on-demand auto insurance, which is driven by cutting-edge technology. Drivers can start and stop coverage at any time, only paying for as much as they need. For example, drivers can purchase as little as three days of coverage to start.

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How does Hugo auto insurance work?

Hugo offers flexible, on-demand coverage for drivers. Policyholders can make “micropayments” for three days of coverage and up to six months at a time, depending on the plan. Hugo has no up-front fees, and drivers can pay as they go with a $0 down payment. Thanks to Hugo’s artificial intelligence-drive approach to insurance underwriting, it takes just a few minutes to get coverage.

Unlike some pay-per-mile insurers, like Metromile, Hugo doesn’t use a telematics system to monitor your driving behaviors. While telematics programs can help safe drivers save money, policyholders may also experience rate increases for sharp turns or hard braking.

Is Hugo right for you?

Whether Hugo is right for you as a driver depends on several factors. Most importantly, if you drive every day and don’t need the flexibility that comes with the ability to pause or turn off coverage, then Hugo may not be the best insurance company for you.

If you want to be able to completely customize your policy and specify exact coverage types and amounts, Hugo may also not be the best fit. But if you’re looking for flexible, affordable auto insurance and only drive occasionally, Hugo could be a good option.

Hugo auto insurance coverage

Hugo offers three different coverage options: 

• Flex: Hugo’s flex plan allows drivers to purchase three, seven, 14, or 30 days of coverage at a time. After purchasing a set number of days, drivers can turn their coverage on or off whenever they need to. For example, if someone doesn’t plan to drive for a given day, they can turn their policy off for that day. The flex plan meets state minimum insurance requirements, but it won’t work for people with leased or financed vehicles that must have continuous full coverage. And flex plans are currently only available in California and Illinois.

• Unlimited Basic: Hugo’s basic plan is similar to the flex plan but doesn’t give drivers the option to stop or start coverage at will. Drivers can purchase coverage in the same intervals of three, seven, 14, or 30 days, as well as coverage for a full six months. In addition to liability coverage, medical coverage and accidental death coverage are also available on the basic plan. Unlimited basic is currently available in every state where Hugo operates.

• Unlimited Full: Hugo’s full plan is a “full-coverage” policy. While the meaning of “full coverage” can vary among insurers, in Hugo’s case, it means that the policy includes not only liability insurance but also comprehensive, collision, medical, and accidental death coverage. Drivers can purchase coverage in intervals of three, seven, 14, or 30 days or six months.

How to get a car insurance quote from Hugo

To get a quote from Hugo, you can submit a quote request with Insurify. Not only will you get a personalized quote from Hugo, but you’ll also get quotes from other similar car insurance companies. This makes it easy to compare insurers simultaneously to select the policy that best meets your needs.

Average cost of Hugo auto insurance

Hugo’s rates can vary significantly depending on the state, the policy type you choose, and other factors, like your driving history. Hugo’s average cost for a basic liability-only policy is $48 per month, and a full-coverage policy costs $62 per month, according to Insurify data.

Both policies cost much less than the national average rates of $103 for liability only and $207 for full coverage.

Hugo Insurance reviews and ratings

Although Hugo is a relative newcomer to the insurance field, it has garnered positive reviews from customers who appreciate the flexibility and convenience of pay-as-you-go car insurance.

Hugo customer reviews

Hugo has a 4.8 rating on Trustpilot. Happy policyholders said Hugo made it easy to get same-day insurance coverage at an affordable rate. Customers also found Hugo’s site easy to navigate.

However, not all reviews are positive. Some customers claim Hugo representatives are hard to get in contact with, writing, “I need to talk to a human instead of a robot.”

Hugo car insurance cost by state

Car insurance requirements and prices vary depending on various factors, including the state you live in.^[1] Here’s the average of how much Hugo liability car insurance costs in different states for liability-only coverage:

Hugo auto insurance rates by driving history

Your driving history is another factor that can affect your insurance rates. For example, if you have a speeding ticket or a DUI on your driving record, it could increase your rates. On the other hand, if you have a clean driving record and no history of accidents, your rates may be lower.^[1] Here’s how your driving record can affect your monthly car insurance rates with Hugo:

Hugo car insurance cost by age

Younger drivers, especially teenagers, tend to pay more for car insurance, while middle-aged drivers pay less.^[1] However, drivers 70 and older may see a slight increase in rates. Here’s how a driver’s age affects the overall average cost of Hugo car insurance.

Hugo car insurance discounts

Hugo doesn’t offer discounts like traditional auto insurers. Instead, Hugo offers the ability for drivers to purchase a limited amount of insurance coverage and pause it when they need to.

With Hugo’s flex plan, drivers can turn coverage on and off at any time, which means they’re only paying for the days they need coverage. This can be especially helpful for policyholders who may not drive very often or only need coverage for a few days at a time.

Hugo Insurance bundling options

Hugo currently only offers auto insurance, so there’s no option to bundle car insurance with another type of policy, such as home or renter’s insurance.

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How to turn car insurance on and off with Hugo

Hugo offers three plans: Flex, Unlimited Basic, and Unlimited Full. Hugo Flex coverage is a liability-only pay-as-you-go policy for occasional drivers. Unlimited Basic policies work best for people who drive most days and want liability coverage, while Unlimited Full offers budget-friendly full-coverage auto insurance.

You can turn all Hugo policies on or off via a toggle on the insurer’s user-friendly site. With Flex policies, you can pause your coverage and won’t pay anything until you turn the policy back on. Additionally, Flex coverage doesn’t have a cancellation fee.

Turning off Unlimited Basic and Unlimited Full policies could come with a rate increase or state penalty. This is because it’s more like canceling a policy than pausing it. When you cancel coverage, you can easily withdraw funds through the Hugo site if you have any remaining money in your account.

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Hugo vs. other insurance companies

Hugo may offer a fairly new and unique insurance product, but there’s plenty of competition when it comes to coverage, affordability, and customer satisfaction. Top competitors include companies like Mile Auto, Nationwide, and State Farm.

Hugo vs. Root

Root car insurance tracks your driving behavior and miles per month to set your rate accordingly. Hugo doesn’t track behavior and uses more traditional factors to determine rates, like age, driving history, and vehicle type. Safe drivers could benefit from Root’s telematics tracking, but the insurer could also deny coverage based on your habits behind the wheel.

While Root offers same-day coverage, your initial rate could change. Root requires a test-drive that takes up to 30 days to calculate your final rate, measuring behaviors like braking, turns, and distracted driving. If you’re unhappy with your premium price after the test-drive, you have 30 days to accept or reject it.

Root offers towing and roadside assistance, and Hugo doesn’t. But Hugo has some advantages over Root for drivers looking for flexible car insurance plans. Unlike Root, Hugo offers a $0 down payment, flexible micropayments, a simple daily rate, pay-as-you-go options, and no cancellation fees for Flex policies.

Hugo vs. Mile Auto

Mile Auto is an online car insurance company that may rival Hugo’s flexibility. Instead of paying a flat rate for car insurance no matter how much — or how little — you drive, Mile Auto charges a base rate and then a per-mile rate every month, based on how many miles you drove. For example, if your base rate is $48 a month and $0.05 per mile, you may pay $58 if you drive 200 miles in a month.

Mile Auto’s average monthly costs for car insurance are $49 per month for full coverage and $49 for liability only. This is much lower than Hugo’s average monthly rates for full-coverage ($62) and liability-only car insurance ($48).

Hugo vs. Nationwide

Nationwide is also a well-known insurance company that offers auto insurance policies that are more traditional than Hugo’s. Nationwide offers auto insurance as well as a wide variety of other insurance and financial products, including homeowners insurance, renters insurance, life insurance, pet insurance, investment accounts, and more.

Unlike Hugo, Nationwide doesn’t offer customers the ability to stop and start auto insurance as they need to. However, Nationwide does have a SmartMiles pay-per-mile program that charges drivers based on how many miles they drive in a month. Nationwide’s insurance policies cost an average of $84 per month for full coverage and $84 per month for liability only. Compared to Hugo’s average monthly rates — $62 for full coverage and $48 for liability only — Nationwide may have only slightly cheaper rates.

Hugo vs. State Farm

State Farm is the largest U.S. property/casualty insurer by market share, and it offers auto insurance, homeowners insurance, renters insurance, small-business insurance, life insurance, health insurance, disability insurance, and more.

Whereas Hugo offers flexible, pay-as-you-go auto insurance, State Farm offers traditional auto insurance policies. These policies tend to be more comprehensive and customizable than Hugo’s offerings, but they may also cost more depending on how much coverage you need and how often you drive. State Farm auto insurance policies cost an average of $109 per month for full coverage and $52 per month for liability-only coverage.

How to file a claim with Hugo

If you get in an accident or something happens to your vehicle, you need to file a claim for your car insurance company to reimburse you for damages or medical costs. A claim details precisely what happened and when the incident occurred so that your insurance company can verify the incident and approve or reject your claim.

To file a claim with Hugo, take the following steps:

1. Access Hugo’s website. Once on the Hugo website, scroll down to the footer section and locate the “Help” button. Click on it to proceed.

2. Select “File a Claim.” Within the Help options, find and click on “File a Claim” from the list provided. This option will guide you through the process of reporting your incident for your account.

3. Choose your state. After selecting File a Claim, you may need to specify your state. Insurance regulations and processes can vary by state, so this step ensures you receive accurate and relevant information.

4. View contact information. Hugo’s system will then give you the appropriate phone number for your state. Take note of this number, as you’ll need to call it to get assistance with submitting your claim.

5. File the claim by phone. Dial the provided phone number to speak with a representative. Be prepared to provide detailed information about the incident, including what happened and when it occurred. This information is crucial for Hugo to verify the incident and process your claim.

Hugo Insurance FAQs