Most Americans Don’t Trust Insurers Will Help Them When Something Goes Wrong, Study Finds

Only 37% of Americans believe that their insurance companies will help them when problems arise, according to a new survey from Guardian Service. But despite this lack of trust, most still consider insurance a necessity they wouldn’t go without.

Seventy-seven percent of people view car insurance as essential, and 57% reported viewing homeowners or renters insurance as essential.

A small percentage view insurance as a luxury they’ll keep only if they can afford it. About 3% of people viewed car insurance as a luxury, and 6% said home and renters insurance are a luxury.

Others view home and car insurance as being nice to have, but they would do without the coverages if necessary. Nine percent would skip out on car insurance if needed, and 19% would skip home or renters insurance coverage if necessary. Of the people surveyed by Guardian Service, 24% said they’ve previously reduced insurance for a car or home at some point to save money.

Insurify’s own research corroborates these findings, with 53% of surveyed insured drivers reporting they had considered reducing their car insurance coverage due to financial worries. About 18% of those Insurify surveyed reported already cutting back on their coverage to better manage financial concerns.

What’s next? Risks of cutting coverage

In the last year alone, 29% of people reported decreasing or canceling some type of insurance coverage, according to the Guardian Service survey. In all, 15% did so for car insurance, 8% for health insurance, 5% for homeowners insurance, 4% for pet insurance, and 4% for renters insurance.

Decreasing insurance coverage opens people up to more financial risks in the event of damages, accidents, or liability.

For example, 8% of the drivers who reported scaling back car insurance in the Guardian Service survey downgraded from full coverage to liability-only insurance. While decreasing coverage can save drivers money each month, it also exposes them to potentially high out-of-pocket costs following vehicle damage.

“This change in coverage will make you responsible for damage done to your own vehicle in the event of an accident or claim,” said Buddy Parkhurst, an Insurify insurance agent.

Increasing the car insurance deductible is a less risky way to save money on premiums than cutting coverage, according to Parkhurst.

“If you go from $500 to $1,000 on your deductible, then you’re only increasing your exposure by $500 in the event of a claim,” he said. “However, if you decrease your bodily injury limits on your auto policy from 100/300 down to 50/100, you lose a potential $200,000 in coverage.”

That’s a risk some drivers are willing to take to save money.

One in three Americans said they would temporarily go without insurance to have more money to cover essentials, according to Guardian Service’s survey. And one in five said they would prefer having no insurance to paying increasingly expensive monthly premiums.

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