Direct Auto Insurance Review: Unique Discounts and Coverage Options

This auto insurer is a good fit for: Drivers who are primarily interested in insuring their cars and don't mind paying a little extra for great online tools and rare coverage options

Direct Auto Insurance at a glance

Monthly premium costs:

• 35-year-old female with clean driving record: $268.78
• 35-year-old male with clean driving record: $282.35
• 35-year-old female with one accident: $379.45
• 18-year-old male with clean driving record: $655.16

Coverage options:

• Bodily injury liability
• Property damage liability
• Personal injury protection (PIP)
• Uninsured motorist
• Medical payments
• Collision
• Comprehensive
• Roadside assistance
• Rental reimbursement
• Accident forgiveness
• Accidental death
• Emergency protection plan
• Term life insurance

Top perks

User-friendly online tools

Direct Auto Insurance has online tools that can rival some of the top auto insurers. The quote tool is simple and streamlined, and it's easy to go back and edit information if necessary. There's also online bill pay and account management features.

Unique optional coverage

In addition to the minimum coverage required by law, Direct Auto Insurance offers some unique add-ons. These include its term life insurance and emergency protection plan. This pays benefits directly to the policyholder following a car accident to help cover costs, including:

• Medical bills
• Auto rentals
• Lost personal effects
• Accidental death and dismemberment

Policyholders don't need to pay for this coverage if they're not interested, but it is a nice option to have for those who are worried about out-of-pocket costs following an accident.

Nice selection of discounts

Direct Auto Insurance offers all the common auto insurance discounts, like multi-policy and safe driver discounts and is transparent about how much drivers can save with each one. It also offers some less-common ways to save, like discounts for seniors and military members as well as members of certain affinity organizations. There's even a discount for drivers returning to Direct Auto Insurance if they've had a Direct Auto policy at any point in the past.

What could be improved

Policies can be expensive

Don't expect cheap auto insurance with Direct Auto Insurance, as its rates were above average in our quote analysis. However, this may not be the case for every driver. Those who qualify for some of the rare discounts discussed above may secure a more affordable rate. It's still worth getting a quote to see what a Direct Auto Insurance policy would cost.

Little data on customer satisfaction

Direct Auto Insurance hasn't been featured in any large car insurance satisfaction studies, so it's difficult to gauge how its customer service stacks up to its competitors. However, the company appears to put a strong emphasis on personalized support. It has agents standing by both on the phone and at its physical branches to assist customers with their policies.

For an insurer known for its affordable rates: GEICO is one of the best-known cheap auto insurers because it offers a variety of discounts available to help drivers keep costs low. It has pretty comprehensive policies too, but drivers won't find some of the unique options, like term life insurance offered by Direct Auto Insurance.

For an insurer known for great customer service: State Farm fared well in the 2021 J.D. Power Auto Insurer Customer Satisfaction Survey and is known for its excellent customer service. It also offers comprehensive policies, though it too is missing some of the unique add-ons found with Direct Auto Insurance.

Direct Auto Insurance's rates were above average for the groups that we looked at, particularly for young drivers and those with accidents on their records. But drivers who qualify for some of Direct Auto Insurance's discounts may be able to secure a better rate.

Direct Auto Insurance offers a variety of driver, vehicle, and policy discounts that can help drivers save up to 25% on their car insurance rates. Some of these discounts are pretty hard to find, including the Welcome Back discount for returning former policyholders and the discounts for seniors and military members. Here's a full list of Direct Auto Insurance discounts:

• Military discount
• Safe driver discount
• Good student discount
• Senior citizen discount
• Multi-car discount
• Multi-product discount
• Prior coverage discount
• Homeowner discount
• Renewal discount
• Welcome back discount
• Affinity discount

Policy types

• Auto insurance
• Motorcycle insurance
• Commercial auto insurance
• Mexico auto insurance

Direct Auto Insurance doesn't insure as many types of vehicles as some of its competitors, so it may not be one of the best car insurance companies for drivers who are hoping to insure boats, RVs, and cars together. But it could still be a great option for drivers who are mostly interested in auto insurance.

Coverage types

• Bodily injury liability
• Property damage liability
• Personal injury protection (PIP)
• Uninsured motorist
• Medical payments
• Collision
• Comprehensive
• Roadside assistance
• Rental reimbursement
• Accident forgiveness
• Accidental death
• Emergency protection plan
• Term life insurance

Direct Auto Insurance offers all the standard coverage options drivers would expect to see with an auto insurer. It also has a few unique features, including its accidental death and term life insurance coverage.

It's difficult to gauge how Direct Auto Insurance's customer service compares to its competitors because it hasn't been featured in any large auto insurance customer satisfaction surveys. However, it does have a large number of glowing reviews on its company website and an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau.

• Drivers who are primarily interested in insuring their cars
• Drivers interested in term life insurance and other rare coverage options
• Drivers who want strong online tools but value live support when they need it