As the pandemic forced drivers off the road, auto insurance companies complied by offering money back on auto policy premiums, which has now landed some in a lawsuit.

Allstate, among other large auto insurers, was sued last week in six separate lawsuits filed in Cook Country, Illinois, claiming that they failed to reduce premiums for Illinois auto insurance holders sufficiently during the coronavirus pandemic, the Chicago Tribune reported.

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, as well as the majority of state governors across the country, issued a stay-at-home order that forced residents to shelter in place and avoid going out unless it was for essential activities during the coronavirus pandemic.

The lawsuits filed against the auto insurers claimed that they did not provide “fair and appropriate” rebates during the pandemic, and accused them of unfairly profiting from the higher premium rates when drivers were not on the road, the Tribune said.

The plaintiffs in the suit compared the insurers to Bloomington, Illinois-based State Farm, which gave its customers a 25% credit for the weeks of March 20 to May 31, versus Allstate’s 15% credit for the month of April, May, and June, saying that it fell “far short of the relief that any fair and reasonable actuarial analysis would require,” according to the Tribune.

The number of miles that Illinois drivers drove in spring reportedly dropped by nearly two-thirds. Illinois has reported over 184,500 positive cases of the coronavirus, with over 7,700 COVID-19 deaths as of Tuesday afternoon, according to Johns Hopkins University.

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An Allstate insurance office is shown in San Francisco, California February 10, 2010. REUTERS
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