State Farm Insurance fired back Wednesday at critics who allege its new discount program will only benefit drivers of SUVs and other large vehicles. The company annouced on Tuesday it would lower rates up to 40 percent for drivers of safer vehicles. Consumer groups and safety experts responded quickly to say only drivers of SUVs will be discounted. State Farm contends these reports are inaccurate.
On its website State Farm lists the best 36 models in terms of safety. The vehicles on the list include two-door Fords, two-door Saabs, four-door Mercedes-Benzes, as well as Dodge and Chrysler vans. SUVs do not make up even half of the list.
"The issue is complicated, but [the savings] are probably not going to be that big of a factor when someone's buying a large new vehicle," said Rosemary Shahan, president of Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety. "People don't make buying decisions about that kind of money." Shahan contends that insurance pricing is not going to affect the buying of SUVs or other large, expensive vehicles.
State Farm says it based the new program on research which indicated certain policy holders were safer.
"The research showed that people who purchased certain types - with safety features and cars which are well constructed - had less injuries," said Lonny Haskins, public affairs specialist for State Farm. "This was based on claim pay-outs, it is not an SUV program."
Haskins said the notion that State Farm is sanctioning rate reductions for SUV drivers was a misconception on the part of the media.
"The top discount applies to more than just the SUVs," he said.
The top discount is a 40 percent discount for medical payments and personal injury protection premiums and would amount to no more than $50 a year, according to State Farm.
Some consumer groups and safety experts said this program would penalize drivers of smaller vehicles who cannot afford large cars.
"This does send the signal that there may be problems for others not in the vehicles," Shahan said. "It could desensitize people to the big picture. What does this mean to everyone, because we're all on the roads together?"
Shahan does agree however, that the effects of the new program were exaggerated and the real-world effects will not be so drastic.
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