Oregon Attorney Lawyer

Had a couple of minor car accidents that you don’t want to count against your insurance premium? Want to be able to replace your totaled car without absorbing the cost of depreciation on your old car? No problem, says Allstate Corp.

New York’s largest auto insurer is preparing to introduce a new set of auto insurance packages in the state designed to give customers special features that consumers say they want — for a price, of course.

Special options include having one or more accidents forgiven, earning “safe driving” rewards toward paying the deductible or premium, and receiving full replacement value without depreciation on a total loss so that a policyholder can get a new car from the current model year. They cost up to 18 percent more than a standard policy.

The company calls its “Your Choice Auto” program a “revolutionary” product for consumers that will “forever change the way they view auto insurance.”

“This is more than just an enhancement to our standard auto product,” Allstate president Thomas J. Wilson said in a statement.

Introduction of the program in New York is planned for August, pending approval by state insurance regulators. It’s already available in Arizona, Illinois, New Mexico, Ohio, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Wisconsin. Other rollouts will continue through 2006.

However, the program isn’t as unique as Allstate might imply. Many companies already offer one or more of those features, with slight variations. They’re just not rolled together into one package for a single fee, and not marketed or advertised jointly.

“All of us are talking about stepping up to the plate and providing more services,” said Robin Harbage, product development manager for Progressive Direct, the direct-to-consumer unit of Progressive Corp., based in Mayfield Village, Ohio. “They’re doing an excellent job of putting them together and packaging them better than a lot of other insurers have done.”

One consumer advocate questioned the value. “I don’t think it’s unique,” said J. Robert Hunter, director of insurance at Consumer Federation of America. “There are some aspects that are different, but I wouldn’t pay more for that right to have an accident waived.”

Auto insurance has become highly competitive in the past decade, especially as direct-to-consumer models have grown. With state laws often dictating coverages for all insurers, products have become commodities, with the primary difference being service and price. Allstate hopes to separate itself from the pack.

“The larger competitors are trying to distinguish themselves to the customers,” said Anthony Diodato, vice president for personal lines at ratings firm A.M. Best Co. in Oldwick, N.J. “What they’re doing has a different twist to it and I’m sure it will be appealing to some customers.”

The new product also comes as New York regulators have been pushing auto insurers, including Allstate, to cut their rates after fraud-fighting efforts in recent years resulted in much lower industry losses. Allstate in May agreed to cut rates by 3 percent to 5 percent.

Along with the lower rates and Your Choice, Allstate also is expanding the number of rating “tiers” and price levels to 27 from the current four. That means it will be easier to pinpoint a customer’s risk to the company and price their policy accordingly to match the actual risk.

“Our mission is to make auto insurance as affordable as possible,” said Bill Goff, New York field product manager. “Not all of these things will be important to everybody, but a lot of them will be important to a lot of people.”

The Northbrook, Ill.-based insurer developed Your Choice based on consumer surveys. The program features four levels: platinum, gold, standard and value. The standard policy is the traditional offering.