Direct Auto vs. Pekin Insurance

Which insurance company is right for you? Compare premiums, pros & cons, and quotes from Direct Auto and Pekin.

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Direct Auto vs. Pekin: What You Need to Know

In 1991, William Adair had the vision of creating a premier, non-standard automobile insurance company that served customers better than any other insurer, He founded Direct Auto Company, the first company owned by Direct General Insurance Group, headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee. The business has since expanded, but the beliefs remain true to Adair’s original vision.

Direct Auto Company specializes in providing auto insurance for all people, even those considered “high-risk” or who need SR-22 certification. Today, Direct Auto Company has more than 400 retail store locations across the United States and provides consumers a variety of products and services online, in-store and over the phone.

In 1921, a group of farmers, all members of the Tazewell County Farm Bureau, formed an organization to make automobile insurance more affordable. The organization was called The Farmers Automobile Insurance Association. The first Pekin Insurance office was located in the Tazewell County Courthouse, a space donated by the County Board Supervisors. With 187 policies, the six-month premium was $5 for glass, fire, lightning, windstorm, full-coverage collision, property damage, and bodily injury. All cars were charged the same premium. In 1932, they added 24-hour claim service. They adopted the telephone number #1334 for claims service. By 1939, Pekin had 20,000 policies and by 1945, 30,000. In 1952, they added fire insurance and in 1960, Inland Marine coverage. In 1966, the company moved into its new and current home office on Court Street and they now have 8 service offices in six states: Arizona, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Ohio, and Wisconsin. Pekin Life Insurance Company, which was established in 1969, also offers products in Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. They began selling group health insurance in 1970 and pre-need insurance in 1993. In 2010, they adopted a new slogan, Beyond the expected®. In 2011, they created a unit called Group Plan Solutions for businesses. Today Pekin Insurance has over 900,000 policyholders and more than 8,500 independent agents.

Below is a list of average rates, rankings, products, and discounts for the two companies. For full company overviews, you can visit Direct Auto Overview and Pekin Insurance Overview.

Direct Auto vs. Pekin Insurance: How much are the Average Rates?

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Direct Auto vs. Pekin Insurance: Rates by Number of Vehicle

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Direct Auto vs. Pekin Insurance: Rates by Homeownership

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What is Direct Auto and Pekin Insurance Rating?

Which car insurance company is better? We've made it easy to compare companies side by side. See how Direct Auto and Pekin ranked among the industry ratings.

ComparisonDirect AutoPekin
Year Founded19911921
BBB RatingA+c-
Financial StrengthExcellentExcellent
NAIC Complaint Index6.06

Direct Auto or Pekin: Insurance Products Offered

What coverage is available through Direct Auto and Pekin? Both insurance companies offer Auto, Commercial, Health, Motorcycle, and RV insurance. Additional products from Pekin insurance also includes Condo, Home, Life, Renters, and Umbrella insurance. Considering these two top insurance providers? Check out the list below. To view a full list of products that are available, visit Direct Auto and Pekin Insurance Insurance page.

InsuranceDirect AutoPekin
Auto Insurance
Commercial Insurance
Condo Insurance
Health Insurance
Home Insurance
Life Insurance
Motorcycle Insurance
Renters Insurance
RV Insurance
Umbrella Insurance

Direct Auto or Pekin: Ways To Save

Pekin offers a wide range of discounts to its policyholders, including Anti-theft Device, Auto/Home Bundle, and Defensive Driver (Not Available in Indiana) discounts. Direct Auto also offers a few discounts that Pekin doesn’t include Welcome Back, Senior Citizen, and Safe Driver discounts. Start taking advantage of discounts offered by insurance providers like Pekin and Direct Auto insurance and save yourself some money. You can review the full list of discounts that these two companies offer below.

Direct AutoPekin
Affinity DiscountAdvance Issue
Good Student DiscountAnti-theft Device
Homeowner DiscountAuto/Home Bundle
Mileage DiscountDefensive Driver (Not Available in Indiana)
Military DiscountEFT
Multi-Car DiscountGood Student
Multi-Product DiscountHybrid Auto
Prior Coverage DiscountMandatory Seatbelt (Only Available in Iowa)
Renewal DiscountMulti-Car
Safe Driver DiscountPaid-in-Full
Senior Citizen DiscountSafety Equipment (Only Available in Ohio)
Welcome Back DiscountTenure

Pros & Cons of Direct Auto & Pekin

Pros

Direct Auto
  • Flexible billing options and customizable insurance payments
  • Affordable rates regardless of consumers driving history
  • Offers SR-22 filing for drivers
  • Offers a variety of discounts
Pekin
  • Lots of supplemental or “add on” insurance options.

Cons

Direct Auto
  • Claims only by phone. There is no option to file a claim online.
Pekin
  • A high number of negative reviews.
  • Confusing website.
  • It only serves these states: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Wisconsin.

Direct Auto or Pekin Mobile Apps Options

Not rated. Pekin only has an Insurance Events app on Google Play, which is intended to help you with schedules, dining information, maps and more.

Direct Auto Mobile App
Direct Auto does not currently have a mobile app.
Pekin Mobile App
Meemic does not currently have a mobile app for insurance products

Direct Auto & Pekin Contact Info

Direct Auto Contact Info
Address1128 Murfreesboro Road, Nashville, TN
Phone1-877-463-4732
Websitehttps://www.directauto.com/
Facebookhttp://www.facebook.com/directautoIns
Twitterhttps://twitter.com/directautoins
Youtubehttps://www.youtube.com/user/DirectAutoIns
Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/directautoins/

Pekin Contact Info
Address2505 Court St, Pekin, IL 61558
Phone1-800-322-0160
Websitehttps://www.pekininsurance.com/
Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/PekinInsurance/
Youtubehttps://www.youtube.com/user/PekinInsurance
Twitterhttps://twitter.com/pekininsurance
Linkedinhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/pekin-insurance/

Methodology
The statistics listed on this page are from our own in house reporting. We track and record quotes that carriers have provided based on various criteria. The rates and averages shown on this page should only be used as an estimate.

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