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STARTING TOMORROW, Allstate Insurance Co. will lower the cost of its auto insurance for the "best" drivers among its policyholders by increasing an already-existing "Premier Plus" discount.
I should add quickly that Allstate says its "best" drivers are also most of its policyholders. Admittedly, I found the use of a superlative surprising in such circumstances, but, then again, I've always found attempts to understand insurance to be like trips through Wonderland.
Bill Goff, Allstate's regional underwriting manager, said that of the company's 700,000 policyholders in a 10-county area, including Nassau, Suffolk and Queens, about 70 percent, or 495,000, will benefit from the change in the discount.
What's happening here is that Allstate Insurance Co. will add 5 percent to a 15 percent discount for customers with a sterling driving record. The change was approved last month by the state Insurance Department.
New customers who sign up with Allstate starting tomorrow will receive the higher discount if they qualify, and existing customers will be affected as their policies are renewed, effective March 22.
Still it seems safe to say that neither this change, to be applied statewide, nor others by competitors can take the sting out of New York's high average cost of auto insurance, which is second only to New Jersey's, according to 1996 data, the latest available from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.
Allstate's move, which it estimates would lower its premiums in the state by about $40 million in the first year, underscores one simple point: Discounts can be important.
Some are mandated by state law - those for certain anti-theft devices, for example. Others are given as an insurer's option. Good-driving discounts are not required, though they are common but variable.
Allstate Insurance Co. is New York's largest auto insurer, with about 1.2 million policyholders in the state. Within Allstate Corp., Allstate Insurance is the company...