experts conducted one of the nation's most extensive reviews to collect car insurance information over 18 months. We surveyed over 18,000 policyholders from all 50 states, asking them about their experience with their insurance company’s customer service, renewal process, claims handling, and more.

So, is Hugo a good insurance company?

Yes—especially for drivers who want temporary or short-term car insurance. If you want the flexibility of car insurance coverage when you want it, Hugo is for you.

Instead of billing customers monthly or every six months, Hugo allows policyholders to make micropayments, so they get three days of insurance coverage and the daily rates are low. Customers can pay for longer policies that last weeks or months. Customers who don’t frequently drive can turn off their insurance and save money!

According to our survey of Hugo Insurance policyholders, 87.5% had a positive impression of the company, while only 8% had a negative association and 4% were neutral. To put things in perspective, 64% positive to 18.5% is the national average ratio—so Hugo is doing a great job!

The good: Hugo provides affordable insurance for people who don’t drive every day. Customers don’t feel tied to a policy that they have to renew every six months. Other positives include:

Hugo offers full coverage in some states for drivers who want more than just liability

The company model allows you to pay as you go

You can easily adjust your coverage dates, amounts, or insurance types

The not-so-great:

The company might not offer insurance coverage in your state

Hugo Insurance does not offer discounts

High-risk drivers might not be able to find the coverage they need

Hugo doesn’t offer renter’s or homeowner’s insurance, so you can’t bundle policies

Jump to:

Hugo Car Insurance Reviews

Hugo Pros and Cons

Our survey asked Hugo Insurance drivers to rate the company on its cost, customer service, claims process, renewal, and overall satisfaction.

See how Hugo Insurance’s ratings compared to the national average of all companies surveyed below:

Criteria	Hugo's Rating	Industry Average
Overall	4.4	4.1
Cost / Price	3.7	3.8
Claim Experience	3.5	3.5
Customer Service	3.8	4
Renewal Experience	4.2	4

Hugo Insurance is a newcomer to the insurance market. It launched in 2021 and specializes in on-demand insurance. This unique insurance option gives customers the ability to turn off and on insurance coverage, so they don’t pay for insurance on days they don’t drive.

Real Hugo Insurance car insurance reviews

We wanted to know what real Hugo Insurance customers thought about the company in their own words. Read through a few of these reviews:

Hugo pros and cons

Hugo has solid ratings and ranks well in our survey of drivers. Here are our thoughts on the company:

Pros

Options for drivers who can’t afford to pay large premiums every month

Easy to pay for insurance online or on your phone

No upfront fees or downpayment to start

Cons

Not available in most of the country

Might not be the best for people who drive every day

No mobile app is available

The focus is on liability rather than full coverage

Is Hugo the right insurance company for you?

Hugo Insurance specializes in basic liability, although you can get full comprehensive or collision coverage in Illinois. Hugo is probably the best car insurance for:

Drivers who want a flex plan when it comes to coverage or payments

Drivers who want the bare minimum insurance coverage

People who don’t drive every day and want on-demand coverage

Keep in mind: Hugo Insurance does not offer

SR-22 certificates

for high-risk drivers. If your state requires you to file one, you’ll have to get car insurance from a different provider.

You won’t find homeowner’s, renter’s insurance, pet insurance, life insurance, or motorcycle insurance with Hugo.

Click on the buttons below to see how we rate Hugo Insurance’s car insurance services.

Is Hugo car insurance expensive?

Just like any insurance company, Hugo offers its lowest rates to drivers who have a clean driving record.

54% of the Hugo policyholders we surveyed mentioned cost, with 64% of them giving positive feedback. 21% provided negative reviews and 14% were neutral.

It helps to see where Hugo ranks alongside similarly sized companies. In our survey, Hugo Insurance placed 22nd out of 53 companies for cost satisfaction. The company received a 3.7 out of 5 for its cost—slightly below the average of 3.8.

Although each auto insurance company has a formula for

calculating its insurance rates

, Hugo Insurance will consider these factors:

Personal demographics

Auto insurance coverage limits

Driving and insurance history

Type of insurance

Vehicle make, model, and year

Location

Location plays a big factor in determining your insurance premium—especially since Hugo only operates in 13 states. Take a look at how much your insurance premiums could vary from state to state:

MORE:

The average cost of car insurance in 2023

Hugo cost reviews

Check out how real Jerry users rated Hugo based on cost:

Will Hugo raise your rates?

The beauty of micropayments is that Hugo won’t significantly raise your insurance premiums every six months. Instead, you might see a very slight adjustment in your daily rate.

Hugo Insurance might raise your rates if:

Inflation rises

You’re insuring an additional driver or vehicle

You move cities

You’re in a car accident or get a traffic violation

Our survey found that 92% of Hugo Insurance customers chose to renew their auto insurance policy with the company!

Does Hugo resolve claims fast?

Hugo Insurance doesn’t advertise how quickly it resolves claims and customer reviews on its claims process are scarce.

file a claim

, log in to your Hugo account online or on your phone. Once you report the accident, Hugo will send your claim to a third party to investigate and handle it. Some customers might not like the fact that Hugo isn’t directly involved in the claims process.

Does Hugo have good customer service?

Hugo Insurance isn’t well known for great customer service. For one thing, Hugo doesn’t make it easy to call a customer service agent—its website doesn’t even provide a customer service phone number.

Instead, Hugo directs policyholders to log in to their accounts and use the chat option from there or to send an email to the customer service department.

In our survey of Hugo drivers, they gave the company 3.75 stars out of 5 for its customer service satisfaction rating—below the national average of 3.9. This places the company at 22 out of 53 similarly sized car insurance companies.

Hugo customer service reviews

Check out how real Jerry users rated Hugo based on customer service:

Hugo car insurance discounts

Hugo Insurance does not offer

discounts

because they give very low daily rates. Plus, they don’t offer extra coverages that discounts usually apply to.

Hugo coverage options

Hugo Insurance displays its insurance products a little differently than most companies. You have three options when it comes to choosing an insurance policy. Each of them should meet your

state’s minimum insurance coverage

(liability coverage).

Here are Hugo’s coverage options:

Basic plan: This is a traditional

liability insurance

policy that meets your state’s requirements for

bodily injury liability (BIL)

and

Property Damage Liability (PDL)

. Although liability only pays for damages you cause when you’re driving, Hugo’s basic plan offers optional

medical coverage

and Accidental Death Coverage.

Flex plan: This plan is a pay-per-day liability policy. You’ll get the same type of insurance coverage as the basic plan, but you’ll get the ability to turn off insurance on days you don’t drive and then turn coverage back on when you do.

Full plan: This combines the liability coverage of a basic plan with

comprehensive coverage

and

collision coverage

, which pay for damages to your vehicle and personal injury. Hugo allows you to adjust your coverage amounts, and you can add medical coverage, accidental death coverage, and rental coverage.

Keep in mind: As of Fall 2023, Hugo no longer offers full coverage in California. This means full coverage is only available in Illinois.

Hugo’s additional tools and services

Hugo Insurance is very bare bones—no extra bells and whistles like roadside assistance or even a mobile app. You’re essentially just getting the insurance you need and nothing more.

FAQs

Does Hugo Insurance report to the DMV?

No, at this time, Hugo doesn’t offer

SR-22

filing for high-risk drivers.

How good is Hugo Insurance at paying claims?

Although Hugo is a newcomer to the insurance scene, customers have positive things to say about the company’s claims resolution. Trustpilot gives the company 3.8, which is an excellent rating.

Does Hugo Insurance have good customer reviews?

Yes, of the thousands of reviews on Trustpilot, 90% of respondents gave Hugo a 5-star review.

What is the grace period for Hugo Insurance?

You have ten days following a billing notice to pay your bill or Hugo will cancel your coverage. Keep in mind that you will have to pay for the coverage during this grace period.

What states does Hugo Insurance operate in?

Illinois has access to Hugo Insurance’s full range of insurance products. California used to, but as of August 2023, Hugo no longer operates in California.

Hugo still operates in Texas, Arizona, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, South Carolina, Indiana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. The company also has plans to launch in Virginia and Kentucky.

Read all Hugo car insurance reviews

Methodology

The Insurance Research Team analyzes insurance products and services to drive insights and help consumers make informed purchase decisions. Insurance research: We analyzed over 25 million car insurance quotes; conducted the largest insurance shopping survey (over 18,000 customers surveyed and 120 carriers reviewed in the past 18 months). We surveyed insurance policyholders for their experience with their insurers in the following areas: (1) insurance cost (2) customer service (3) insurance buying experience (4) insurance renewal experience (5) claim experience. In addition, we asked people what they like about their insurers and what areas in which their insurers could improve. The driver characteristics used in calculating average rates for auto insurance include: single driver, single car, currently insured, clean driving record. For the quotes and sold policies included in this article, please note that personal information has been hidden. Not all customers find savings. Team: The team consists of licensed insurance agents, insurance industry veterans, and data scientists.

Meet Our Experts

R.E. Fulton

Licensed Insurance Agent —Senior Content Writer

R.E. Fulton is an expert insurance writer specializing in car ownership topics from car shopping and loan advice to insurance and repair guides. R.E.’s mission is to create unique and accessible content that helps readers to become more successful and independent car owners. R.E. has written and edited over 900 high-performing articles for Jerry, with an average of 1 million+ views.

As a senior writer on Jerry’s editorial team, R.E. draws on over 10 years of experience as a professional writer and digital publishing specialist. Prior to joining Jerry’s editorial team in 2021, R.E. worked as a writing coach at Columbia University, the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), and the University of Rochester. They serve as a managing editor for peer-reviewed history publication Nursing Clio, where their work has appeared regularly since 2015.

Lina Zhang

Licensed Insurance Agent

Licensed in 50 states and Washington DC

Lina Zhang is Vice President of Operations at Jerry. She helped to found Jerry in order to take the confusion and mystery expenses out of car ownership and help drivers achieve financial success. Leading a global team responsible for operations, talent acquisition, legal, and content, Lina has been a key contributor to the AllCar™ app’s 10x growth in its first year of operation. Prior to Jerry, Lina and her Jerry co-founders, Art Agrawal and Musawir Shah, created YourMechanic, the largest on-demand car repair services provider. In one year, Lina built and scaled YourMechanic operations from just five markets to more than 50. The trio left YourMechanic to incubate Jerry at Y Combinator in 2017. Lina’s previous roles include intellectual property attorney at Morrison & Foerster LLP and a biomedical researcher at Stanford University.

Josh Damico

Head Of Insurance Operations

18+ Years Experience in Insurance

Josh Damico is Jerry’s vice president of insurance operations and a licensed insurance professional with nearly two decades of experience in the industry. Previously, Josh held executive roles at Geico, where he had vast regional oversight and leadership opportunities. He holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration and management from Medaille College, and has appeared on news channels including FOX and CBS to offer insurance expertise and tips to drivers across the country. His work has appeared in Business Insider, Kelley Blue Book, and Digital Insurance and been quoted in The Balance, GOBankingRates, and Inspiring Workplaces.

*Illustration only. For all the pricing information presented in this article (including various tables), please note that not all customers find savings and the information is for illustrative purposes only. Savings depend on type of car, location, policy features, driving history and other factors. Drivers who switch through Jerry save over $70/month on average.