Grinnell Mutual announces the Trust in Tomorrow® Premium Payback

Grinnell Mutual knows its customers are driving fewer miles during the COVID-19 pandemic because of social isolation guidelines and work-from-home policies. In response, Grinnell Mutual has created the Trust in Tomorrow Premium Payback.

Personal auto policyholders will be receiving a check for $30 per personal auto policy that covers a qualifying vehicle. Checks will be mailed by May 31.

As a percentage of direct written premium, this $5 million investment is comparable to what other carriers have announced. It will be shared among roughly 166,000 auto policyholders in all of our writing states.

"Grinnell Mutual was founded 111 years ago on the concept of serving our policyholders in their times of need — it is our primary purpose and why we exist," said Jeff Menary, Grinnell Mutual president and CEO. “Usually that occurs after an accident or a weather-related loss. Today, we are proud to serve our policyholders by taking actions to assist those who are driving less and for businesses that have been forced to change their operations because of the COVID-19 pandemic."

About the Trust in Tomorrow® Premium Payback

Does my auto policy qualify for a $30 Trust in Tomorrow Premium Payback?

Personal auto policies with a qualifying vehicle in force as of April 24, 2020, will receive a $30 premium payback.

What vehicles qualify?

Qualifying vehicles are:

Private passenger auto
Farm pickup (1-ton)
Farm truck, medium (2-ton)
Light truck
Heavy truck
Extra-heavy truck
Farm semi-tractor
Extra-heavy semi-tractor

What if I have two qualifying vehicles on the same policy? How much will I get?

The premium payback is based on the number of policies, not the number of vehicles. If you have more than one qualifying policy, each policy will receive a premium payback.

For example:

If you have two qualifying policies, one for a family car and one for a farm truck, you would receive $60.
If you have one family car and one farm truck on the same policy, you would receive $30 as both vehicles are on a single policy.

If I qualify for more than one premium payback, will I receive multiple checks?

If your qualifying policies have the same name and address, you will receive one combined check for all policies. If the names or addresses are different on the policies, you will receive separate checks.

Other ways we're helping policyholders

The Trust in Tomorrow Premium Payback is only one of several actions Grinnell Mutual has taken to help both auto and commercial policyholders through this unsettled time.

School-permit drivers: Because 13- to 15-year-old drivers are not driving to school and other activities, youthful driver policies will be reclassified, offering premium savings for policyholders. The premium change will be retroactive to March 16, 2020, and continue until school restarts.
Vacant buildings: Grinnell Mutual serves mostly small businesses, which are being especially hard hit by the pandemic. Our goal is to prevent further economic harm, so we will support those policyholders by not enforcing policy coverage exclusions for vacant property. We believe it would be unfair to put policyholders in a situation where the vacancy clause means they are not covered during a state-mandated shutdown for what would otherwise be a covered cause of loss.
Restaurant delivery: To assist restaurants during the current shift to delivery and take-out only, Grinnell Mutual is offering short-term hired and non-owned auto delivery coverage (applicable to current insureds only).
Moratoriums: The company has already taken the step of placing a moratorium on cancellations or non-renewals due to non-payment on all types of policies through June 30, 2020, longer than many state-mandated moratoriums. The company will follow other state moratoriums if they are extended, and moratoriums for all states in our writing territory will be set to the latest date of that issued by any state in our territory. (Read more about our extension of the moratorium.)

Workers' compensation rules changes due to COVID-19 pandemic

The National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) has released new and revised rules associated with COVID-19. These rules detail changes to the workers’ compensation policy classification of payments to employees who are furloughed due to pandemic-related federal, state, and/or local emergency orders.

Paid furloughed employees continue to be paid during the temporary layoff or involuntary leave. These employees may not perform any work duties for their employer during their furlough.

In order to qualify for the reclassification and exclusion of payroll to furloughed employees, employers must maintain separate, accurate, and verifiable records of payments made to employees furloughed due to COVID-19.

The employer would deduct that amount from the job-duty class that would normally apply to that furloughed employee’s payroll. Accurately documented furloughed payroll will then be excluded from premium calculations when your policy is audited.

Other workers’ compensation policy payroll reallocations or payroll reductions may also be available for employees whose job duties have been modified or changed during the health emergency. Additionally, you may be eligible to revise the premium basis used on the current term for your Workers’ Compensation, General Liability, or Businessowner’s Liability policy based on changes in your operations.

Please contact your agent for complete details.

Charitable giving

Our company’s core values have always included a commitment to serve the community we call home, and the pandemic has made that commitment even more important and urgent.

Resources for COVID-19 (coronavirus) information

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