Why Did My Direct Auto Insurance Go Up?

If your Direct Auto car insurance went up recently, the public rate records we could check do not show a recent company-wide increase behind it: in Texas, the last personal auto rate filing by Direct General Insurance Company with a change other than 0.0% was a 6.7% increase received in July 2021 ². Before that, the same company filed a 20.5% increase in January 2020 and smaller increases in 2017, 2018 and 2019 ².

That points to causes on your own policy, such as a new claim or ticket, a lost discount, a new car or driver, a move or a coverage change, to a policy written by a different company in the group, or to filings in another state that we could not check. Each filed percentage is an average for the company's existing policyholders, not a forecast for any one bill. This page explains who Direct Auto is, which records exist and what to check. We are not affiliated with the insurers named.

Direct Auto Insurance is a brand. Its website says "Direct Auto Insurance" is the registered alias, or doing-business-as name, of Direct General Insurance Agency, Inc., and that the policies sold under the brand are "underwritten by our insurance company affiliates" ¹. The same footer says the brand covers policies produced by Direct General Insurance Agency, Inc. and National General Insurance Marketing, Inc. for National General Group affiliates, based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina ¹. The site does not list which affiliate writes policies in which state ¹.

The site also warns that the brand is not associated with Direct Auto Insurance Company, a separate Illinois company ¹. If you search for your insurer by name, make sure you are looking at the right one.

A Mississippi Insurance Department examination of an affiliate, Direct General Insurance Company of Mississippi, sets out the history. It says National General Holdings Corporation completed its acquisition of the Direct General companies on November 1, 2016, and that The Allstate Corporation completed its acquisition of National General and its subsidiaries on January 4, 2021 ⁵. Allstate's 2025 annual report says it sells auto insurance "under the Allstate, National General, Direct Auto and Answer Financial brands," and that Direct Auto products are also available through employees in approximately 500 retail stores ⁶.

The Mississippi report adds two details about how the Direct General insurers work. For the Mississippi company, it says affiliated agencies sell its products through neighborhood sales offices, by phone and online, under a producer agreement with what is now Direct General Insurance Agency, Inc. ⁵. It also says that under an agreement effective January 1, 2017, the Mississippi company, Direct General Insurance Company and three other Direct General insurers cede all of their net liability to Integon National, the lead reinsurer for the National General Group's property and casualty companies ⁵. Each insurer still files its own rates, as the Texas records below show ².

Texas does not set auto rates. The Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) says it "doesn't set insurance rates or premiums," and that companies can use new rates the same day they send them to TDI or choose a later effective date ⁴.

TDI publishes each filing with a percent change, which it describes as the estimated impact on existing policyholders, adding that the impact can be higher or lower for any one policyholder ³. A pending filing is still under review; a closed filing means TDI is done with its review, and a closed type of "Reviewed" means TDI reviewed the filing and closed it ³. Every filing listed below is closed with the closed type "Reviewed" in TDI's data ². That is TDI's wording, not an approval.

These are the personal auto filings by Direct General Insurance Company in TDI's data received since 2017 with a nonzero overall change, newest first ²:

TDI's data lists two later personal auto filings by the company, received September 15, 2023 and July 22, 2025, and both show a 0.0% change ². TDI says a 0% change means only rules or something else that does not affect the premium changed, or that the combined effect on all policyholders is zero ³.

Texas is the one state where we could check Direct General Insurance Company's filings in a public data set. We did not find comparable public filing records for Direct Auto in other states, and the brand's site does not say which company writes Direct Auto policies in Texas or elsewhere ¹. The Texas table therefore tells you about one company in one state. If your declarations page names a different company, such as a National General company, its own filings are the ones that apply.

We found no separate Direct Auto rate figure in Allstate's annual report. For its Allstate Protection auto business as a whole, which it sells under the Allstate, National General and Direct Auto brands, Allstate says rate increases of 3.5% were implemented in 2025, for a total insurance premium impact of 2.6%, and it describes these as "rate increases that moderated from the prior year" ⁶. That figure mixes several brands and many states; it is context, not a Direct Auto rate.

Common reasons a renewal rises even without a company-wide increase:

• A different company or program. Direct Auto policies are written by several affiliated insurers ¹, and each files its own rates.
• Your record changed. A new accident, claim or ticket can raise the price at renewal.
• Your vehicle or drivers changed. Adding a car or a driver can raise the bill.
• You moved. Rates vary by area, so a new ZIP code can change the price.
• Coverage or discounts changed. Higher limits, added physical damage coverage or a lost discount all raise the premium.
• Rule changes. TDI says a 0% change can mean the combined effect on all policyholders is zero ³, which leaves room for individual policies to move.

1. Find the insurer's name on your declarations page. Direct Auto is the brand; the company named there is the one whose filings apply.
2. Compare the renewal with last term line by line. Our guide to reading a renewal notice shows where to look.
3. Ask the Direct Auto store or phone team what changed: drivers, vehicles, coverages, discounts or the program.
4. Look up the filing. TDI's rate filing search lists each company's filings ³. Our explainer on what a rate filing is covers how to read one. See the Texas, Georgia, Florida and Louisiana pages, or the states hub, for how rates work where you live.
5. Compare quotes from several insurers. Prices for the same driver can differ widely. You can compare quotes here.

Sponsored link. QuotePitStop is a lead-generation service and is paid by insurance partners when you request quotes.

For reasons that apply at every insurer, see why car insurance goes up and why car insurance goes up with no accident. For Direct Auto's parent company, see why Allstate insurance goes up. Drivers who need a state filing can read what an SR-22 is.

• ¹ Reported: Direct Auto's About page and legal footer, for the brand's link to Direct General Insurance Agency, Inc., its National General affiliates and its separation from Direct Auto Insurance Company of Illinois, checked October 13, 2026.
• ² Official record: TDI's public rate filing data on data.texas.gov for Direct General Insurance Company, personal automobile (received dates, products, percent changes, effective dates, status and closed type), checked October 13, 2026.
• ³ Official record: TDI's rate filing page defining percent change, pending and closed status, the "Reviewed" closed type and a 0% change, checked October 13, 2026.
• ⁴ Official record: TDI's page on how insurance costs are calculated and when filed rates can be used, checked October 13, 2026.
• ⁵ Official record: Mississippi Insurance Department examination of Direct General Insurance Company of Mississippi as of December 31, 2020, for the 2016 and 2021 acquisitions, the affiliated agencies and the pooling with Integon National, checked October 13, 2026.
• ⁶ Official record: Allstate's Form 10-K for 2025 filed with the SEC, for the Direct Auto brand, the approximately 500 retail stores and the 3.5% implemented auto rate increases across all Allstate auto business, checked October 13, 2026.