BATON ROUGE, LA – In what industry experts are calling its most competitive rate program yet, a Louisiana auto insurance company unveiled a new discount this week for customers willing to make one simple commitment: never operate the vehicle they’re insuring.
The new “Garage Guardian” program promises policyholders savings of up to 7% if they agree to leave their car parked indefinitely, with an additional 2% available for mailing their keys to the insurance office.
“We’ve found that nearly every claim begins with someone deciding to drive somewhere,” said a company spokesperson. “By eliminating the driving portion of car ownership, we’re dramatically reducing risk.”
The policy still requires drivers to maintain current registration, inspection, and monthly premiums, but actually using the vehicle is strongly discouraged.
Several Louisiana residents immediately expressed interest, noting the arrangement wasn’t much different from their current commute on Interstate 10, where traffic already limits them to moving only a few hundred feet every fifteen minutes.
Company officials said the long-term goal is to eventually insure vehicles that exist only as framed photographs hanging in customers’ homes.
The program reportedly drew concern from Baton Rouge attorney Gordon McKernan, whose office jokingly noted that a statewide commitment to never driving could put a noticeable dent in the local billboard economy. Insurance officials responded by assuring him that, based on Louisiana drivers’ track record, they remain confident most customers will ignore the discount and get right back behind the wheel.
