We took a closer look at online advertisements claiming states launched new car insurance guidelines for vehicles driven less than 50 miles per day.
Online advertisements in 2020 shared what appeared to be promising news: “California Launches New Guidelines for Cars Used Less than 50 Miles Per Day.” Some ads had the number 49 instead of 50. Variations of the ad also called the guidelines a “policy,” “practice,” or “rule,” perhaps referring to car insurance. The ads displayed a different state name, depending on where readers viewed the ad. Aside from California, we found ads displaying Illinois, Nevada, Michigan, Florida, Utah, Oregon, Massachusetts, Indiana, Arizona, and Virginia. One variation of the ad simply said “Local Area.”
Regardless of their geographic target, the ads were misleading. While it’s true that some drivers can pay less if they drive less, we were unable to find any new specific policies or guidelines launched by U.S. states for drivers who used their cars less than 50 miles per day.
In 2015, the American Automobile A-sociation, better known as AAA, published the results of a study that said motorists “drive, on average, 29.2 miles per day.” In other words, the misleading ads were casting a wide net, since perhaps a majority of Americans drive less than 50 miles per day. But keep in mind, the more people who followed where the ads led, the more compensation the ad’s funders would receive.
Readers who clicked on the advertisements were led to a page that appeared to mimic the Fox News website’s red and blue colors, as well as its layout. The page purportedly explained how to earn better car insurance rates for driving less than 50 miles per day. The headline began with the state name where the reader was currently in: “Nevada Drivers Are Ditching Their Insurance Company & Doing This Instead!”
The personalized pages, based on the reader’s location, also claimed to know “one simple truth that most drivers don’t know” about car insurance. Again, while it may be true that some companies will bill at lower rates for drivers who drive less, we were unable to find information about a specific car insurance rule for driving less than 50 miles.
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