The General is the consumer brand of Permanent General Companies, a Nashville-based auto insurer whose roots date to 1963. It specializes in nonstandard auto insurance, meaning coverage for drivers with violations, lapses, or SR-22 requirements, and sells primarily direct to consumers. American Family Insurance owned the company from 2012 until Sentry Insurance completed its acquisition in January 2025.
The General is a brand name; the underwriting business behind it is Permanent General Companies, headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, with a corporate history the company traces to 1963. Ownership has changed hands twice in recent memory. American Family Insurance, a Wisconsin-based mutual group, acquired Permanent General in 2012 and operated The General as a standalone brand for more than a decade. In January 2025, Sentry Insurance, a mutual insurer headquartered in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, completed its acquisition of The General from American Family. The purchase made The General a corporate sibling of Dairyland, Sentry's long-standing nonstandard auto brand, putting two widely recognized names in nonstandard auto insurance under one mutual parent. For consumers, the brand, existing policies, and advertising continued under the Sentry umbrella rather than being folded into another name. Ownership facts like these are verifiable through the companies' own announcements and through state insurance regulatory filings.
Nonstandard auto insurance is the industry's term for coverage written for drivers that standard underwriting treats as elevated risk: people with accidents or violations on their record, DUI convictions, lapses in coverage, little or no prior insurance history, or a need for state SR-22 filings. The General built its business specifically in this segment rather than treating it as a sideline. Its marketing has long emphasized acceptance of drivers with imperfect records, quick self-service quoting, and policies aimed at people who may not qualify with carriers focused on preferred risks. That focus is a structural fact about the company, not an endorsement: specializing in nonstandard risk means the carrier's underwriting, pricing models, and policy forms are designed around that population, in the same way other carriers design around preferred risks. Drivers with clean records can also apply, and drivers with complicated records have alternatives beyond nonstandard specialists. What matters for a shopper is knowing which segment a carrier is built to serve.
Yes, SR-22 filings are a core part of The General's business in the states where it operates and where the SR-22 system applies. The company routinely files certificates for policyholders whose licenses require proof of financial responsibility, commonly after a DUI, an uninsured accident, or a suspension, and in many states the filing can be submitted electronically once a policy is active. Standard caveats still apply. The General does not write policies in every state, so availability depends on where you live. A few states use different mechanisms than the SR-22, including the FR-44 that Florida and Virginia require for certain offenses. And the state, not the insurer, decides how long the filing must stay in force, commonly around three years. If you need a filing, confirm both that The General operates in your state and that its underwriting accepts your record, or ask a licensed professional to check several filing-capable carriers at once.
The General is primarily a direct-to-consumer carrier: quotes and purchases happen through its website, mobile app, and phone lines rather than through a large network of local agents. The direct model shapes the experience in specific ways. Quoting is self-service and fast by design, policy documents and ID cards are delivered digitally, and service requests flow through the company's own call centers and app. The tradeoff is scope: a direct quote from The General describes only what The General would offer, and nobody in that transaction is tasked with checking whether another carrier would treat the same record differently. That is not a criticism, since the same is true of any direct carrier, but it is worth understanding before treating a single quote as a survey of the market. Drivers who want several carriers evaluated against the same coverage limits typically need either multiple separate applications or one licensed professional with access to multiple markets.
No. Many carriers file SR-22s, including large standard insurers and other nonstandard specialists such as Dairyland, which is now a corporate sibling of The General under Sentry ownership. Which carriers will actually offer a policy depends on the driver's state and record, and outcomes vary enough that checking a single company rarely gives the full picture. A licensed insurance professional can identify which insurers file SR-22s in your state, submit your details to more than one, and explain differences in coverage terms and filing logistics. CarInsureLine's free referral call connects you with such a professional at no cost. To be clear about what we are: an independent information and referral site, not an insurer, not an agency, and not affiliated with The General, Sentry, or any carrier named here. We do not rank companies or steer callers toward any particular one; those decisions belong to the caller and the licensed professional.
They are separate brands with separate underwriting companies and different sales models, but since January 2025 they share the same ultimate parent: Sentry Insurance, a Wisconsin-based mutual insurer. The General, operated by Permanent General Companies out of Nashville, sells primarily direct to consumers, while Dairyland is distributed largely through independent agents. Sentry acquired The General from American Family Insurance, which had owned it since 2012, bringing both nonstandard brands under one corporate roof.
No. The General writes auto insurance in many states but not all of them, and its product availability can change over time as the company enters or exits markets. Whether you can buy a policy or obtain an SR-22 filing through The General therefore depends on where you live. The reliable way to find out is to check availability directly or to ask a licensed insurance professional, who can also identify alternative carriers operating in your state.
You need an active auto policy that meets your state's minimum liability requirements, issued by a carrier willing to file the certificate. The insurer submits the SR-22 to the state, often electronically, and a filing fee may apply depending on the company and state. Drivers without a vehicle can ask about non-owner policies with SR-22 filings where available. The state sets how long the filing must remain in force, commonly around three years.
No. CarInsureLine is an independent referral service with no affiliation, sponsorship, or endorsement relationship with The General, Permanent General Companies, Sentry Insurance, or any other carrier discussed on this site. We do not sell insurance, issue quotes, or rank companies. Our service is factual information plus a free referral call that connects you with a licensed insurance professional who can compare multiple carriers, including nonstandard specialists, based on your state and record.
CarInsureLine is an independent referral service, is not affiliated with or endorsed by The General, Sentry, or any insurer, and never ranks carriers.