For many insurance companies, giving back to the community or policyholders is an essential part of their business. In fact, mutual insurance companies are entirely owned by the policyholders and any profits earned by the insurer are sometimes returned to the policyholders through lower rates or dividend distributions. Although we may often think of insurance companies as an entity that collects our premiums for something we may never need, many insurance companies are more than that.

Below are five insurance companies that distinguish themselves with their corporate social responsibility of giving back to the community and their policyholders.

Car insurance companies in this article:

• Lemonade
• Root
• Horace Mann
• Nationwide
• CSAA Insurance Group

Lemonade Giveback & Social Good

Lemonade is a homeowners and renters insurance company that’s built on the foundation of social good. This startup company included community donations in its business model. Lemonade charges policyholders a flat fee for insurance, uses the rest to pay for claims and any leftover money is donated to charities that its policyholders choose.

Up to 40 percent of the money Lemonade sets aside to pay claims is unused and is donated to charities. Lemonade tallies up the unclaimed money once a year. In 2017, Lemonade Giveback donated $53,174 — and that number more than tripled in 2018. The total giveback amount in 2018 was $162,135. Charities that Lemonade has donated to include The American Red Cross, Teach For America, CityMeals on Wheels, Women in Need (WIN), ACLU and others.

The Root Referral Program

Root provides car insurance for good drivers. In order to be insured with Root, drivers must qualify through Root’s test drive. Root saves money by only issuing policies to those it deems good drivers, and it has a way to give back to its policyholders with a unique program: The Root Referral Program.

The way this program works is you can refer people to Root Insurance through a referral link in the Root app. You can send the link to people directly or you can share it on social media. The person you refer has to take the Root test drive and get a policy and then both of you will be paid in referral bonuses.

Referral bonuses, which can be paid through a gift card, paypal, direct bank transfer, or Visa card, range from $10-$100 depending on your state. Root says it has paid $859,470 in referral bonuses so far. One Root customer even earned $7,000 through the Root Referral Program!

Horace Mann

Horace Mann is an insurance company exclusively for the educational community. Not only does Horace Mann provide teachers with insurance, it also helps them with other resources.

There are a lot of educator insurance discounts available through Horace Mann. Additionally, this company provides teachers with discounted school supplies, and educator programs and workshops. Since 2011, Horace Mann has been partnered with DonorsChoose.org, a nonprofit that connects public school teachers who need help funding school projects with people who want to donate. Horace Mann has donated more than $4 million to teachers in the DonorsChoose.org network to use on educational projects.

Nationwide Foundation

The efforts of Nationwide Insurance toward giving back are far and wide. The Nationwide Foundation was established in 1959 as a nonprofit to support the community through donations and volunteers from Nationwide companies. The Nationwide Foundation partners with the charities of The American Red Cross, Feeding America, Nationwide Children’s Hospital, and United Way to support disaster relief, hunger relief, medical care for children and community change.

The foundation has provided each of these charities with generous assistance. It helps the American Red Cross with blood drives, giving around 16,000 pints annually, and with immediate resources for disaster relief in contributions of $16.5 million since 2000. Through hunger relief efforts, Nationwide associates have raised money for more than 40.5 million meals for Feeding America. The foundation has provided grants to the Nationwide Children’s Hospital to expand facilities and staff and support safety programs. It also hosts marathons and tournaments to raise money for the hospital. Through United Way, Nationwide associates, partners and retirees have pledged more than $136.9 million since 2000 and Nationwide has matched contributions dollar for dollar since 1960.

CSAA Insurance Group

CSAA Insurance Group has been giving back for more than 100 years. Each year, employees complete thousands of volunteer hours. CSAA received The Civic 50 award in 2018, recognizing CSAA as one of the top 50 community-minded companies in America.

Through corporate sponsorships, CSAA supports events and projects primarily focused on safety, disaster and emergency preparedness. It partners with regional diversity councils and employee resource groups to find nonprofits that support diverse populations of African-Americans, Asian-Americans, LGBTQ and Hispanic communities. It also supports underserved areas of women, youth, seniors, low-income families and disabled communities. In 2017, 99 percent of 3,700 employees participated in one or more volunteer activities

There are many more companies other than these five that contribute to charities and social good. Other major insurance companies that give back to communities by doing charity work and giving donations include, but are not limited to, Allstate, State Farm, Geico and Erie.

Many companies have also chosen to go paperless to reduce their carbon footprint. Insurance companies are making a difference every day to help the communities they work in, but also the world as a whole.

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