RICHMOND, Va. – Compare.com, a Virginia-based auto insurance comparison platform, recently announced it has joined United Way as part of its National ALICE Advisory Council, which pledges to provide assistance for households that earn above the federal poverty level, but not enough to afford basic household and living expenses each month.

Additionally, Compare.com will serve as the main sponsor for United Ways of Virginia’s statewide United for ALICE grassroots movement.

ALICE is a term developed by United Way in 2017 to represent the growing number of American households that do not earn enough to afford basic necessities. The acronym stands for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed, and the movement has expanded to nearly two dozen states since its inception.

According to United Way, more than 40 percent of U.S. households earn below the ALICE threshold, leading millions of families to make difficult financial choices and risky trade-offs every day just to afford basic necessities. This number continues to grow each year.

Upon first hearing about ALICE and the demographic’s daily struggles, Compare.com CEO Allie Feakins said her and her colleagues knew they had to help.

“These are the people we strive to help each and every day through our services, but we had no idea how many people these sorts of financial hardships actually affect,” she said. “Not only do they have to make difficult decisions and balance which bills to pay and which to miss payments, they simply don’t have the time to shop around for the best prices on essential products and services like car insurance and other expenses.”

Much of the financial support resulting from Compare.com’s partnership will go toward its home state’s chapter’s 2020 Virginia ALICE Report, which the organization plans to reveal in July.

“It’s incredibly rewarding and humbling being able to support United Way on a national level as part of its National ALICE Advisory Council, but being able to make a difference right here in our home state is especially important to us,” Feakins said. “Although we serve customers in all 50 states, Virginia is our home and this community is something we cherish deeply. We so proud to be able to help United Ways of Virginia uplift a population that is often overlooked and make a difference right here in the commonwealth.”

Sarah Walsh, Chief Impact Officer at Rappahannock United Way, said that the effects of COVID-19 have only made ALICE even more at risk.

“We’ve known that our economy was increasingly reliant on these households we call ALICE, who are financially vulnerable to one emergency,” Walsh said. “Unfortunately, COVID-19 became that one universal emergency. ALICE workers are facing the greatest health and financial risks today.  Now more than ever we need the ALICE Report to shape and guide our response to support these households, and corporate partners like Compare.com to support our long-term recovery efforts.”

Feakins added that her organization plans on using the ALICE demographic as the basis of Compare.com’s future mission and purpose.

“We always knew the people who benefited from our services most were the ones who needed to save both money and time, but we never realized this demographic was such a distinct and growing portion of the population,” she said. “When we first heard about United Ways and the ALICE movement, it was like a light bulb flicking on in our collective minds. We knew this was a mission we had to be a part of and we’re excited to join the National ALICE Advisory Council.

“Now, almost all our business decisions focus around the question, ‘What’s best for ALICE?’ The entire experience has been incredibly eye-opening.”

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About Compare.com

Compare.com is a limited liability corporation headquartered in Richmond, VA, majority owned by the Admiral Group, LLC, the UK’s second largest auto insurer and a member of the FTSE 100. Currently offering car insurance comparison services for US consumers in 49 states, Compare.com allows consumers to fill out a single form and get multiple accurate quotes from trusted auto insurers. Through simple side-by-side comparison, Compare.com makes finding the best available rates on car insurance easy.

About Rappahannock United Way

Founded in 1939, Rappahannock United Way is a local nonprofit organization serving Fredericksburg, Caroline, King George, Spotsylvania and Stafford. Our mission is to improve lives by mobilizing the caring power of our community. Our goal is to have more households emerge from poverty and achieve greater financial stability. Together, we can create opportunities for a better tomorrow. That’s what it means to LIVE UNITED.

Rappahannock United Way serves as the project lead and fiscal agent for the Virginia ALICE Project.

About Virginia United Ways

Twenty independent local United Ways came together throughout the Commonwealth to collaboratively work together on the Virginia ALICE Project.

About United For ALICE

United For ALICE is a driver of innovation, shining a light on the challenges ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) households face and finding collaborative solutions. Through a standardized methodology that assesses the cost of living in every county, this project provides a comprehensive measure of financial hardship across the U.S. Equipped with this data, ALICE partners convene, advocate, and innovate in their local communities to highlight the issues faced by ALICE households and to generate solutions that promote financial stability. The grassroots movement represents United Ways, corporations, nonprofits and foundations in Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Hawai‘i, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin; we are United For ALICE. For more information, visit: UnitedForALICE.org.