What do you think about Geico Car Insurance?

[AstroManLuca]

I'm 24 (25 in a month), clean record, and pay $620/6mo for State Farm. I recently got some quotes from other companies to see what they could offer me.

Progressive ~$700/6mo
Geico ~$950/6mo

I lol'd and decided to stick with State Farm. I do plan on checking back when my birthday actually rolls around - I think State Farm has already updated my rates online since my most recent insurance payments were made for the period during which I will turn 25.

 

[sjwaste]

Originally posted by: princess ida
I have Geico and they're the lowest rate I've found for our particular situation - I've never had an accident, and my 19-yr-old drives to work and to school. Progresso had good rates for my son, but Geico has an extra tier of discount for people with no accidents for 10 years or something.

They do bump the rates up every chance they can get, so you have to do a lot of research and keep on top of them with their tweaking. Things like good student discount, air bags, all the discounts - you have to keep applying for them. And they sneakily change the coverage so that the rates go up - keep an eye on it. But most companies do this stuff too.

oops - Progresso is a food company, Progressive is the insurance co.

Are you carrying state minimums? If so, they will automatically increase your coverage if the state minimum has increased, that's just common sense.

As I said in another post, insurance is a takeaway business. No company raises your premium if they can help it. They don't want you to shop for rates, and raising them is a sure-fire way to get you looking at other companies.

There is no conspiracy to overcharge you on auto insurance. It's highly regulated, and just about every underhanded practice you can think of is illegal in most states.

One other thing to strongly consider with insurance is the financial performance of the company. Remember that no carrier is required to reserve 100% of its premiums for claims, and smaller carriers especially probably couldn't pay out on a large scale catastrophe even if they did. Especially for something like your home, but even if you have a car you cannot afford to replace, the #1 thing to shop on is financial stability. If something like Katrina, or the nightmare for the industry that was Hurricane Andrew, you want to insure with someone who can actually pay on your claim before they go out of business.

 

[amdhunter]

Originally posted by: QueBert
as BoomerD said, locals have great great prices. But usually come with a trade off, mine is next to impossible to actually get someone on the phone. And if I got in an accident at night I couldn't because they're not 24/7. Also no road side assistance or any extras. But so far I haven't needed any of that, and Geico quoted me $112 a month and here I'm paying $47. The savings was worth losing the perks to me

Eh? I've called at 12 midnight once to report an accident, I got a person on the phone right away. I have the full package from them though, maybe that counts...lol

 

[Gibson486]

Originally posted by: AstroManLuca
I'm 24 (25 in a month) and pay $620/6mo for State Farm. I recently got some quotes from other companies to see what they could offer me.

Progressive ~$700/6mo
Geico ~$950/6mo

I lol'd and decided to stick with State Farm.

Hahaha...I actually pay $310/6 months with Progressive and that is with an accident and glass replacemnt under my name. It's gonna go up though b/c I just got a speeding ticket. I am awaiting to see how much lube I need to purchase.

 

[rh71]

I got solicited randomly by AllState, I have Geico right now. AllState was able to beat Geico's rates, then I gave Geico a chance to match and they did so I stayed with them. AllState calls me a few days later and understood, but they also mentioned there will be something in the coming month or two that will require Geico to raise their rates in NY to support their expenditures. I can't recall what it is exactly. I may end up going to AllState after all as they said they will call me back when it happens (they keep up with the news). If I were you, I'd try to price match the best rate and stick with your current.

BTW, I haven't really claimed anything from Geico so I can't tell you how well they respond, but their customer service has always been great. I think I'd stay with the big boys in case I have a claim - smaller companies may feel the need to say this and that aren't covered because of this and that.

 

[DisgruntledVirus]

Originally posted by: sjwaste
DV's post was spot-on. There is little else that can be said on the topic. It's going to come down to people "liking" the company that quotes them lower, and "disliking" the one that costs more. A bad claims experience will do the same. But there are bad claims experiences to be had anywhere.

Whoever said GEICO wasn't 24/7 is also mistaken. I am insured with them, and they definitely have 24 hour service. I've had to call late before.

We have recently had some "customer focused" meetings lately that have shown some interesting stats on that stuff. I don't remember the exact stats for everything, but they went something like this:

1 in 3 customers have shopped in the past 6 months.
1 in 5 have switched in last 6 months
When shopping price is the #1 point that is looked for. It's price, price, price, then the other stuff.
3/4 of the time the first company contacted when shopping is the one that gets the business (if the customer does in fact switch)
Customers most often switch/shop when major changes to their policy happen or will happen (like adding drivers, accidents, etc)

Typically customers are categorized into one of 5 levels that refer to how good they are for the company. Some of the "more expensive" companies only want groups 1-3, which are the ones who get a company and stay with them (without having accidents and have multiple lines). Others want any customer they can get. Others target the 4/5 groups because there are more of them (high risk, want cheap insurance, shop often, etc).

 

[QueBert]

Originally posted by: amdhunter

Originally posted by: QueBert
as BoomerD said, locals have great great prices. But usually come with a trade off, mine is next to impossible to actually get someone on the phone. And if I got in an accident at night I couldn't because they're not 24/7. Also no road side assistance or any extras. But so far I haven't needed any of that, and Geico quoted me $112 a month and here I'm paying $47. The savings was worth losing the perks to me

Eh? I've called at 12 midnight once to report an accident, I got a person on the phone right away. I have the full package from them though, maybe that counts...lol

no no no, I meant Geico will have round the clock people to talk to. My no name local guys don't. If you have my carrier I assure you that you didn't get them on the phone at Midnight. You'd be lucky if they had their answering machine turned on

 

[Scarpozzi]

I work for the state gubment and Geico stands for "Gubment Employee Insurance Company". You get a discount for this and all the other things the companies advertise. Since I've been married, my rates have dropped a lot. Geico was cheaper than the other insurance companies I've been with....but the real thing I was impressed with is how they handled a wreck I was in 5 years ago.

I parked my Jeep on the side of the road in a metered space. Some idiot hit the back of my Jeep thinking the metered spaces were a lane (trying to pass someone on the right). It totaled the Jeep (bent frame, cracked windshield from a rear impact). She didn't have insurance so Geico had to run it as uninsured motorist. My rates didn't go up and they did a fairly good job despite the 'fair market value' of my Jeep being about $2500 less than what you could actually buy a replacement for. I negotiated with the agent for a few days until they finally adjusted that rate over what their computer program stated. Overall, I give them a 8 out of 10 and I don't think there's an insurance company that's any better based on service versus cost.

Afterall, insurance is like gambling anyway. You're betting that you're gonna wreck and they're betting that you're not (or that it won't be your fault). When they do have to pay, they're decent about it. I'm steering clear of State Farm after hearing about the Katrina stuff...even though that was homeowners...it goes to show you can't trust some companies.

 

[CrackRabbit]

Horrid company, I wouldn't wish the service my girlfriend and I were given on my worst enemy.
Stay far, far away.

 

[Gibson486]

Originally posted by: QueBert

Originally posted by: amdhunter

Originally posted by: QueBert
as BoomerD said, locals have great great prices. But usually come with a trade off, mine is next to impossible to actually get someone on the phone. And if I got in an accident at night I couldn't because they're not 24/7. Also no road side assistance or any extras. But so far I haven't needed any of that, and Geico quoted me $112 a month and here I'm paying $47. The savings was worth losing the perks to me

Eh? I've called at 12 midnight once to report an accident, I got a person on the phone right away. I have the full package from them though, maybe that counts...lol

no no no, I meant Geico will have round the clock people to talk to. My no name local guys don't. If you have my carrier I assure you that you didn't get them on the phone at Midnight. You'd be lucky if they had their answering machine turned on

All big insurance companies have that...however, you have to also realize that lots of local insurance are just reps for the bigger companies.

 

[DisgruntledVirus]

Originally posted by: sjwaste
One other thing to strongly consider with insurance is the financial performance of the company. Remember that no carrier is required to reserve 100% of its premiums for claims, and smaller carriers especially probably couldn't pay out on a large scale catastrophe even if they did. Especially for something like your home, but even if you have a car you cannot afford to replace, the #1 thing to shop on is financial stability. If something like Katrina, or the nightmare for the industry that was Hurricane Andrew, you want to insure with someone who can actually pay on your claim before they go out of business.

I mentioned this earlier, but it bears repeating like sjwaste posted.

Katrina wiped out a LOT of small-medium sized companies. The 800 lb gorillas just go "shit, guess we won't give as big of raises next year. Oh well." and move on with business.

Don't forget, insurance companies have 2 sources of income. Premiums and investments. In this market premiums are most of their income, and coming into cat season (catastrophe season is basically hurricane season) it could be an interesting year for insurance co's. If another Katrina/Andrew hits, expect a lot of smaller companies to close and not be able to pay up.

Originally posted by: Gibson486

Originally posted by: AstroManLuca
I'm 24 (25 in a month) and pay $620/6mo for State Farm. I recently got some quotes from other companies to see what they could offer me.

Progressive ~$700/6mo
Geico ~$950/6mo

I lol'd and decided to stick with State Farm.

Hahaha...I actually pay $310/6 months with Progressive and that is with an accident and glass replacemnt under my name. It's gonna go up though b/c I just got a speeding ticket. I am awaiting to see how much lube I need to purchase.

Glass replacement is usually one of those "freebies" offered by most carriers.

You may not have rates increased. AFAIK (ours doesn't at least) carriers don't check every policy at renewal. We check it every so often. You might be able to slip by without them noticing for a while, and in my state with my carrier they only use tickets for 3 years from the date of the ticket.

Originally posted by: rh71
I got solicited randomly by AllState, I have Geico right now. AllState was able to beat Geico's rates, then I gave Geico a chance to match and they did so I stayed with them. AllState calls me a few days later and understood, but they also mentioned there will be something in the coming month or two that will require Geico to raise their rates in NY to support their expenditures. I can't recall what it is exactly. I may end up going to AllState after all as they said they will call me back when it happens (they keep up with the news). If I were you, I'd try to price match the best rate and stick with your current.

BTW, I haven't really claimed anything from Geico so I can't tell you how well they respond, but their customer service has always been great. I think I'd stay with the big boys in case I have a claim - smaller companies may feel the need to say this and that aren't covered because of this and that.

Thats not uncommon. State rates change all the time. When/if Geico does raise rates, shop around and find out whats best for you.

PS it's Allstate not AllState.

 

[DisgruntledVirus]

Originally posted by: Scarpozzi
Afterall, insurance is like gambling anyway. You're betting that you're gonna wreck and they're betting that you're not (or that it won't be your fault). When they do have to pay, they're decent about it. I'm steering clear of State Farm after hearing about the Katrina stuff...even though that was homeowners...it goes to show you can't trust some companies.

Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold on there friend.

Katrina was a giant cluster-f, and insurance companies were painted to be "the bad guys" in a lot of the media afterwords. Were there issues, and poorly handled situations? Yes, but it was a bad situation that nobody had any clue how to handle. I won't speak for any specific situation with State Farm, but overall they did fairly well considering the situation (as did most of the large carriers).

 

[sjwaste]

Originally posted by: DisgruntledVirus

Originally posted by: Scarpozzi
Afterall, insurance is like gambling anyway. You're betting that you're gonna wreck and they're betting that you're not (or that it won't be your fault). When they do have to pay, they're decent about it. I'm steering clear of State Farm after hearing about the Katrina stuff...even though that was homeowners...it goes to show you can't trust some companies.

Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold on there friend.

Katrina was a giant cluster-f, and insurance companies were painted to be "the bad guys" in a lot of the media afterwords. Were there issues, and poorly handled situations? Yes, but it was a bad situation that nobody had any clue how to handle. I won't speak for any specific situation with State Farm, but overall they did fairly well considering the situation (as did most of the large carriers).

Second this. I was still in the industry when Katrina happened, sitting in a room with the CEO of one of the largest carriers. The topic was about getting down there to respond quickly to claims and generally help out in the community.

No rational company sees a catastrophe and decides to take the opportunity to deny as many claims as possible to hold on to the bottom line. At least the big companies go into those events knowing it wipes out some/most/all of the profit for that year, and work on how to efficiently handle those claims (efficient processing = less lost profit, time is money after all), and give those folks affected a good experience so that they want to remain customers.

 

[Possessed Freak]

For no reason whatsoever, my rates with Geico climbed every year. I purchased a beater car and made my main car a weekender. Geico was going to charge me more, I switched the Liberty Mutual and my rates dropped 30 bucks a month from the original pre-junker price. I called up Geico to cancel with them and THEN they were willing to look at my rates. I told them that if I didn't call to cancel would they have tried to work on my rates... after some comments in response to that I hung up.

 

[Mayfriday0529]

Originally posted by: sciencewhiz
It's hard to rate an insurance company until you have to make a claim.

Well I have to give Kudos to State Farm and the local office. Over the years they have been great and have been great at claims. But I just can't afford paying $820 for a 2002 Nissan Sentra with 148,000 miles on it every 6 months.

 

[IronWing]

Geico quoted me half again higher than my current policy for the same coverage.

 

[Nik]

I transitioned from State Farm to Geico a couple months ago. I hated having State Farm in my specific situation because I have to drive out to my agent's office which is almost exactly 14 miles one-way from my house. I also had to pay with a check unless I wanted to pay 6 months or 1 year in advance in a bulk payment. With Geico, I can sit naked in my office chair changing my insurance policy over the internet if I so wish. I've not had the pleasure of dealing with a traffic accident involving auto insurance in my driving career so signing up and maintaining the policy is the only experience I can speak to. I still prefer Geico.

 

[Baked]

I used to have 21st century, their rate was pretty low. Then I switched to progressive 'cause they got lower rate and free road side service.

 

[rh71]

Originally posted by: Jnetty99

Originally posted by: sciencewhiz
It's hard to rate an insurance company until you have to make a claim.

But I just can't afford paying $820 for a 2002 Nissan Sentra with 148,000 miles on it every 6 months.

Wow, Geico is only charging me $500 for my X5 full coverage and $400 for my brother in law's old Civic, he's under 25. 6 months. Call them up and get State Farm to match.

 

[Farang]

Originally posted by: DisgruntledVirus

Originally posted by: Farang
Horrible company. If you get a quote from them they will not stop harassing you. Their quotes in my experience are slightly higher than Progressive. They also jacked up my rate $400 for not signing some form they mailed me, they said they legally had to get my signature. That was a lie apparently as when I switched to Progressive I was allowed to sign electronically.

Legally we require signatures for forms. If your company sends you a form saying "please fill this out, and mail it back to us completed in x days", you need to do it. As you found out, not sending the form back in can increase your rates. Hate to tell you, but that wasn't Geico's fault. It was your own fault, but being the consumer you can place the blame on them and go elsewhere (as you did). You say it was a lie they legally had to have you sign this document, but then go on to say Progressive had you sign the same thing just electronically. So, apparently legally the form is required, you just didn't want to have to sign it on paper.

.

That sounds like it is your company policy to have me sign the form when you could just as easily do it electronically. As I chose e-statements, I don't pay quick attention to mailed items because I expect important correspondence to be done electronically (as I had opted for). So Geico intentionally requires a signature because they know some people will miss the mail, will forget about the form, will generally not have as high a rate of signing due to the increase inconvenience. I don't like companies that intentionally inconvenience me in the hopes of being rewarded.

I expect a company, if they are going to charge my bank account 200% more than what I agreed upon, to make sure I'm aware of this before they go ahead and do it. Any company that doesn't isn't acting in good faith and I don't bother dealing with those sorts, because I don't have time to read every form and need to be able to trust who I work with.

 

[thescreensavers]

Geico is good. State Farm is good also. But one to steer clear away from is Allstate!

My dad is an accident attorney and he always has issues settling with allstate, plus they always get surveillance on you if its a big claim.