GEICO is second only to State Farm in size, being the second biggest auto insurance company in America. GEICO has a reputation for being very affordable.
Let’s learn more about the second largest auto insurer in the United States with this GEICO auto insurance review article. GEICO has low rates for most people with a few exceptions but offers the same sorts of coverages and discounts as its competitors. GEICO’s prices vary dramatically depending on things like age and driving record, so it is important to do your research when deciding if they offer the best deal for you.
GEICO car insurance rates
GEICO offers some of the lowest rates in the insurance industry, sometimes significantly lower than the competition. For drivers with clean records, GEICO offers the lowest costs across the board compared to three other large car insurers except for Progressive, which beat them or tied with them.
GEICO’s costs were highest for an 18-year-old driver, costing up to $7,848 annually compared to $3,988 for a family of three. When the driver had an accident, costs skyrocketed, up to $13,447 annually for an 18-year-old driver. This makes GEICO the most expensive plan for an 18-year-old driver who is rated higher risk. Compare that to $5,224 for the same driver through Progressive.
Interestingly, the rate shoots down to $5,300 for a family of 3 with a history of at-risk driving and $5637 for a 75-year-old driver with a history of at-risk driving. Therefore, while GEICO is one of the lowest priced options for most drivers with a good driving history or without, for young drivers, GEICO may not be the best choice.
Best suited for
GEICO is well-suited to those who enjoy using an app or website over an in-person experience and those who are looking for the best savings and value. It is not as well suited to young people, especially those who have had an at-fault accident since rates will skyrocket for such individuals.
If you have not had an accident and you do not mind using an app or website rather than in-person support, GEICO is likely to be a good match for you. If you would like even more peace of mind in your insurance policy than that offered by accident and other coverage generally offered by car insurance companies, GEICO may be a good choice since they offer a mechanical insurance policy which is unique in the industry. This policy will also insure your car when you go to the mechanic, protecting you from those sudden shocks and anxiety about deciding what to do about a sudden problem with your car.
Locations Served
GEICO provides car insurance in all 50 US states and the District of Columbia.
Financial strength
A.M. Best Rating Services gave GEICO a financial strength rating of A++ rating, which is a superior rating. A.M. Best categorized GEICO’s balance sheet as being very strong and also rated its operating performance well. They determined that GEICO has a good business profile and good risk management skills. The direct distribution business model of selling to clients via the website or app is also considered to be a good financial strategy.
Standard & Poor’s also gave GEICO an extremely strong rating of A++ for financial strength. Furthermore, GEICO has the security circle designation from S&P which indicates rigorous review and top ratings for financial strength.
Moody’s Investors Service affirmed an Aa1 insurance financial strength rating to GEICO due to the established nature of the brand, the sound balance sheet, and the efficient nature of GEICO’s operations. They also cited the direct marketing and distribution techniques as being financially stable and able to balance the highly competitive pricing.
Customer complaint score
GEICO received an A- rating from the Better Business Bureau do to GEICO’s failure to respond to one complaint that was filed against the business. GEICO is not accredited by the Better Business Bureau. GEICO received approximately a one-star rating out of an average of 318 customer reviews.
Complaints lodged against GEICO in the reviews cited instances in which customer service did not do as they said they would do and failures to payout on claims. Other reviews sited customer service that is a pleasure to work with and that pays out appropriately.
Insurance claims study
According to the J.D Power Auto Insurance Study, GEICO received highly varied scores in overall customer satisfaction depending on the region indexed. In the California region, GEICO received a score of only 807 and three stars out of a 1000-point scale and a five-star rating, putting them near the bottom of the list and below the average for the region.
In the central region, on the other hand, GEICO scored above the regional average with a score of 838 and four stars. In Florida, GEICO did even better, with a score of 832 and four stars, the third in the region. They did even better in the Mid-Atlantic region, with a score of 848 and four stars, leaving them second only to Erie Insurance.
GEICO had average ratings in the New England and North Central regions, with low scores in the Southwest region and Northwest region. In the Southwest and Texas districts, GEICO did not do very well, with scores around 800. These varied results indicate that it may be worth basing your decision about GEICO on the area that you are in as well as other relevant factors.
Shopping Insurance Study
On the Shopping Insurance Study using J.D. Power GEICO received a score of 844 out of a thousand and 3 out of 5 stars, which is well above the industry average of 839 but significantly below the top-rated Erie Insurance at 877 and five stars.
GEICO Insurance Discounts
GEICO offers an auto insurance renewal program that is guaranteed for the safety of mind for customers over 50 years old. If you are in the Primetime contract, you will be able to renew your policy as long as you don’t let it lapse. This means that you are protected from situations in which you would not be able to renew with another insurer, such as when you have multiple traffic violations.
This contract does not guarantee that your rates will stay the same, so rates could rise to an unpayable level even if you have this contract. In order to have this contract, you must be over the age of 50, not have any drivers on your policy that are under 25 years old, have had no violations or accidents in the past 3 years, and have no business vehicles on the policy. GEICO offers this policy even to new clients, which sets them aside from their competition that offers loyalty renewal lock-in programs.
The auto repair access program utilizes a network of repair shops to get a guarantee on your repairs for as long as you own your vehicle.
GEICO also offers a car buying service that connects you to local dealerships and lets you see what other people have paid for a particular car. Interestingly, you can utilize this service whether or not you have a GEICO insurance policy.
Support/website ease of use
GEICO provides awesome easy to use online tools that make shopping for, buying and managing your car insurance easy. They sell products directly to consumers using their website, resulting in a relatively low number of physical agents.
GEICO has significantly fewer physical locations in the US compared to other top insurance companies. If you want an in-person experience, GEICO is probably not the best choice for you. If, however, you are looking for primarily online accessibility and don’t want to deal with bad programming or glitches, GEICO might be just the company you are looking for.
Insurance coverages
GEICO offers bodily injury liability to pay damages if you are responsible for someone else’s death or bodily injuries when you are driving. Property damage liability will pay for the damage to the car or other property as a result of an accident you are responsible for.
Medical coverages pay any medical expenses that occur due to a car injury. Personal injury protection coverage can pay for not only your medical treatment, but also lost wages and other sorts of expenses related to your accident. With personal injury protection coverage, it doesn’t matter who caused the accident.
Uninsured motorist coverage will compensate you for any injury or damage that is caused to you or your property as a result of a driver who is uninsured. Underinsured motorist coverage has the same effect for drivers who don’t have enough insurance coverage.
Collision coverage will pay for any damages that happen to your car when it is in a collision with another vehicle or other object. Comprehensive coverage takes care of anything that can happen to your car related to a collision, including vandalism, theft, fire, flood or other losses that are covered by the policy.
GEICO offers a rental reimbursement program. This optional coverage will pay for the cost of a rental car while your car is being repaired due to a plan that is covered by GEICO. Typically, you will keep the rental car until your damaged car is on the road or the coverage runs out. In the case of a vehicle which is entirely at loss, authorized rental time will be limited to a period in which you can shop for a replacement vehicle.
If you would like to protect your vehicle from more than accidents or roadside mishaps, GEICO offers further coverage with Mechanical Breakdown Insurance. This insurance will cover standard mechanical problems that come up after your car’s warranty period. Mechanical breakdown insurance is available for cars, new or leased, less than 15 months old and with fewer than 15,000 miles. You can continue to renew your coverage for up to seven years or 100,000 miles. The straightforward policy will cover all repairs to mechanical parts of a car except for maintenance and wear and tear after the $250 deductible.
Mobile app
GEICO’s mobile app is stuffed with features and has great reviews, especially when you compare it to apps offered by Farmers, Progressive, and State Farm Insurance. The app makes it easy for you to pay your bill and access and manage your account information. Other insurers offer similar tools, but GEICO does the best to make their app glitch free and easy to use.
GEICO Roadside assistance
GEICO offers an optional roadside assistance program that provides reliable and comprehensive service in a roadside emergency. You can either call or get service using the mobile app. Using the app, you can request help in only a couple of minutes. Help is available 24/7 and you don’t have to worry about providing your location since the GPS locator will tell GEICO exactly where you are. The last thing you want to do is worry about filling out forms in an emergency, so the app will pre-fill your policy information for you.
Comparison to the top companies
GEICO is among the four largest insurance companies in the United States, and one of the best as well, with excellent financial strength ratings and great brand value. But which is the best for you? In general, GEICO is the best in price. Unless you are a young person, especially with a less than stellar driving record, GEICO will probably be able to out-compete most of your other considerations.
This is in part because GEICO charges very high rates for young at-risk drivers and partly because they are able to keep their costs down due to direct marketing and sales through their website and app. For good drivers, even those with poor credit, GEICO is likely to be the most competitive. For those who have had at least one at fault accident, the rate for GEICO shoots above some competitors.
GEICO also has some of the best ratings for customer service. This might be surprising considering that GEICO has fewer customer service agents than most other companies, sometimes thousands fewer. GEICO seems to be able to accomplish its good customer service record using an excellent intuitive app and good website support.
GEICO does not do as well when coverage options are considered. It doesn’t offer gap insurance or new car replacement like Progressive or AllState. On the other hand, it does offer mechanical breakdown insurance and is the only one of the four that does.
While Allstate may offer more technology like voice activation for Amazon’s Alexa, users found GEICO’s app to be very intuitive and glitch free.
Other reviews
GEICO pros and cons
Pros
- Very affordable for most people seeking car insurance
- Unique coverage options like mechanical breakdown insurance
- Options for customers over 50 to lock-in insurance renewal options, even if they are new customers, as long as they have a good driving record for at least 3 years
- Great ratings for customer service
- Easy to use and intuitive app that is relatively glitch free and comprehensive
- Perks like a car buying service and repair matchmaking service with discounts
Cons
- Prices skyrocket if you are young and especially if you have a bad driving record
- Prices higher for anyone with an at-fault accident on record
- No gap insurance or new car replacement
- Not well-equipped for in-person service with only a few offices nationwide
- Renews can be locked in for customers over 50 years old, rates are not locked
Bottom Line
For most people who enjoy using technology over in-person exchanges, the savings offered by GEICO will be well worth it. Prices are better for most people who are accident-free. For young drivers and drivers who have had at-fault accidents, rates offered by GEICO may be much higher than other options.
Customer service is generally considered to be very good from GEICO, but you will most likely need to use an app or website in order to get service, including roadside service. In general, the savings offered by GEICO, combined with unique features and awesome customer service, makes this a very competitive option. I strongly recommend getting an insurance quote today!