What do you think of Geico?

I don’t use either but here is a car insurance comparison

Thanks, @Tropical_Willie, I’ve read a bunch of marketing stuff—naturally it’s all positive—but it’s real-world experience I’m looking for. There are a LOT of bad customer reviews online.

I had them for years and never had a problem. I switched to Allstate when I got married because my husband had them forever and had a great rate.

What I’ve heard from people is that if you have an accident, it takes them a long time to process the paperwork and pay out.

Geico is my car insurance carrier. When I changed from another insurance company to them, the process was easy.

When I reported a claim for a minor accident I caused, they addressed it immediately and with what felt like a sincerely, sympathetic manner that took some of the sting out of what I had done (side-swiping a friend’s car while backing out of Mom’s driveway and over-correcting in order to miss her tomato plant pot at 7am…how humiliating.). The damage caused to the friend’s car was addressed in a timely manner and with little inconvience, other than what is expected.

The other benefits that are valued are probably offered by other insurance companies: e-communication vs. paper, monthly newsletters that are helpful, electronic payments, etc.

I switched my auto insurance to Geico on 09/01/15. The premiums are significantly lower than the amounts I’d been paying. Fortunately, nothing’s gone wrong since the change, so I’ve had no experience using the coverage. I know that my rosy outlook may or may not change if/when there’s a claim.

I had Geico for years and then switched to 21st century. I had no complaints with Geico and switched because 21st Century offered a little better rate at the time. it has been about 7 years or so and I haven’t comparison shopped since then. Maybe compare Geico against 21st Century.

I used Geico for years and had no complaints. I never had to file a claim so I can’t comment on that.

They don’t give much of a discount for low miles, though. I don’t drive a lot, I prefer to bicycle and take the train.

So I switched to a pay-by-the mile company, Metromile, and it’s typically costing 50% to 60% of my last monthly Geico bill.

But again, Geico was fine. I would have been happy to stay with them with a lower rate.

I only wonder how much of your premium goes toward incessant advertising.

All I know about them is that they have a sexy lizard as a mascot.

We already had some other insurance with Allstate and switched from Geico to them because they gave us a an add-on rate that’s less than we paid Geico for more-substantial coverage levels.
I have not had to make any auto claims to either so don’t know how well they handle it, but our Allstate pulled through expeditiously for us on something else in the past.

I’ve had Geico for over 20 years and they have always been great. I use to have Allstate but in other states they were considerably more expensive. Allstate was great when we went to visit family and someone tried breaking into our car by smashing the window. They quickly got it taken care off so we could be on the road the next day. But when someone hit our car in the parking lot they also took care of it but then our rates went up.

So we then went with Geico and stayed with them. Someone hit my car in the parking lot and even though it is a no fault state, we did not get penalized for it. A few short years later, my husband was driving our week old car and someone rear ended him because he stopped to make a right on a street that said no turn on red. And again they fixed our car and paid for the loaner car till it was fixed. No increase. And with every year our rates went down. In dealing with them they were always very professional and at no time make you feel like you are a criminal looking to milk them. They do charge a bit more for un-experienced drivers, but that is understandable. And at least that means they do not pass on the cost of the unexperience driver to those with great records. Especially young teens but once they have a few years of a clean driving record their rates drop.

Plus I find that the higher coverage for 500,000 and coverage for uncovered driver was lower than other plans.

I also had a family member that worked for them and they said that it is truly a company that cares for their customer and employees. I like companies that value their customers and personnel. Of course a lot of their employees are either military spouses or retired military.

I moved to a higher rate area and they didn’t try to rip me off. It only went up like 25 bucks. Others wanted to charge 4 times that amount because we moved to a more concentrated population. That was the problem with Allstate. It would fluctuate by a lot depending where we lived.

All I know about them is that they have a sexy lizard as a mascot.

He’s OK but my heart belongs to Flo.

Call me, Flo!

He drives a very snazzy little car too with an awesome alarm system. LOL

I don’t have Geico, but I will
mention that since you are shopping around I strongly warn against Liberty Mutual.

It looks like quite a few jellies above have had accidents with Geico as their insurer and had a positive experience. I have USAA, and I only have positive things to say about them, but not everyone can get USAA.

I think a lot depends on your agent, too. If you have a good agent who is helpful, that’s nice. I have Allstate, and I have an agent at a small place where, thankfully I don’t call her often because I rarely have an issue but when I do, she gives me personalized service and it’s nice to know she’s there. For that reason, I’m loyal to her and to Allstate.

I feel the same way about my agent, @jca. She’s great, and Allstate service has been through-the-roof. But due to an accident last year, my rate has also gone through the roof. Almost doubled. I’m very hesitant about switching but I just may have to.

Thanks, all. You’ve been a huge help.