Secured with SHA-256 EncryptionGEICO Auto Insurance Review
When you think about Geico Auto, you can’t help but think about the company’s well-known mascot—the gecko who is determined to save you “15 percent or more.”
The company’s advertisements highlight the fact that Geico strives to save policyholders as much money as possible, but the company has far more than just low prices to offer its customers.
In fact, Warren Buffett believed that Geico was such a sound investment that he purchased all of the company’s outstanding stock in 1996, making it a subsidiary of Berkshire, Inc.
In this review:
Geico Car Insurance
With more than 80 years of experience and an online quote process that makes creating a policy simple, it’s not difficult to see why Geico insures more than 27 million vehicles and protects over 16 million policyholders.
When it comes to policy coverage, Geico Auto has a lot to offer.
- Liability Coverage: In most states, drivers must carry a minimum amount of liability coverage. This coverage protects you from personal injury and property damage claims that are the result of an at-fault car accident.
- Medical Payments Coverage: Medical payments coverage, which is also commonly referred to as personal injury protection or no-fault insurance in some states, covers the cost of medical bills for you and anyone in your family resulting from an accident.
- Comprehensive and Collision Coverage: When people refer to full-coverage auto insurance, they are typically referring to their comprehensive and collision coverage. This coverage is optional, but most lienholders do require policyholders to carry them. Comprehensive and collision pay for damage to your vehicle in the event of a loss, whether it’s accident related or not.
- Uninsured Motorist Coverage: Even though most states require drivers to carry a minimum amount of liability insurance, not all drivers comply. Your uninsured motorist coverage pays for damage to your vehicle in the event the at-fault driver doesn’t have auto insurance.
Claims Satisfaction
Most insurance companies want to make sure their policyholders are satisfied with the claims process. This makes sense because unless you have to make changes to your policy, chances are you’ll only have contact with your auto insurance company when you need to file a claim.
Companies like J.D. Power and Consumer Advocate have compiled information on claims satisfaction into easy-to-read summaries and reports. When you read through Geico Auto’s online insurance reviews, it’s easy to determine just how well the company handles claims.
According to the 2017 Auto Claims Satisfaction Study completed by J.D. Power, Geico Auto ranks “Better Than Most” when it comes to claims satisfaction. The company received above-average scores for every category except Repair Process, where it ranked “About Average.” These scores secured Geico Auto a sixth-place ranking, just below The Hanover and above State Farm.
While it’s important to review Geico Auto insurance ratings for claim processing before purchasing a policy, keep in mind that overall claims satisfaction comes down to three key performance indicators:
- Timeliness
- Communication, and
- Ease of service interaction
With Geico’s above-average ratings, the company easily meets and exceeds all of these requirements.
Customer Satisfaction Ratings
When you’re trying to find the best car insurance company for your family, you need to look at more than how the company handles claims. While it’s important that insurance companies handle claims quickly, efficiently, and fairly, you should also consider the purchase experience, complaint handling, communication, and overall customer service.
The J.D. Power 2018 Shopping Study shows that the company is “About Average” when it comes to overall customer satisfaction in the Geico auto insurance reviews, but the company’s scores vary a bit when you look at each of the criteria individually. For example, Geico Auto received “Better Than Most” rankings in the Policy Offering and Pricing categories and an “Among the Best” ranking for its website. However, when purchasing policies over the phone via a customer service agent, customers thought the company was “About Average,” and it received a subpar ranking in the Local Agents category, which is to be expected since Geico is a company that does the majority of its business online.
When you take a closer look at Geico Auto insurance ratings in various states, you discover that the overall opinion of the company varies slightly across the United States. People in California and New York rank Geico as an average company, while those in Florida believe Geico is one of the better options for auto insurance.
Complaints
According to The National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ complaint database, Geico’s (NAIC #41491) complaint ratio is 0.96, which is just below the national average. When you compare the company’s total number of complaints between 2015 and 2018, there has been a large decline in the overall number of complaints filed.
The 2017 California Consumer Complaint Study ranks Geico Auto insurance at number three, just under Allied Property and Casualty Insurance Company. This study was selected for the Geico auto insurance review because California is the most populous state. It shows that Geico Auto had a total of nine justified complaints in California in 2016 and an approximate exposure of 526,999, giving the company a 1.7 justified-complaint ratio for the year.
Pricing
The price of an auto insurance policy can vary drastically among policyholders. This is common with any insurance company since they consider so many variables when creating the quote, such as the year, make and model of your vehicle, your age, your gender, and where you live. These scenarios will help you better understand how auto insurance premiums vary:
- Single female (licensed 9 to 15 years): One car (Toyota Camry), one violation and one no-fault accident in the preceding three years, drives approximately 12,000 miles per year, and lives in Pinellas County, Florida
- Single male (licensed 9 to 15 years): One car (Honda Accord), no violations, drives between 12,000 and 15,000 miles per year, and lives in Orange County, California
In scenario number one, which features a single female in Pinellas County, Florida, Geico’s average rate is $654 for a policy with the state’s minimum amount of insurance, and $2,200 for a policy with all available coverages, securing it the number four spot. Its rates are lower than both Esurance ($2,473) and Safeco ($2,478), and are the same as Government Employees Insurance Company.
When you look at scenario two, which involves a single male in Orange County, California, you’ll see that Geico Auto isn’t listed on the rate comparison tool. However, Safeco has an average annual premium of $2,214, and Esurance’s average annual rate comes in at $2,277.
So we can assume that Geico’s rates will also be more economical in this scenario than in the first.
Chances are, this is because of three things:
- Cars located in Orange County, California, are less likely to be stolen or vandalized
- The type of insurance California requires is different from what’s required in Florida
- The driver in scenario two has no violations
Financial Strength
It’s important to assess an insurance company’s financial strength before you choose a policy because low rates won’t really matter if your insurance company doesn’t have the financial resources to pay claims.
Fortunately, Geico Auto is a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway, Inc., which has assets valued at more than $32 billion. Because of this, it’s not surprising that A.M. Best has consistently given Geico Auto an A++ rating for financial strength over the past five years, a score that only 5 percent of property and casualty companies earn. Standard & Poor’s has also awarded Geico Auto and all of its affiliates a financial strength rating of AA+, which is one of the top rankings available.
As you can see by this Geico Auto insurance review, the company has fairly good customer review scores and financial ratings. Use this online Geico review to help compare auto insurance competitors and see if it is the right insurer for your passenger vehicles.