I was with Geico for about five years and had one claim. They had the lowest rate for that time as I shopped each year though they did slowly raise the price. When I had my claim with them they handled it fairly, quickly and overall I felt they were above average handling claims. About three years ago I found electricinsurance.com was MUCH cheaper, almost 40% less then Geico for me. I switched and soon after a hit and run occurred while my car was parked. Electric handled it almost but not quite as well as Geico, repairing the car for me with a warranty but with a company that was a little slower with the repair. I of course had a free rental car the whole time. Just a few months ago Geico wanted me back (sent me a letter) and this caused my only problem with them. They quoted a lower rate and I completed the process of buying insurance, they even "authorized" my credit card. They then called saying that due to that above mentioned claim with Electric they could not honor the rate and would have to charge more. When I explained that even Electric did not raise me for the claim they did not care, a claim is a claim they said. I am still with Electric, still paying less then Geico's revised rate but more then the "claim free" rate that was initally given to me.
Like I said earlier I work for an insurance company. I am not aware if this information is propreitary information otherwise I would share a Q2 chart or not but Geico is rated number 8 in the last quarter for customer retention this puts them right at the industry average. (State Farm is tied at #4), previously mentioned Progressive is # 13. Retention is the indicator that we use because people speak with their wallets when it comes to insurance and just switch with no warning.
Progressive Auto insurance has always treated me good. And, therefore, I will remain with Progressive.
To the OP: You'll never get a straight answer about insurance. Especially on a message board. Some people love Geico and some people don't. Same with State Farm and all the other companies out there. So many things can influence your insurance rates. Also, while it's easy to see what you're paying on the front end (i.e., your premiums), it's no so easy to see what you'll end up paying on the back end (claims, increased rates, etc...) Just make sure you compare apples to apples and sometimes you just have to roll the dice. Personally, I've been w/ State Farm for 17 years. My rates are extremely fair, of course I have multiple cars, home owners ins, etc.. through them. They have never raised my rates...not even on claims or speeding tickets because I have multiple policies, pay my premiums on time, etc... I'm sure other insurance companies would do similar things for good standing customers. Since you've been w/ State Farm for a little while, use that leverage to your advantage. Make your agent aware you're shopping and ask him/her if there are any other State Farm discounts that you might qualify for. I bet they come up with something to keep you in their fold. Good luck!
I've been with Erie for almost 30 years, and I'm happy with them. In the last couple of years I've had to deal with the other party's GEICO insurance for a claim, and I have no complaints. Every few years I check prices with them, and they've never been cheaper than what I have.
I had Geico for many years and was very happy with their rates and service. We had a few claims with them and never had a problem. We switched to USAA in the last year, but only because the rates were even better. But I would have no qualms with going back to Geico.
For those that don't already know, and because I find it interesting... GEICO stands for Government Employees Insurance COmpany. And their headquarters is in... CHEVY CHASE, Maryland??? Chevy Chase is hilarious. Well, he used to be... haven't seen him in a while.
I've been with Nationwide over 25 years, GEICO and Progressive were a couple hundred more...I'll stick with what I have.
Geico is cheap on claims, I am only sticking with them because my insurance is $500 cheaper with them compare to anyone else
I'm going to partially hijack this thread and ask a silly question. Recently car insurance companies have been using a person's credit score as a metric to price coverage. Do you think this is a fair thing to use when computing someone's rate? My score took a little dive recently (recovering slowly) but it has not effected my rates. I imagine this is only an issue when you apply for coverage initially. Thoughts from you VERY intelligent Prius owners????
I find that HOW you choose to repair your car has more to do than WHO you go with. First, I recommend you pre-identify a local high-quality repair shop that specializes in full accident repairs. No ideas? Call you your local Jaguar, Mercedes, and Maserati dealers, get some recommendations... eventually you'll home in on one or two top-shelf local body shops. Hint: ask for paint shop recommendations, it's one of the hardest parts to get right... Second, when you do have an accident, do NOT let "brand x" tow company take it away. Call the body shop you previously identified. Let them come get it and take it in. If the car is drivable, don't let your insurance come to your house to "estimate damage", take it to the body shop first. Then, and only then, have the insurance estimator go to the body shop and they will have their own estimator work side-by-side with the insurance estimator for the proper estimate. Think of it as the body shop equivalent of bringing your own attorney to the negotiating table. As long as you have some major insurance company, they will usually agree to whatever the body shop finds and very rarely will the body shop find the insurance company in disagreement. Using this method, I once had a Miata (purchased used for 10K) get over $12K in insurance repairs until it was basically BETTER than when I bought it used. The body shop kept calling back the claims adjuster as they found new stuff (oh look we didn't see that part bent before) until EVERYTHING was covered and repaired. For the record, I use Geico, have had a single claim with them (my fault accident) and I never had a single problem. Other repairs over the years have been covered by the other party's insurances using the same process without any problem, delays, or concerns.
Completely agree. I do this as well. Moreover, you can also order AAA to tow it to the body shop of your choice.
I think you have to look at whole package. I have State Farm. they are right down the street. Prius was $130.00 more per 6 months(old car did not have full coverage). I have 3 cars and 2 houses insured with them. The more insurance you have with one company the more leverage and discounting that can happen across the board. Also check with AAA.
My cost for Geico is $ 320 for six months. This was considerably less than what other insurance companies quoted. I've been insurance by Gieco for the last six years. I've never had claim or even a ticket and I live in a good neighborhood and drive less than 5000 miles per year. Steve
Having had both Geico and State Farm (and having had very large claims filed with both), I would say you could think of Geico as a Toyota and State Farm as a Lexus. Geico will suit your needs and take care of you. State Farm will go out of their way to make sure everything is made right. Here's a couple anecdotes... Geico: 2 claims. First was an at-fault by my wife to the tune of $700. Our insurance rates went up by $20/year, which is negligible. Second was a not-at-fault with my new Prius for $15.5k. The Geico adjuster spent the necessary time to get the estimate right, and advised me on whether it would be better to try to go through the other driver's insurance to see if they would call me car totalled. State Farm: -Stolen car - $21k. Gave us within $50 of what we paid for the car 14 months earlier. Most insurance companies would knock >$1k off the value as soon as it leaves the lot. -3 Uninsured motorist claims (across my entire family, not all me) - $9k total. They took care of us, went after the other uninsured drivers for our deductible, and didn't raise our rates. -One at-fault accident (never let your friend drive your car...) - $14k damage. Rates only increased $40/year. So I've had my share of claims experiences with both. Geico will get the job done, but State Farm will go above and beyond. I switched to Geico a couple years ago when I got off of my parents' insurance because the price difference was $800/year, but I can definitely recommend both companies.
I have Hartford insurance we pay $354.00 per yr. we are 65 yrs. old and live rural part of Washington St.............. We are also retried
I am with Geico now, and have had no problems with them, other than raising my rate when I moved (to a house I bought, in a much nicer neighborhood!). I have had one claim, with Progressive and they were very fair. The body shop even repaired the vehicle perfectly without me even paying the deductible. I was 21 and thought $1,000 deduct would be ok.... LOL! On a side note my good friend I worked with until last year has had a major problem with Allstate. He had a home invasion where he was tied up by 2 guys who escaped from a prison in Oklahoma. They waited for his wife to come home (while destroying the place and taking anything of value to a pawn shop) tied her up, and took her late model Celica. Thankfully no one got hurt, and they recovered a some of the stuff and the car after it was stopped by a spike strip in Wisconsin. My friends wife thought it was a total joke, or she would have freaked the F out. My friend is a serious jokester and at one point got free from the electric tape they used to tie him up and was like "ta-da!" so they used a tie. To this day I joke with him that he works on hot rods, lives in Arkansas, yet has no duct tape in his house and all they could find was electrical tape. Anyway, his insurance with Allstate Fd him in the A majorly. He had over $35,000 in claims over this issue but he could never get them to pay. He literally had no clothes, as the guys took everything he had and burned the rest on his bed for the fun of it. It took 3 months for him to "settle" for 1/3 of what was owed. His house still smells like Mustard and burnt mattress materials.
