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05 November 2007

Is Geico legit? After buying a new vehicle last spring, my insurance costs are eating me up.[More:] I called Geico today, and it looks like I can get insured there for about 1/4th the price. I've done some Googling and can read horror stories people have had while dealing with them, but I can also find horror stories on EVERY insurance company out there, so that's not a good indicator.

I've only had two speeding tickets in my whole life, and the most recent one was over five years ago. I really only drive two days a week. Am I going to get burned if I switch to an insurer like Geico?

A friend of mine has Geico and LOVES it. She's never had an accident, so she hasn't had to deal with them that way. But they've covered most of her major car repairs, and that's been very cool.
posted by mudpuppie 05 November | 13:59
Dude, if you can't trust yuppie cavemen and talking reptiles who can you trust?
posted by jonmc 05 November | 14:02
Be sure that Geico is actually cheaper, though. I did some research a couple of years ago and discovered that both State Farm & Erie were cheaper than Geico while offering better coverage so I'm sticking with State Farm.
posted by mygothlaundry 05 November | 14:07
I have had car insurance through GEICO for about 20 years, under my parents' policy when I was younger, and now, or course, as my own policy.

I have never had a major difficulty with them despite several claims (none of which were my fault, so that may have played a part in it).

If you can get a good rate with them for an amount of coverage you feel is adequate, there's certainly no reason of which I'm aware NOT to go with GEICO.
posted by dersins 05 November | 14:23
My roommate got a much better quote from esurance than he did from geico.
posted by kellydamnit 05 November | 14:24
I had great experience with GEICO. I made two claims in '06 and they did a good job on both. In the accident with more serious damage (everyone was ok), the other driver lied about some of the events and my GEICO rep kicked ass in arbitration. Though the arbitration didn't actually happen for almost a year after the fact (though that was the other insurance company's fault). But I recently left GEICO for Travelers because Travelers was half the price.

But, more broadly, GEICO is owned by Berkshire Hathaway (Warren Buffett's company). It's a AAA-rated company and widely regarded as the most financially viable corporate entity there is.
posted by mullacc 05 November | 14:27
Yeah, what mgl said. We comparison shopped for my family's cars and only 2 out of 5 were actually cheaper with GEICO. However, as long as you don't have any claims, their premiums seem to go down more rapidly each year than the other agencies.

They have very good customer service, always friendly patient and helpful. That's a bonus.
posted by WolfDaddy 05 November | 14:29
Some tips:

Try Progressive as well as Geico. My quote was cheaper with Geico, while MuddDude's insurance was slightly cheaper through Progressive.

Check online if you have any "qualifying memberships" - my membership with Sigma Xi (a national honors society) lowered my yearly rate by a few bucks.
posted by muddgirl 05 November | 14:40
Ask your current insurance agent why his/her rates are so much more than the competition and they might "re-evaluate" your policy and come close to what Geico is quoting.
posted by birdherder 05 November | 14:42
I cannot stand their commercials. I fill with hate and disdain and haaaate! The gecko? And the cavemen? Is that the best they could honestly do? Gah!

I'm with Progressive and have had a few claims, most of which either involved no other vehicles (spinning on icy Alaskan roads and becoming intimate with snow berms) or I wasn't in the vehicle at the time (hello! old lady! you just backed into my parked car!). My reps were fabulous. I should probably look into comparison shopping, but oh. Those commercials.

≡ Click to see image ≡
posted by rhapsodie 05 November | 15:46
It's been a few years, but Geico gave me the lowest quote of anyone, but once I started calling around asking if anyone could beat Geico's quote, Progressive gave me a better policy at Geico's price and StateFarm gave me the same policy at a flat 10% off.
posted by mischief 05 November | 17:26
OK, thanks for the feedback, all. I did check Progressive, too, but Geico's was notably lower.

I'm going to call my agent tomorrow and hold this over his head. (Actually, I'm going to get another quote now that I'm home and can re-do it making sure that the coverage is about the same as what I have now.) I don't expect him to beat the price, though, so I'm probably done with Farm Bureau.
posted by BoringPostcards 05 November | 18:04
I should add... one of Geico's major call centers is in a suburb of Buffalo, I have a friends who work there. It is, for the most part, a "real job" and not shitty typical call center work. They give employees decent benefits, pay well for the area, and prefer people with college degrees. So even if you don't have a local agent like with most insurance, you won't get stuck talking to some $7 an hour mcjob college kid.
posted by kellydamnit 05 November | 21:18
Because I'm curious, and because I wanted to play with surveymonkey.com, I made a survey: How long have you had the same car insurance company?

I also made a Mecha account at surveymonkey. Email me if you want the login.
posted by box 05 November | 22:33
'I Got A Gun' by Treat Her Right. || Whoa, that's my picture!

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