Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Geico or Not?

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Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 05-24-2004, 11:04 PM:

The good news is that Geico can save me 325.00 per year on my auto insurance!

I know this sounds like the ad on TV but it is true. Anyone here use this company or have any positive or negative experiences with them? This savings is with more coverage to boot. They were this much less than Farmers Insurance... Thanks for any input.

Mark

Posted by Phil Hill (Member # 371) on 05-24-2004, 11:20 PM:

Mark, that is probably true.

But, I get a *MUCH* better rate for auto insurance and home-owners insurance since I have both from the same company... it's a multi-policy thingy so the savings are astronomical. (Also, being in southern California, I also have earthquake insurance as well as $1mil liability.) (Those GD lawyers
!) [Smile]

If I were a renter, then I would shop for most cost effective auto policy.

BTW: I have *ALWAYS* found Farmers and State Farm to be soooo over-priced it isn't even funny!

>>> Phil

Posted by Adam Fraser (Member # 1074) on 05-24-2004, 11:30 PM:

Before you sign on, check www.esurance.com they got me a great rate. Under $90.00/car (2000 Dakota, 1998 Intrigue) full coverage for a 22 yr old Male and a 23 year old female. This may not sound like a great rate but was less than 1/2 of what any local company quoted me. My wife has an insurance claim and a speeding ticket on her record, mine is clean.

Posted by Jonathan M. Crist (Member # 413) on 05-25-2004, 12:13 AM:

I would be less concerned with what you pay in premium and more concerned with how well the company pays first-party claims.

Most auto (as well as other insurance) policies have two parts: third party or what are called liability claims (if someone is suing you claiming it is your fault) and first party claims (anytime that your own company pays you for your own losses whether it is for your own medical bills, property losses, damage to your own car, damage to your property, loss of rental income, theft of your tools, cost of rental car etc.)

Now personally I don't care if my insurance company never pays the shmucuk who is suing me or claiming against me - the company can dance him around forever.

But if its my own car that needs fixing or my medical bills that need paid for my own injuries in a car accident so the doctor will still continue to treat me (or any first party claim for that matter -whether home or business or whatever) then I don't wan't them playing games with me. If a tree falls on my house and damages the roof, then I need it fixed pronto. Write me the check ASAP - that's the mark of a good first party insurance carrier.

Posted by Jon Miller (Member # 163) on 05-25-2004, 12:18 AM:

One thing about GEICO is that if they find out you own a radar detector, they will drop you faster than a nuclear potato (or just not write you a policy if they find out up front). Their opinion on the devices is that, as their vice chairman has said, "radar detectors give people the excuse to speed." GEICO is also known to donate radar guns to law enforcement agencies around the country as a way to help keep a lid on insurance costs through speed enforcement. (BTW, I do not own a radar detector, have never been cited for speeding, and have no opinion on the legitimacy of radar detectors. Whenever someone mentions GEICO, their hard-line radar-detector policy is the first thing that comes to my mind, having heard about it a long time ago.)

Here's a link I found on how your lifestyle and record may affect your policy: How to Answer When The Inquisition Starts.

Posted by Oscar Neundorfer (Member # 458) on 05-25-2004, 06:41 AM:

I just got a quote from Geico yesterday. I had dropped a car from my insurance because I got rid of the car. I was now down to 2 cars. My present insurance company Allstate gave me a new price which actually saved me very little considering I had dropped a car. I thought it was way too high.

So, I got a quote from Geico for approximately equivalent coverage, after hearing all the ads about how much Geico could save me. Their quote was almost $400.00 HIGHER than Allstate. I then went to Progressive Insurance and got a quote. It was almost $200.00 LESS than my present insurance.

I am still looking for new and cheaper insurance, but in comparison, Allstate isn't doing too badly pricewise.

Of course, good customer service has to be factored in. The last thing you need from an insurance company is a hard time when you have a claim.

Posted by John Pytlak (Member # 331) on 05-25-2004, 07:49 AM:

A few years ago, my younger daughter was rammed on the driver's side by another car running a red light. Unfortunately, no witnesses came forth, and it was going to be settled "no fault" by our company because they couldn't determine who really had the green light. It would have likely meant a rate increase for me.

The other driver's insurance company was AMICA, and they took it upon themselves to do further investigation, and THEY found their driver had run the red light, and took 100% responsibility for the settlement. AMICA was very good in settling the claim quickly (full book value for my car, daughter's rehab for whiplash).

But when I tried to switch my insurance to AMICA, they did not accept my application because of a 3-year old speeding ticket that I had on my record. So if you have a PERFECT driving record, AMICA had good customer service. But if not, you probably won't qualify.

Posted by Paul Goulet (Member # 297) on 05-25-2004, 08:17 AM:

I have AMICA and they are a VERY good insurance company. I was rear-ended about a year ago and my SUV was fixed and returned to me in less then one week!! Everything was settled in that one week. At one time, you had to have a "sponsor" in order to get insurance from them, at that time, my Aunt worked for them. I'm not sure how it works now though.

Paul Goulet

Posted by Daniel Alt (Member # 2303) on 05-25-2004, 08:55 AM:

I'm on GEICO, and have had no problems. On the other hand, I have had no accidents, so I have no idea what would happen if I did. But their emergency assistance is nice to have. I get a discount through my professional organization, so you might want to check and see if you belong to any groups that have a special rate. (Somehow, I suspect I'm the only member of MENC on here)

Posted by Rob Butler (Member # 2274) on 05-25-2004, 12:53 PM:

I tried to sign up with Geico once, oddly enough, they serve every state including Alaska and Hawaii, but for some reason, they don't serve Massachusetts or New Jersey. I just happen to live in Massachusetts, and at one point I was actually considering moving to New Jersey.

Posted by Paul G. Thompson (Member # 655) on 05-25-2004, 01:20 PM:

All in all, I think GEICO is a very good company. Presently I am with Allstate. When I was looking for a better rate. I found a better rate with GEICO, and when I took the quote to my Allstate agent, he matched it.

They all have a little "finaggling" room...

Posted by Kyle Watkins (Member # 986) on 05-25-2004, 01:53 PM:

I have progressive they are nice, got in a accident, dam women ran a red light. The guy from progressive came out to the accident and wrote me a check write there. Only thing i dont like about them they have certin places were you can only get your car fixed at. My dad works for car dealer ship and always got the hook up on things that need to be done.
As for allstate they were way way over price for me me, but was the other way around with a freind of mine.

Kyle

Posted by Gerard S. Cohen (Member # 994) on 05-25-2004, 05:54 PM:

Once when my State Farm agent retired and his replacement raised my premium, I switched to GEICO, thinking it was started by government workers, and therefore, having a large base of insured with permanent positions, would be cheaper and provide good service. Actually, of course it has no connection whatever with government or civil service workers, though I suppose many others have been fooled by the name.

But when I returned from cycling through Europe, I found a notice canceling my insurance for non-payment of a single premium, the bill for which was delivered in my absence.

For the past several years my family have had our cars, home and office insured by a comprehensive pooled contract with a local firm three blocks from my house. The owner claimed he worked with nine companies, which enabled him to give us the most favorable coverage at affordable rates.

But when he moved East to more upscale suburbs, our rates rose drastically. An agent popped into our office, took an establishing shot of the reception area, after which our premiums
went sky high, and the policy included many unwanted coverage clauses. We negotiated a decrease, but are searching for a better deal with another broker.

The A.A.R.P. advertizes fair rates, but they do not have comprehensive coverage for cars, home and office. So we're still open to suggestions.

Posted by James Pope (Member # 1189) on 05-25-2004, 06:13 PM:

Suprisingly State Farm is the cheapest for me in Utah I got quotes from just about every other agency. After sitting down with my state farm agent we worked out abunch of discounts "multiline" "multicar" "steerclear" were the ones I belive. For a male under 25 on his own it was by far the best bang for the buck. and they been the nicest too.

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 05-25-2004, 06:56 PM:

I found this site which is intereating.
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/insurance/car.html
Seems like GEICO and State Farm have the most complaints on this site.

Mark

Posted by Chris Hipp (Member # 1788) on 05-25-2004, 07:55 PM:

I checked Geico about a year ago and the six month rate was more than I pay for a year. Maybe after I turn 25, but it is way too expensive now.

Posted by Tao Yue (Member # 836) on 05-26-2004, 01:46 AM:

Butler wrote:

quote: Rob Butler

I tried to sign up with Geico once, oddly enough, they serve every state including Alaska and Hawaii, but for some reason, they don't serve Massachusetts or New Jersey. I just happen to live in Massachusetts, and at one point I was actually considering moving to New Jersey.

It's not just Geico. Massachusetts and New Jersey have some of the most restrictive insurance legislation in the nation. Insurers stuck in those two markets wish they'd pulled out earlier when it was easy to do so. Insurers not already in those two markets (like Geico) avoid them like the plague.

Massachusetts, for example, has the ERP (Exclusive Representation Producer) system for certain (usually higher-risk) locations. Insurers are assigned an ERP for which they are required to write policies, but they cannot control how the ERP does business. It's the luck of the draw which ERP an insurer ends up with, and some get better risk prospects than others. One reform proposal would do away with exclusivity and assign each driver at random to an insurance company, spreading the risk more evenly among the companies.

New Jersey has a rate cap which in effect causes lower risk areas to subsidize higher risk areas, and there are take-all-comers laws. Plus NJ's population density (highest of the 50 states) and high theft rates make it a very high-risk area overall. Many insurers still in the market (State Farm for instance) do not accept any new policies and will happily drop an existing policy at the slightest pretext. Auto insurance was one the major issues in the 2001 gubernatorial election, couldn't watch TV for ten minutes without seeing one of McGreevy's "We're number one" ads (highest auto insurance premiums in the nation).

Posted by Leo Enticknap (Member # 534) on 05-26-2004, 01:51 AM:

From Jon's post, I like the sound of these Geico people and wish that they would open up over here. Virtually every day I get dangerously tailgated and then recklessly overtaken (often on the approach to blind bends or summits) on my drives to and from work, by morons who feel that speed limits don't apply to them. It's probably only a matter of time before one of them hits an oncoming vehicle, and I only hope that when that time comes, I don't get dragged into his or her accident.

The 'pro-speeding' lobby here have done an excellent job in recent years in putting across the view that current speed limits are too low and that enforcing them is simply a means for the government to 'milk the motorist' and earn more revenue, and that they do not make road transport safer. This now seems to be a widely-held view, with the result that most politicians are very reluctant to promote any tougher enforcement.

I have experienced two speeding-related accidents in my life. The first was when the car in which I was travelling as a front-seat passenger was travelling at about 80-85mph on a 70mph motorway. The driver failed to see a traffic jam ahead in time to stop, with the result that she rear-ended the car at the back of the queue. We were only doing about 10mph at the time and no-one was hurt, but I feel sure that she'd have stopped in time if she was obeying the limit when she started to brake.

The second incident was when my girlfriend was hit and killed on a pedestrian crossing by a driver who, it was estimated, was travelling at 37mph in a 30 limit when the brakes were applied. I was later told that if the driver had been obeying the limit, she'd have stood a far better chance of surviving.

We've managed to cut drink-drive related accidents by almost 90% in the last two decades by introducing a two-pronged 'zero tolerance' approach: the legal penalties are very serious (a one-year driving ban at the very least, ranging to a substantial jail sentence for more serious offences), and most insurance companies refuse to underwrite anyone with a drink-driving conviction. There are one or two insurers who specialise in this market, but even for an average car the annual premiums cost around £2-5k, depending on the specifics of the conviction. The result is that most people convicted of it will never (legally) drive again. I wish the insurance industry would take the same approach to speeding.

If the idiots who put my life in danger every morning on the A19 know that if they are flashed by a speed camera, their next insurance renewal will be a four-figure sum, then they might be persuaded to think about what they are doing. As it is, most routinely ignore speeding convictions when calculating premiums, therefore passing the (financial) cost of speeding accidents onto responsible motorists. I don't know of any UK insurer who will only underwrite motorists with a totally clean licence, but if one ever materialises then I'll sign up with them straight away on principle, even if they charge me more than my current policy to begin with.

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 05-29-2004, 06:11 PM:

Geting back to this I did go with Geico. We'll see how they are and when I called back I asked the agent about some of the online complaints I read. He said they are a pretty strict insurance company in regards to missing a payment and such... and by keeping down the internal paper work at a minimum that is part of what allows them to keep the costs down. So I paid the full premium in advance anyway since it was so cheap!!

Mark

Posted by Mike Judge (Member # 558) on 06-05-2004, 01:11 AM:

You'll save money, which is what I'm doing by being on them as a 23 year old male, but my dad, who has run a body shop for the last 20 some years, swears out loud any time I even mention them. "They're great, as long as you're never in an accident." I'm back in my hometown this week and I had asked him about this b/c its time for me to re-up for another 6 months, and with the new truck I bought, i have to have full coverage, but apparently they (Geico) don't have the highest repuatation running in his business. Progressive is even worse he says, I'm looking at Allstate, which is only a bit more. Something about cut rate stuff scares me in a way. I'd rather pay a bit more. Insurance is something really easy to shrug off and forget about, until you really need it.

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 06-05-2004, 08:54 AM:

I think for me the Geico thing works well because I don't need full coverage for a 1995 KIA Sportage. If the thing rolls off a mountain top I'm not out very much. I did get full coverage on my 1993 Harley though......

When I called my old agent to cancel the old policy even he said that insurance cost really is the name of the game.....

Mark

Posted by Bill Carter (Member # 156) on 06-05-2004, 09:25 PM:

The best deal I've found is from Progressive. I can't complain about their customer service, either. I had a comprehensive claim about a year and a half ago where my vehicle was totaled several states away from where I live. They managed to get an adjuster out to some town in the middle of nowhere, and ruled on my claim by the end of the business day. I had my check for full book value the minute I turned over the title to them.

Posted by Bob Maar (Member # 763) on 06-07-2004, 09:23 AM:

I have been with State Farm since 1968 and I have never had a problem getting reasonable rates for automobile insurance. I also insure both my NYC apartment and Newort house with them. Of course, it helped that the State Farm agent is a personal friend. [Smile]

P.S. I find the GEICO ads to be offensive.

Posted by Chris Hipp (Member # 1788) on 08-20-2004, 11:04 PM:

Well I just saved $400 by switching to Geico. This is for 6 months. I think it helped that they give you more options on accidents than most companies. The application actually had a choice for "lost control in bad weather" instead of just "at fault" or "not at fault" accident that the others have. I only had one accident that really wasnt my fault, the guy pulled infront of me and jsut stopped, the fact that it was raining didn't help.

Posted by Bruce McGee (Member # 131) on 08-21-2004, 07:46 AM:

I was with State Farm from 1972-1998, when my agent was forced to retire by the company. My new agent was a jerk, and actually pulled out in front of me from a side street one morning and flipped me off when I honked the horn at him.

I moved to Erie Insurance Group at that time. I have my homeowners policy with them, too. They have been good, except for the following:

Last August, my 1985 Oldsmobile Toronado (always garage-kept) was caught in a hail storm. The paint was ruined, and vinyl top got little circle-cracks all over. When I made a claim, I told them that I would handle the paint-job, as it was faded and 18+ years old. There was nothing wrong with the vinyl.

Erie came back and told me that my car was not worth the repairs, and paid me the value of the car. I now have a 'salvage' title on this car. It has never been wrecked or even bumpped. The insurance adjuster informed me that a new vinyl top for this car would cost over $1500, and thats why they totaled it. I was furious. I'd never had a claim on this car.

I got the new vinyl top for $368.76. The new paint job is coming soon, for around $1500. If this car would actually do something to make me hate it, (IE: have a major failure, etc) I would get rid of it.

I dropped all except liability on this car. I have not seen a rate decrease yet, and do expect to, since I just sold my 'rust-bucket' 1986 Pontiac Grand AM this week. My insurance agent was floored when the company totaled my car. She was sure they would paint, and do the top for me, because she saw the car all the time before and after the storm.

Now, I am shopping for insurance for a salvage-titled car.

I also hate the GEICO commercials. Knew a jerk that had Geico insurance, and would never buy something that this jerk endorsed.

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 08-21-2004, 10:56 AM:

"Knew a jerk that had Geico insurance, and would never buy something that this jerk endorsed."

Come on now Bruce. You can't make day to day decisions based on something like that line. You might just save a alot of money, you never know till you inquire. So far GEICO has been just fine for me. The biggest benefit was getting 5 times more insurance coverage than I had for over 300 dollars less than I was paying that other company. The insurance on my Harley also went down quite a bit when I took it over to them.

Mark

Posted by John T. Hendrickson, Jr (Member # 849) on 08-21-2004, 04:22 PM:

Geico just announced recently that they have moved back into New Jersey, and are currently doing business here once more after a long absence.

Posted by Chris Hipp (Member # 1788) on 08-22-2004, 01:47 AM:

I also jsut checked on my motorcycle insurance, it is about $350 cheaper a year than what I currently pay. It may get even cheaper if I get a transfer discount.

Posted by Bruce McGee (Member # 131) on 08-22-2004, 07:29 AM:

Mark, If you only KNEW this jack-ass idiot! You'd understand!

Even with what I said about Erie, I'll stick with them... All of my vehicles are very old now, and dont carry anything but liability.

Posted by Jason Black (Member # 684) on 08-22-2004, 10:17 AM:

Speaking of insurance,

I rec'd my renewal for my homeowners policy a few days ago. The policy was held with Prudential, but they are streamlining and Liberty Mutual now holds my policy due to a buyout.

I look at my policy only to realize that the friggin premium increased from $657/yr to $977/yr! [Mad]

How can the policy go up 33% in ONE year? No claims, nothing.

I'm gathering all my policies in order to compile a bid list to farm out to other companies so bids can be given apples to apples.

Insurance sucks, no matter HOW you look at it. *with the sole exclusion being on the settlement side of the fence, and even then, you most often get the shaft!

Posted by Ron Yost (Member # 1850) on 08-22-2004, 12:36 PM:

To quote an old Farmers-agent uncle of mine, "Insurance is nothing more than legalized theft!". He said this -after- he'd retired, of course.

Ron Yost

Posted by Ken Lackner (Member # 1002) on 08-22-2004, 12:47 PM:

I just saved a crap ton by switching to Allstate. I shopped around, and Geico would have been more expensive for me. I guess it all depends on how old you are, where you live, what type of vehicle you have, and your driving record.

I switched from Liberty Mutual. What a friggin ripoff! I don't know how other insurance companies do it, but they charge a butt load if interest if you make monthly payments rather than pay the whole policy up front. My interest was something like $15-$20 per month! Allstate charges just a dollar a month to make payments rather than pay in full. Think of how much I'm saving just in interest alone!