My wife and I are considering switching our car insurance from Farmers to Geico. It would us about $400 per year… but our Farmers agent is telling us horror stories about how terrible the service will be, how people are constantly switching back, etc.
Of course, he WOULD say that.
So… anyone switched? Anyone switched back?
thanks
We switched from State Farm to GEICO a few years back, and honestly, it hasn’t been bad at all. It’s true that you don’t have local agents, but at the same time, when we’ve had claims, they’ve done everything that they’re supposed to in a timely fashion, etc…
Switched to GEICO many years ago from Alstate, no claims except glass which was pretty painless although you have to go through them now, you used to be able to go direct to the glass replace. I got something like 5 windshields in 5 years and a rear window from them. Had no idea why I get a crack in the windshield every year for that time - the glass was OEM for the first few changes as it contained electronic and there was no aftermarket available at first, I believe that has changed by now.
I once got a quote from GEICO, they were pleased to offer me a policy with premiums almost double what I was paying AAA at the time.
Oddly enough, a person I was interacting with in a totally different capacity volunteered how much they hated them.
There was something about an auto-debit failing to process, coverage cancellation without notice, and a significant claim being denied all within 30 days.
There was also something about setting up a separate auto policy for an adult dependent with a brand new car, telling the set-up person at the insurance company five times that the coverage was to
“exactly match 100% all of the coverages the other policy, including all levels, all deductables and all riders”, and providing the person with info on the other policy car info & policy number “XYZ”.
Supposedly they even verified line by line all the coverages needed on the new policy also.
Less than a month later, a car accident claim brought to light that the brand new car had been covered with comprehensive coverage only, no collision, no liability, no PIP, and no uninsured motorist coverage.
Sadly, the accident did not happen when a tree fell onto the car as it was parked…
I switched to Geico after being in an accident in another car and going through their insurance, which was Geico.
They handled everything perfectly from start to finish and I switched myself after moving away from my personal agent and saved about 100 bucks a year (give or take)
I just switched from Esurance to GEICO last month. GEICO quoted me a price half the cost of Esurance for the same coverage.
A long time ago, I did hear that GEICO was a “prefered risk” insurance company and if you have an accident, they will jump your rate steeply and quickly. Don’t know if that was or is true, though.
Be sure you’re comparing a 1-year policy to a 1-year policy. When I checked Geico was slightly cheaper, but that was for a 6-month policy not a 1-year! So they were actually nearly twice as much.
BTW, this is for a 40-something male with a Mazdaspeed3 and perfect driving record.
I’ve never done it, but I do hear that 15 minutes can save you 15%…
I’m reluctant to reward the company that has been bombarding the airways for the last 10 years with non-stop advertisements. They charge less for their policies, they spend a shit load on marketing, I fear they are making up the savings in the claims department.
This description of coverage makes no sense. I don’t know where you are, but here the minimum coverage is liability and it is required in order to register a vehicle. Also, comprehensive (coverage for towing and other incidentals) is available only as an adjunct to collision coverage.
I switched to Geico and saved about 70% or so (they have very low premiums for young drivers relative to most other companies, and when my oldest daughter got her license I made the switch).
Never had any problems with their service. I was actually just looking around the other day at some possible alternatives and came accross one of these websites which rates various companies, and Geico’s service was rated pretty high. (The other company which had low rates for teen drivers last time I checked was Travelers, and their service was rated pretty low.)
I switched from Allstate to Geico when both my sons reached driving age and Allstate pretty much priced us out of the market. I haven’t had a claim myself since, but my sons had a couple small ones each. Everything was handled smoothly and quickly. My younger son was only 17 when he had his first accident, sliding though an intersection on an icy street, and was very scared. The Geico rep on the phone when he called in to report the accident was both kind and understanding. My son remarked on how he made my son stay on the phone until the police were there, then the rep spoke to an officer before he hung up. I was so pleased with their service on that occasion. It hearkened back to the good ole days when the insurance guy was a neighbor and knew you and your family.
Premiums for the kids did go up after the accidents, but not nearly as high as I’d feared they would. Mine didn’t change at all.
My impression of GEICO, which I freely admit is based on anecdotal material from many sources over the years, is that they fall into that category of service company that’s just great and real cheap… as long as nothing ever goes wrong. You can pay them and have no claims or late payments, or you can pay Allstate and have no claims or late payments, and the only difference is lower rates.
Get into any kind of tangle over a costly accident, missing payments, undotted i’s, etc. - and THEY’LL DOCK YA!
I’ve always preferred to pay more than rock-bottom prices to companies that have a demonstrated track record of being easier to deal with and more forgiving of small mistakes. But YMMV.
Me, as well. More than double, actually.
Seriously, when I shopped for car insurance, Geico was the most expensive quote I got.
I do not use GEICO because the average non-government person’s premiums are used to subsidize and lower the rates for government employees, who receive the discounts that you pay for.
It isn’t just an acronym, you are paying the Government Employee Insurance COmpany.
You may be able to get lower insurance rates for yourself but you are also paying to reduce the rates of government employees. If you are aware of that and are fine with it great. But many people do not make the connection.
Same with me, and the Geico sales agent berated me for not being willing to pay his quoted price because the area I was moving to was “full of drunks”. The AAA price for that location was slightly higher than where I was moving from.
Well, if you had signed up, they would be pleased with that, wouldn’t they.
That, what you complain of, would be bad enough by itself. But to have to listen to all those ads by a cockney-talking gecko? Just one more crowd of lizard-people I’d rather not deal with.
So like a good neighbor, but it wasn’t Allstate that was there.
I’ve never done business with Allstate, but I’ve sure never heard anything good about them, ever. For starters, they are (or were?) owned by Sears. 'Nuff said?