Michigan is a no-fault state. I wonder if that has anything to do with it? It is hard to get cheap insurance here - luckily we can use MEEMIC, which is only available to families of people who work for Mich. Education. My dad worked maintenance for a school long ago when he and my mom first married and we all have clung to this insurance ever since. You have to marry into it or be a child of someone who has it, and they will kick any high-risk people out, never to be accepted again. My husband had a waiting period when we got married before he could get in because of a bad past driving record, so we used Progressive for him that year (the cheapest we could find). I paid less to have my car fully covered than he paid to have PLPD on his old truck.
I am getting my car fixed right now (got rear-ended a while back) and there was no hassle at all.
You people have no idea. Insurance companies outbid each other in different markets by distributing their costs differently. Obviously, Geico can’t make any money if they offer EVERYONE lower rates; so they, like all of their competitors, offer some people lower rates than they really deserve, and other people get higher rates than they deserve. Insurance companies rely on the fact that those seeking insurance do not, in fact, shop for the lowest rate, and they make sure that it’s difficult to get an accurate quote without actually talking to a salesman – oops, I mean “agent.” If you’re actually willing to do the legwork, you can get a better rate, but most people aren’t. Progressive’s “we’ll compare for you” schtick is a sales tool in itself, as just getting you on the phone to get those rates improves their chances of landing you even if their quote is not the lowest.
I was told this as well when I was pricing insurance. I live in Illinois, and two of the doctors I used to work for recommended GEICO highly. One said that he switched for a few years after he had a couple of accidents, as the cost went up a lot after that. He switched back to them later and the rate had dropped down again. I did end up going with GEICO.
I recall, about a decade ago, Car and Driver savaging GEICO for dumping drivers after one accident, as well as trying to find every, beyond ethical, way not to pay for it.
[hijack] GingerOfTheNorth, we have two cars (2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee and 2002 Subaru Outback) and pay about $1,200 a year through Erie (mind you, we also have our homeowners insurance so there is a little discount). Also, my wife’s office is 2 miles from home (minimal driving) and I drive 2 miles to the subway in the morning (minimal driving). I don’t know where in MD you live but my agent is in Gaithersburg and I like them.
Erie has first at-fault accident forgiveness. I totalled a 3-month old Honda Accordian and they paid for everybody/everything, defended me in a lawsuit, and neither raised my rates nor cancelled me.
If you want, I’ll provide you with their name and number (the agent, that is).
[/hijack]
I love Geico.
When I lived in Connecticut, I had Geico; the coverage was good, the rates were low, and the personnel were incredibly friendly and helpful. Plus the lizard is so darn cute.
I’d still be with Geico, but I live in Mass now, where they don’t insure. I changed to Amica when I moved here, and my rates are now exactly twice what they were in CT. More because of the location, I think, than the specific company. I have no complaints about Amica. It’s just too bad they don’t have a lizard.
I’ve thankfully never had an accident, so I can’t speak to the claim aspect.
While living in WV, I got quotes from Geico and it was one of the most expensive ones I found.
In Texas, it ended up cheaper, well, at first. The quote I was given was not what the actual cost ended up being. For some reason, when Geico ran my driving recond they found that an old accident was reported as my fault, when on the quote I reported not-at-fault. It was clearly NOT my fault and the other insurance company paid for all damages to my car. By the time I found this out though, my other policy had expired so I kept the Geico one.
I have since changed to Progressive who is $200-300 dollars cheaper for a 6 month policy and who have the accident listed as NOT my fault.
I had Erie Insurance while in WV and it was pretty cheap.
Geico was the cheapest for me. 29 year old male, 1996 Impala SS, clean record, living in TN.
The best thing is when we had that hailstorm came through last week, I called and made a claim at about 6pm that evening, and was walking out of the adjusters office at 9:25 the next morning with a check.
Forgot to mention that I looked at other companies in CT, and they were all way more expensive than Geico.
Progressive wanted almost double what I paid with Geico (same coverage).
As it stands now most insurance companies, geico included, simply do not want your business if you’ve had an accident. I don’t care if you turned your tricycle over headed for the ice cream truck when you where 6 they still don’t want your business. How do they tell you they don’t want your business? By quoting you rates that only a friggin CEO could afford.
Geico is simply using the old tried and true bait and switch method using the semantics trick. Geico *could, may, possibly,might, * save you 150.00 over your current rate. That is of course if you have have had a pristine driving record for the last 40 years and you drive down the road with no impure thoughts at the posted speed with seatbelt on not smoking with both hands on the wheel and penis tucked in properly.
Wonder what they are charging the little fucking lizard on that convertable he is driving? I would like to pull his friggin tail off and see if he could grow another one.
Same here, except it was through my dad. Their customer service is just exemplary. Their banking people are pretty cool, too, I’ve had both my car loans through them. I had a minor accident a few years ago (NOT my fault!) and they handled it SO smoothly that they have earned my loyalty for life.
I WAS pretty p’o’d when my insurance doubled when I moved here, but it was pretty low to begin with. Too many drunk drivers around here is my guess. It’d have doubled, or worse, no matter who I went with.
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by elf6c *
**My mom was pleased with them as well, a Geico insured driver hit her car (she was fine). They fixed it quickly without any b.s. or games. She was so pleased she was switching her policy to them.
I’ve had exactly the opposite experience. I had to scream and threaten to get that piece of shit company to cough up the money for repairs to my car after one of their insured drivers ran a stop sign and I hit her broadside. I was without my car for weeks. I will never use this amoral company.
IIRC I’ve also read on these boards that other members claiming employment at Geico say that it is company policy to drop a customer after the customer files a claim.
Geico has been pretty good for me. My rates dropped by a lot when I switched to them from Allstate. My wife and I pay about $880 for two drivers and two cars. We live in Virginia.
GEICO’s good in Louisiana, my mom and I (when I started driving) had em for a while, they were cheaper than pretty much everything at the time. And when both our cars got flooded, they had us in rentals and had cut checks for the repairs in about 24 hours.
Allstate is a joke around here. I called them for a quote once, and as a female with a good record and an old-lady car who mostly only drove to/from work they wanted $180 a month! And that was for liability only. After I finished laughing hysterically, I hung up and called Progressive where I get a 6 month chunk, including liabliity, theft, uninsured motorist and collision, for around $600. Of course the Allstate guy still called me every day for a month to see if I’d “made a decision yet”, despite me telling him most emphatically that I thought his quote was ridiculous and I refused to even consider it.