# GEICO, you must be out of your mind. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 25, 2002, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geico-you-must-be-out-of-your-mind/115821 "2002-06-25T02:59:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2002, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geico-you-must-be-out-of-your-mind/115821/1 "2002-06-25T02:59:07Z")
I’m getting a new car, and so I started to look around for insurance. What I have is fine, but I wouldn’t mind getting something cheaper. So I go to Geico, and fill out their forms, and what do I find? They want $1175 for SIX MONTHS! Six freakin’ months! That’s insane! What I have now costs me $700 for the whole damn year! Does ANYONE use GEICO? And if they do, are they sane? Taht’s so absurd I am absolutely speechless. ---
**Author:** ![lovelee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/439d5e/32.png) [@lovelee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lovelee)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2002, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geico-you-must-be-out-of-your-mind/115821/2 "2002-06-25T03:17:00Z")
Like a good neighbor, man. =) Get thee to an agent post-haste! ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2002, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geico-you-must-be-out-of-your-mind/115821/3 "2002-06-25T03:18:59Z")
That’s not a bad idea. Of course, when mine is up in September, you get the married person discount, the multiple car discount, and whatever else you can get. Robin ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2002, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geico-you-must-be-out-of-your-mind/115821/4 "2002-06-25T03:25:52Z")
State Farm and I have a history… like three accidents in six months and four tickets, all of that in a two year period. So they’re out. Any recommendations? Because GEICO sure as hell ain’t getting even one ducat outta me. ---
**Author:** ![stankow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cdc98d/32.png) [@stankow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stankow)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2002, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geico-you-must-be-out-of-your-mind/115821/5 "2002-06-25T03:34:01Z")
You should be eligible for USAA. Every time I think about changing my insurance, I tell agents of other companies that I’m on USAA, and they just throw up their hands and say, “Well, we can’t beat them.” ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2002, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geico-you-must-be-out-of-your-mind/115821/6 "2002-06-25T03:38:54Z")
The history explains it - GEICO charges great rates to folks who don’t have any history, but get a ticket or two on your record, and apparently the rate shoots up. A coworker recommended them to me with the caveat that they had switched to a different company for a time after having some incident that bumped their rate up. ---
**Author:** ![Fugazi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f08c70/32.png) [@Fugazi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fugazi)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2002, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geico-you-must-be-out-of-your-mind/115821/7 "2002-06-25T04:02:56Z")
**stankow** funny you should say USAA. I use them for my bank, but when I checked into switching my car insurance, they wanted $300 more for 6 months GEICO is good if you have no insurance also. When I came back from Korea, after having no insurance for 3 yrs. GEICO covered me when others wouldn’t. After 6 months, I switched to someone cheaper. ---
**Author:** ![jackelope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@jackelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackelope)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2002, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geico-you-must-be-out-of-your-mind/115821/8 "2002-06-25T05:57:56Z")
I’ve got a spotless record, and Geico charges me about 2/3 of the lowest rate I found anywhere else. (FTR, it’s $156 for six months, on an old, unstealable pickcup truck.) ---
**Author:** ![Wikkit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c0e974/32.png) [@Wikkit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wikkit)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2002, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geico-you-must-be-out-of-your-mind/115821/9 "2002-06-25T07:21:26Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Airman Doors, USAF \* > **They want $1175 for SIX MONTHS! Six freakin’ months! That’s insane! What I have now costs me $700 for the whole damn year!** Wow! Bad record, expensive car, or really comprehensive coverage? I checked GEICO too. It was more than 60% higher than the rate from the local guy. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2002, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geico-you-must-be-out-of-your-mind/115821/10 "2002-06-25T08:03:18Z")
You can good insurance through AAA if you’re a member. And being a member is always a good idea. ---
**Author:** ![BF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5ac83/32.png) [@BF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BF)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2002, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geico-you-must-be-out-of-your-mind/115821/11 "2002-06-25T12:35:20Z")
Geez, **Airman** , what do you expect? Three accidents and four tickets in 2 years?!?! I had a buddy in the Navy who had 2 accidents and 5 tickets in five years, and he was paying $3,500 a year for liability!! Plus, he had to take the state Driver Ed course again in order to keep his license. I think you’re gonna have to take your lumps on this one. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2002, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geico-you-must-be-out-of-your-mind/115821/12 "2002-06-25T12:48:49Z")
I’ve got Geico and the rates are good for us. But you’re right that they really don’t WANT drivers with ‘troubled’ pasts. That’s how they keep the rates down for the rest of us. ---
**Author:** ![Dev\_Null](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/46a35a/32.png) [@Dev\_Null](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dev_Null)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2002, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geico-you-must-be-out-of-your-mind/115821/13 "2002-06-25T12:52:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by stankow \* > \*\*You should be eligible for USAA. Every time I think about changing my insurance, I tell agents of other companies that I’m on USAA, and they just throw up their hands and say, “Well, we can’t beat them.” \*\* Ditto. I’ve had nothing but excellent service and unbeatable prices from these guys. Insurance runs about 1200 per six months for four vehicles and the house. And they send a “whoops, we collected too much money from you guys” check from time to time. ---
**Author:** ![Nightsong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nightsong/32/3083_2.png) [@Nightsong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nightsong)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2002, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geico-you-must-be-out-of-your-mind/115821/14 "2002-06-25T14:07:00Z")
Or there’s “you’re in good hands with Allstate”… I haven’t a clue how they treat new customers though, or ones with ‘cluttered’ records, so you may want to ask around. They treat my parents very well, because they’re long time customers and have clean records to boot. So, they want to do anything they can to hang onto them. They’ve also been lucky enough to have agents who consistantly know what they’re doing and can wrangle goodies like lower costs, package insurance deals, etc. * * * \<\< His car went beep, beep, beep. \>\> ---
**Author:** ![scout1222](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/34f0e0/32.png) [@scout1222](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scout1222)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2002, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geico-you-must-be-out-of-your-mind/115821/15 "2002-06-25T15:17:27Z")
Again with the USAA. Check into it, anyway. I got in with them when I was a Navy wife. I haven’t left them yet! And right now the car’s in the shop getting damaged fixed, I’ve got a rental, and my deductible is waived. So I can’t complain too much. ---
**Author:** ![Syzygy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Syzygy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Syzygy)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2002, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geico-you-must-be-out-of-your-mind/115821/16 "2002-06-25T15:40:00Z")
When I got my new car last year, I had to get my own insurance. My previous car (a big ol’ Ford) was insured under my parents. I tried Allstate, State Farm, and GEICO. Allstate wouldn’t even insure me (I had had a minor fender bender with a parked car two years prior and one moving violation 1 year prior), but wanted to refer me to a company that dealt with “high-risk” drivers. For very little coverage. At $1500/6 months. State Farm wanted similar rates for similar coverage. GEICO offered me twice the coverage for $1100/6 months. I guess it was so high because I’m in New York, I was 23 at the time, and was driving a 2-door sports car. So screw the rest, GEICO’s done well by me, and my rates have dropped substantially (15%) in the last year. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2002, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geico-you-must-be-out-of-your-mind/115821/17 "2002-06-25T15:48:30Z")
GEICO has always quoted me insanely high rates, and I have very little on my driving record. My last ticket was in 1990. Since then, I had one accident in 1995 or so when my car slid on an icy patch while I was approaching a light and banged into the car in front of me, and my most recent problem a month ago where someone backed into my car when it was parked. Regardless, GEICO always quotes me almost twice as much every year as I can get at Farmer’s, my current insurance company. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2002, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geico-you-must-be-out-of-your-mind/115821/18 "2002-06-25T16:19:40Z")
Airman was looking at quotes while in #sd, and he inspired me to try and find some new insurance for myself. (I just moved to another state and need to reinsure myself.) Geico wanted to charge me a whopping _$1650_ for six months of coverage. I’m 23, female, I’m a college graduate, and have never had a ticket or an accident. I drive a '94 Honda Accord. My only guess for the cause of such an exorbitantly high estimate is that I didn’t change any of the preselected options for how much I want to be insured for collisions, property damage, etc. They probably preselect average amounts in coverage instead of the minimum, which is what a poverty-stricken young person like myself would prefer. ---
**Author:** ![december](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/838e76/32.png) [@december](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/december)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2002, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geico-you-must-be-out-of-your-mind/115821/19 "2002-06-25T17:03:15Z")
Speaking as an insurance professional, here’s another vote for USAA. They’re pretty much the company of choice if you have the military background to qualify. ---
**Author:** ![erislover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/71e660/32.png) [@erislover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erislover)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2002, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geico-you-must-be-out-of-your-mind/115821/20 "2002-06-25T20:19:52Z")
No matter how much sense it makes, private insurance always feels like such a friggin’ scam. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geico-you-must-be-out-of-your-mind/115821.md?page=2)