Geico Corporation Auto Insurance Consumer Reviews

CHEVY CHASE, MARYLAND -- On April 24, I again received an email sent to my mother stating that unless payment was made, my insurance would be cancelled on 5/4/21. Once again, I called them and they said my mother's death had not been reported. Once again, I reported my Mom's passing. Once again, they assured me that the payment had been recorded by Geico. On Thursday April 29, I received a letter to my mother stating that unless Geico received a check by Monday, May 3 our insurance would be cancelled. Although I knew that Geico would probably not receive the check by then, I still complied.

On April 30, I called Geico. They told me that my insurance was already cancelled and offered a new policy for $902. I asked them if I had been driving without an auto insurance and they said yes! I contacted State Farm and their insurance for the same policy was $904. I did speak with some manager at Geico who told me that regardless, Geico should not have cancelled me, but should have continued the insurance until October. I chose State Farm because Geico gave me no customer service, and offered no resolution. Instead of Geico offering condolences, they penalized me by trying to raise my premiums by $168.

Geico is responsible for the return of my check payment. Geico is responsible for my increased premiums. Geico cancelled my insurance without any notification. Consequently, I had been driving without insurance which is in non-compliance of the State of Maryland laws. Geico has refused to allow me to contest or even discuss the above situations. I have been repeatedly informed that I have the right to initiate a complaint, and also the right to request a review, or make an appeal. Geico has relatedly violated my rights as a policy holder by refusing to address my complaints. Geico no longer seems to be interested in customer service or client's rights.

TONY **

CENTRAL NJ, NEW JERSEY -- My car was totaled by a falling tree on our street 3:30 am on 5/12. Car completely crushed from front to back, driver to passenger sides. Police report indicates "vehicle completely crushed." I called Geico first thing that morning to file a claim. It has now been over a week (5/19 afternoon) and Geico has done nothing, except lose records of where my car is and assign to appraisal to two appraisers who are on vacation.

Every time I call to check on progress I'm given a different story and assurances that this was just a fluke and my claim will be resolved promptly. After spending most of the day today on the phone with various people I just called to tell them I would be posting their handling of my claim on the web. Let's see if that helps.

A few details: 5/12/08 Geico agent told me it might take as long as 3-5 business days for an adjuster to appraise my car, and said they wouldn't schedule for the adjuster to look at car until I had the tree removed. After I had tree removed, I called back and explained that this was my only car so I needed to expedite process so I could begin looking for replacement vehicle. I was told that the process would go much faster if I had car towed to auction service in area (IAA) where inspectors were there at least every other day to inspect cars. Scheduled for car to be towed to the recommended IAA location.

5/13 Car towed to IAA. Called to confirm. Called Geico to confirm that they knew car had been towed and was waiting at IAA for inspection. Told adjuster would be scheduled to look at car soon. Called again and told 'it looks like car is total loss' and appraiser would call me with information on how much for car.

5/14 Called again, car hadn't been assigned to appraiser yet. Called again, still waiting for appraiser to be assigned. 5/15 Called again, got name of appraiser assigned to car, confirmed location of car, was told she was waiting to schedule when to see car. Told appraiser three keys for car and info about condition of car and extras (new tires, etc) placed in car for her review. 5/16 Called again. Appraiser can't see car until Sat at latest.

5/17 Call appraiser. She tells me she has 'bad news' car is not where her report told her it would be. She'll have her supervisor figure out where car is and reschedule appraisal ASAP. Call Geico, discover their records indicate car is still in my driveway waiting for appraisal to be scheduled! After many holds records are sorted out and apologies about errors and delays. "We now have everything straightened out."

5/19 Call appraiser, get voicemail saying she is on vacation this week! Call Geico. Apologies. They call back and confirm appraiser is really on vacation. Job assigned to new dispatcher. Call Geico and learn new appraiser assigned by dispatcher is on vacation today! Call supervisor. Tells me new appraiser is on vacation, nothing can be done today, but he'll look at your car later this week. Call again to complain. Told new appraiser will try to look at car tomorrow or maybe Wed. Call again, told Appraiser will be asked to make this a priority.

5/20 Call new appraiser. He's back from vacation. Hasn't heard anything from dispatcher about appraising my car today, but promised to look at car first thing tomorrow (5/21) and get back to me. Car was in excellent condition. I need to know how much I will get for car before I can even begin to decide what to do next. We have only one car. I didn't opt for rental car insurance.

Now friends who have made claims with Geico tell me they always give you a low estimate and you have to 'go through the process to get fair value.' If it has taken this long and they haven't even given me an estimate I don't know what I'm going to do if I then have to go back and negotiate for fair value of car. I really hope that posting this information can help encourage Geico to give fair service and stop delaying.

5/21 Called appraiser. He was looking at my car when I called. While appraisal was not as much as I had hoped (not enough to buy equivalent make and mileage car in my immediate area before taxes) it was within the range of what the published NADA value. Appraiser noted that front and back bumpers seemed to be cracked. I explained that car had no significant bumper damage--certainly no cracks.

Damage to bumper must be from the forklift they used to open trunk at salvage area. He reduced deduction for prior damage. Was able to view appraisal online by end of day. Title mailed to Geico by overnight mail. I included pre-addressed return envelope to expedite receipt of check. 5/28 received check for totaled car. It was about $1000 less than what I could purchase closest make and model to car I lost in my area, but that's about as good as it gets.

CENTRAL, IOWA -- July 8th, 2004. Here's the "story". There was quite an impressive display of thunder and lightning this morning as a formidable thunderstorm swept through the area. Our power was out for some time and during all of the commotion, I had to get ready to go to work. It was an uneventful trip until about 5:15 am. I was startled to say the least when my ears were assaulted by one of the loudest cracks and booms of thunder I'd ever heard. Part of the whole effect though, and perhaps the more important effect was the bright white flash. My whole world turned into a loud white flash.

As soon as the light faded, my car started honking at random, the driver's side power seat went all the way down and reclined into the back seat and of course, my car stopped running and I coasted to the shoulder on the side of the road. Not good. Car won't start. I did manage to get it to stop playing random settings on my driver's side chair by removing and replacing the power from the battery but that didn't do anything to bring back my computer monitor that usually tells me my MPG, time, temp and such. It's just showing lines and dashes. So, I've just lost a good car... got a spare?

April, 2005. It's important to note that Midstates Ford in Waukee, IA diagnosed several problems as "old age" so now Geico isn't going to cover those repairs. These are: Cooling fan module/regulator, light amplifier (for automatic headlights). A new problem has been found since the temp has started rising in the area. The air conditioning pump doesn't work when you turn on the air.

The little clutch that should lock so the belt turns the pump doesn't lock. Of course, I can't afford another $250 for Midstates Ford to tell me it's also OLD AGE (they charged me $266 to diagnose the lights and cooling). Midstates described the problem with the light amplifier as a burnt out resistor. WELL that certainly sounds like an electrical surge issue to me. Evidently not.

I'm mad at Geico for not protecting my investment, which is why I purchased the insurance to begin with and I.m very angry at Midstates for handling the issue with a startling amount of incompetence. They didn't even know how to get the claim to Geico! They wanted me to pay for the repairs then get reimbursed myself.

I haven't had a chance to contact Geico yet about the body damage. Likely they're going to ask why I didn't notice before. Well, I haven't been able to DRIVE THE CAR is why. It was struck almost a YEAR ago (July 2004) and I've JUST NOW gotten it to a point where it's at least drivable as long as I don't go too slow or stop while it's running because it'll over heat. Yah, this is why we have full coverage insurance huh people?

On the photo pages, you'll see pics of my back window. I tried cleaning that off, scraping it off, it doesn't come off. It's part of the window now. I bet money Geico's going to deny it. So I've had the car towed to R&D in Stuart, IA, they towed it to Mid-states ford in Waukee, IA who then had the vehicle in their shop on several different occasions.

April, 2005. The last time I took it to them I gave them this paper as well: ATTN: Midstates Ford. After getting my car back from Midstates Ford the transmission had begun to fail so I parked the car for a little over a month. I finally sent it to Mitchel Transmission in downtown DM to have the transmission rebuilt. Since getting the car back from them there are the following lingering issues which I think are from the original lightning damage:

Headlights: At first they would shut off when the car was turned off or after the delay setting but the parking lights would remain lit. Now, the headlights just stay on all the time regardless of the auto-lamp settings and delay settings. Midstates reply: Old Age caused the resistor to burst; Alarm: Horn/alarm goes off at random after exiting the vehicle. No combination of locking, keys, keypad, etc prevents it. Midstates reply: That I have an aftermarket alarm installed, which I don't.

Climate Control: Likes to switch itself into a manual fan speed mode out of Automatic periodically and without warning. It has done this 2-3 times an hour. I thought it was just overly sensitive and was switching over bumps but it.s done it on smooth roads as well and once while parked. Midstates reply: Can't diagnose because the cooling fan isn't working so they didn't want to drive it. Explain to me then why I dropped it off with almost a full tank and pick it up with under a quarter?

Electric cooling fan: This doesn't seem to be working at all. The car has overheated 3 times. I am pretty sure I've now completely messed up the anti-freeze mixture ratio. Midstates reply: Old age. All of these issues have been present since I have been driving the car. I didn't really notice any of them when I drove it back from Midstates the first time because that the transmission was shot so I disconnected the battery and parked it for over a month.

Other: Last time the car was in to get the climate control replaced the trim around the climate control was broken and is now loose so please be careful this time when removing parts from the car. Midstates reply: None. I'd also like it if you could get the air filter cover bolts replaced. I know this isn't something you can submit to the insurance company but if you could give me an estimate of what you'd charge to get those stripped bolts off and replaced I think I'd rather just pay you to do it than try and work it out myself. Midstates reply: None.

I have another Mark VIII that I can grab parts from to use on my car so if you can tell me the name of the piece that.s causing the anti-lock brake issues I could swap with the parts car and have mine working again hopefully. I might have to swap the new part you installed with the used part from the parts car but either way, I should be able to get ABS working again myself if I knew what the two parts were that were having trouble. Midstates reply: None.

April, 2005. In addition to what's listed, I just noticed that the AC doesn't work either. Never had the car when it was warm enough out to notice. It worked before the lightning but doesn't work now. Come to think of it, since it was raining the morning I was struck, odds are great that the AC was on at the time. They claim the following things went bad as of old age. I claim it was bad due to the lightning. I had less than 300 miles on the car from the time I got it back from the tranny shop till the time I dropped it off at Midstates Ford.

May, 2005. Here's the latest email I sent to Mid-states ford 5/16/05: My vehicle was struck by lightning and the shop (** at Mid-states) has now started claiming that various items that are broken are now related to .old age. and not the electrical surge from the lightning. This makes no sense because the things that are broken are all electrical. The cooling fan which is tied directly into the A/C is broken as is the A/C, the automatic headlights are also shot.

The A/C was recently noticed when it got warmer out last week. I found out today that the A/C is directly linked to the cooling fan on the vehicle. The odds of the A/C going bad at the same time as the cooling fan are slim. The odds of an electrical surge from lightning causing the damage is pretty good. Here's some information on the car and the insurance company/auto shops handling of it:

** I need to have this looked at again. I paid $260+ to have someone open the car to diagnose several issues I was having trouble with and only got responses to two of those. The car was struck by lightning almost a year ago. Since then it.s been in the shop about 5 times, 4 of them at your location. When I finally got the car back the 3rd time, I had a transmission issue that wasn.t there before. Well I paid $1400 to have that fixed and then I noticed I still had other problems.

By the time I got ** on the phone again and brought it in, they evidently decided that it was old age. I don.t know if it.s because Brian is being intimidated by Geico or not but it's ridiculous to think that these ELECTRICAL problems are not caused by the lightning. This isn't a case of, well it WAS working and now it's not. It's a case of I never had the car to see what was broken or not until recently and these things ARE NOT WORKING. They didn't go bad over time. They didn't go bad at different times. They all went bad AT THE SAME TIME.

To top it all off, Midstates has never even mentioned the body damage. I knew of two locations that had physical damage. The grill and the driver.s door. I had the grille fixed at the first shop that looked at the car (the R&D shop in Stuart who eventually brought it to Mid-states). The driver's door wasn't a big deal to me because I was sick of dealing with you. Well I got the car back and actually drove it for a bit. I washed it off last week and found what looked like a stain on the back window. I tried washing it off and couldn't.

I then looked closer and found that it was electrical damage. The windshield, driver.s door and back window all have damage. You can see the damage on the photos on the page I listed. **. Have someone contact me who cares what the general public thinks about your company. I'm also trying to contact a couple of attorneys in my area. If you know of a good one, let me know. **.

May, 2005. Recently, I contacted someone at the National Lightning Safety Institute and Richard Kithil, Jr., Founder and CEO took the time to respond to the photos I submitted. The insurance claim guy came and saw the car this morning. He agreed that the body damage is lightning related and is going to communicate that to Geico. I'm still screwed when it comes to the other issues on my vehicle.

KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI -- I am on disability and used my money I got to buy myself a van. I bought full coverage online, but could not find the original policy. So, when I got in the first car wreck I've ever had - I called GEICO my insurance company in Kansas City, Missouri. I did have my insurance card which I presented to the police. GEICO would not tell me anything that day. I kept asking them, "I'm fully covered right?" They would not even ANSWER my question. They just CONTINUED to pound away with the questions about the accident.

Then the people who were involved in the wreck were coming to my house and asking me, "What is going on with your insurance company, we are prepared to sue," was left on my cell phone by the other driver. Several calls came to my house and cell phone from the other driver as they were getting tired of waiting around on GEICO. Then they told me to go get a police report at the police station, there I ran into the driver of the other car who hit me. He was angry because he had not heard anything about getting this settled.

THEN, GEICO told me I only had LIABILITY coverage! They said when I called them to put my daughters car on the policy that I changed my van to liability coverage also!! WELL THAT WAS A LIE!! Jamie at GEICO told me that I had to PROVE it. I should have NEVER had told them that "I could not find the policy." Because I did tell them that. Also, I did not find the policy for quite some time, a few months probably. THEN I FOUND IT!! It was on my boyfriend computer. ALSO, I found an email they sent me saying that I "NEVER HAD FULL COVERAGE ON EITHER CAR."(!!)

Since that CAN BE PROVEN in a court of law, I have both documents they should pay me for my van AND for the year of no vehicle. I have doctors appointments, spinal injections, shopping and No vehicle. I called them on this point. NOW, the guy just sits there on the phone - they wait for you to talk to see what else they can come up with. I explained this WHOLE thing over to him when I should have just stayed with an attorney which I didn't want to do because at that time I couldn't find the policy. Well, I made the mistake of telling him that when I had missed a payment my boyfriend picked up the payment and did pay.

So, when I contacted the insurance commission all they wanted to concentrate on was that payment was missed. My boyfriend immediately helps me if I need money. However, they didn't mention his payment!! So, the commission didn't rule in my favor as they had no PROOF. They said the details weren't clear and I would have to get a lawyer, which I'm doing today. I would never put liability on a van in which I waited years to get and was the nicest vehicle I have ever owned, and is, WAS the only thing I had.

I am going to write EVERY consumer agency, newspaper, and person who has dealt with GEICO and get the word out. My father had power of attorney over my sister and she went to the PEACE CORPS and no longer had her car. The car was here in the US. They would not allow him to cancel the policy even though he had all the documentation, her signature, everything. I think I'll have him post here also.

ANCHORAGE, ALASKA -- I am in the military and as a rule I am required to have car insurance to drive on post. On the 30th of Nov, 2003 I called Geico to re-start my policy that I had let lapse. My previous policy had a rate quote of somewhere around $700 for six months, this was for full coverage on a 1999 Ford Taurus wagon.

While I was talking with the lady, several times I asked her to restart the policy at the full coverage rate. When the quote was given it was $7 more than the first quote I had from Geico due to the lapse in coverage. This was OK with my wife and I, since we needed coverage. Due to me being in the military I did not need the medical portion of the coverage and also wanted to start having them take the payments out of the checking account, the Geico lady told me where in Anchorage there are local field office that I could fill out these papers and send them in.

She also said that while I was there I could have my car inspected to "update" their files. Before hanging up with the lady, I paid by credit card $70 something odd dollars and was told that as of that moment I had full coverage. Due to me living in Alaska, it snows here and people have accidents. On Dec. 6th, I was driving the car into town and hit a patch of ice which ultimately sent me skidding backwards into a snowbank that the state had built up in the median of the Hwy. There was some front bumper damage and one of the Right side doors had a dent or two in them. I called Geico that evening and reported it to them, again I was told that I had full coverage.

When I reported the accident to Geico I was told that someone would get in touch with me within 24 business hours. Come Tuesday, no one had called. So I called Geico, turns out that my Claims Adjuster had a family emergency and was to be out till the end of the week. I was transferred to someone else to help me who told me that I only had liability due to that I had not had my car inspected by a Geico person to make sure that there was no previous damage.

I was never told that I had to do that, I was told to go there to fill out the paperwork and to update the file. No mention of an inspection. I have made numerous calls to Geico and spoken to tons of people, even supervisors, all whom seem to be deaf and dumb. Come to find out that Geico's records suddenly seem to have a statement where I say that I completely agree only to have liability on a car that I am still paying on.

Today (December 12th) I get the actual policy from Geico in the mail, while looking it over it states that I asked them to drop the Lien holder information off the account and that they dropped full coverage due to non payment from the 23rd of August on the 8th of Dec and reissued the policy on the 8th for liability only. What a crock. But luckily I am in the military and have notified my chain of command and will be seeing a JAG officer on Monday morning concerning this. I also have written to the states Atty-General and will soon be filing a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. So be warned if you need insurance and actually want to get what you pay for DO NOT USE GEICO!

As if getting in a horrible accident isn't bad enough, Geico and its customer service representatives seem to go out of their way to make sure your experience is a bad one. On December 20th of 2006 I slipped on a patch of black ice and rolled my truck in a farm field. I crawled out of my wreck in the pitch black and freezing cold and search for my cell phone which has landed somewhere in the field. As soon as I found it I immediately called Geico and started my claim. During this first phone call I was disconnected and had to call back and start everything over. I'm fairly forgiving and can understand when things like this happen, I only bring it up to demonstrate that they have been a nightmare since day one.

A week later I am sitting at home out of work since my remodeling business depends on a vehicle to transport my tools, and Geico has not even sent and adjuster out to look yet. I called to ask why and they told me I needed to contact the adjuster directly and that they have no control over when the adjuster is sent out. Huh? When the adjuster finally called me back more than two days after my first call to him he lets me know he will be looking at it that afternoon and calling me in the morning.

The next afternoon and no call, I checked geico.com for the status of my claim and the adjuster had been switched!?! When I called the service center they told me I needed to call the new adjuster to see why- not them, since they have no control. Why can't an insurance company keep track of things like this? The new adjuster told me the other guy had gone on vacation for the New Years' holiday and that he would be going to see my truck soon. So I wait, still out of work, through New Years for a figure and confirmation of a total loss.

A week later the adjuster confirms everything and lowballs me for my truck and flat refuses to count my loss in tools, but what am I going to do? Say it's unacceptable and take even longer for my wife and kids to be able to buy groceries and pay our utilities? Not to mention we've already had the worst Christmas ever. So the next week I call Geico several days in a row and finally confirm that they have the figures from the adjuster and ask about getting a check overnighted to me. They let me know that there was still a form I needed to sign releasing the truck to them. I asked them to overnight that and let them know I would overnight it back because I needed the money ASAP.

I get the forms the next day and overnight it back that same day certified. When I hadn't heard from them the following Monday, I called and they said they hadn't gotten it, even though I had confirmation and a signature assuring me they did, and that it might be somewhere in the mail room and call back Tuesday. I call and still they deny having it at all. Later that day and many offices, supervisors and departments later, they finally found it, though only after I gave them the confirmation number and name of the person whom signed for the papers for the nth time, and promise me they will overnight me a check.

Next day no check. I call, they claim they missed the Fed-ex deadline and it will be sent that day. Next day no check. I call, they say, it was accidentally put in the regular mail and that they were pulling it out then and overnighting it. Next day (today 1/12/07) no check, and I am at my wits end. I call, THE CHECK HAD NOT EVEN BEEN ISSUED YET! Again they promised me today it would be overnighted and get to me tomorrow. When I ask for a tracking number, no one can provide me with one, and I'm given even more of a runaround.

I have spoken to at least six supervisors in three states and four cities and no one can explain why I had been told what I was told and no one seems to communicate with anyone in any other state, city, office, or even department, and they make things up as they go along. I have been put on hold more than 30 times, have been hung up on more than 10 times, lied to, jerked around by everyone I have spoken to, they have my truck, and I still have nothing.

Through this all, this is the same company that advertises nationally that they have top quality customer service, and they get you money fast. Well, my bank account and clients disagree. And the worst part of this whole thing is how my children are suffering as a result of their negligence, lack of intelligence, and lack of communication. Do they offer apologies? Do they offer anything but more frustration? I haven't seen anything to make me hopeful. Avoid Geico insurance company! RUN don't walk away from them!

LONG ISLAND, NEW YORK -- Geico didn't take responsibility to the damages on my vehicle. The adjuster was not efficient in this case. They don't stand up to their potential and I am very disappointed and hurt over the situations. Geico is the worst insurance companies around. I would never recommend Geico to anyone who want to insure their vehicle.

ANCHORAGE, ALASKA -- I have been insured by GEICO for a total of about 18 years. During that time frame I myself have never had a ticket or an accident, and used their road service once. However, while driving our car, my spouse slid on black ice and hit a guard rail. There was no bodily injuries to anyone, the car although needed major bodywork. As a result, our premium went from $423 every 6 months to over $600 a month. Now to the good stuffs... Today I received a letter stating that my insurance has been canceled for non-payment (last installment of 4).

I have been using a Bill Pay Service and schedule my payments ahead of time when I am out-of-town. I checked with my bank, and found that the payment had not been debited yet... Called GEICO, explained the situation, that I had been away and were unable to check my mail until today. The agent was very helpful, seemed to understand my predicament and offered to reinstate the policy, but before that could happen, I needed to pay $6.52 left-over from the old policy.

That was fine with me, I paid over the phone using my Debit card. She then place me on hold for about 20 minutes while she figured out what the new policy would cost me (since it needed to be renewed this month anyway-6 months were up) and came back with a quote of $1,108 for 6 months, an increase of over $500.00.

When I recovered from the shock, I asked what caused this increase, I was told because of the lapse in time (which I was not aware of until today). I again asked what can be done about this and was told to just raise my deductibles to bring the cost down! At this point I request to speak to a supervisor, who sounded more like a prison guard than a Customer Representative (please if anyone out there is a Prison Guard, my utmost respect) and was told that there is nothing that can be done about this situation, I either get the insurance today or take a chance driving without... with my luck I would get stopped or have an accident.

Since it was pointless trying to explain, I buckled down and paid my first installment of $283 just so I can be covered over the weekend, and allow me to find another Insurance company... even if they will charge me the same amount!!! I WILL NEVER EVER DEAL WITH GEICO AGAIN!!! P.S. I am also over 55 and a Disabled Veteran, just trying to make a living...

I have used GEICO auto insurance for many years. Fortunately, I had never needed to file a claim until recently when my 30 year old son was involved in a moderately bad collision with a tree after sliding backwards on a newly stone chipped road. His 2006 Toyota Tacoma sustained damages in excess of $7000. By the grace of God neither he, nor his two passengers were seriously injured.

We contacted GEICO claims at approximately midnight on a Saturday night. The initial claims adjuster listened to all the details, was helpful in explaining the process and reassuring that we would be taken care of. It sounded real good but quite honestly, I was dubious. After all, this was a claim and previous dealings with other insurance companies had been painful at times.

The first thing Monday morning we were contacted by the assigned field adjuster. He arranged to have the truck picked up from an impound lot immediately and towed to the auto body shop of my choice. He authorized a rental vehicle immediately and my son was back on the road on Monday afternoon. He re-explained the process, estimated the damages the following day and authorized repairs. When hidden damages were discovered he re-authorized further repairs. When the repairs and body shop took longer than initially estimated, the adjuster continuously re-authorized extended use of the rental vehicle.

The entire claims process worked as well or better than I had been assured that it would. Frankly, this was a really pleasant surprise as there were no negative outcomes. Following the repairs, I was contacted by an independent company hired by GEICO to evaluate our claims experience. Obviously, I evaluated our GEICO claims experience as a 10 on a scale of 1 to 10 as it really was outstanding.

I do not frequently post on this site and the one time I did a review, it was extremely negative. I feel out of fairness, I should do the same when I receive service and treatment way beyond my expectations. For any and all of the skeptics reading this post, I assure you I am not affiliated with GEICO other than being a customer. This is absolutely the best insurance claim experience I have ever had.