Geico Corporation Auto Insurance Consumer Reviews - Page 3

DALLAS, TEXAS -- My car was parked in the driveway of my sister-in-law's home when the driver of a white Ford Focus lost control of his vehicle, jumped the curb and hit my car. He never stopped. I got his license plate number which I gave to the police. I was able to describe to the police the car and the driver. My sister-in-law also witnessed this accident.

My insurance company, Progressive, tracked down the license plate to a woman in Andrews, Texas as the owner, who told the police she didn't know who was driving the car. However, she was recorded by Progressive stating that her son had the car that day. The son works for a law firm as an intern and he immediately lawyered up. Also, his employer states that he was at work, which we have not been able to disprove.

Someone was driving that car and regardless of who was behind the wheel, the owner should be held liable for damage done to my car. However, Geico after taking pictures of the "hit and run" vehicle tells me that I have to PROVE to them who was driving the car. This is wrong. The driver was a young Hispanic male. It wasn't her son as I saw his picture in a mugshot lineup and told the officer that the driver was not in the lineup. However, the son and most likely the mother knows who was driving that car on that day.

The damage to my car was to the passenger side rear bumper. Upon checking the cost to repair my car, I was told that the bumper alone costs $3000 to replace and that does not include labor. I have been extremely stressed over having to do all the police work including the insurance people's job. I don't have the money to pay for repairs to my car and my insurance does not cover this.

I am a fairly recent GEICO customer, and besides really lousy customer service (they overcharged me having to do with fees for paying the 1st month by credit card--so I could get my insurance card right away--afterwards, it was REALLY difficult to get payment method changed to automatic debit, and on top of it, they kept charging me the extra fee to "process" my credit card payments. I made like 5 or 6 calls to bring this to their attention & get it fixed, all within the 1st several months of buying my policy. I learned then that they contract out their customer service to independent brokers, a lot of whom don't know what they're doing or what GEICO procedures are.

Just recently I registered online so I don't have to wait for policy docs to be sent via mail, and to my great surprise, learned that I'm NOT receiving any of the discounts GEICO advertises; e. g. car equipped with alarm, use of seat belts, having no accident history for 5 years. I emailed them on their site & brought their attention to the fact that I wasn't getting the advertised discounts; the reply was a VERY snotty one to the effect that the discounts are offered by some other subsidiary of GEICO.

I think it's bogus ** and quite possibly illegal to advertise discounts to get your business, NOT disclose that you're not getting them after the initial interview asks questions that intimates you are (why, otherwise, ask me if the car has an alarm, etc., & then not grant me the discount?) How am I supposed to know that a different subsidiary offers the advertised discounts? Why is that not false advertising, or bait-&-switch?

All in all, I'm overpaying to be underinsured. I didn't even know it was possible in my state to carry so little insurance & still be legal--but I'm paying through the nose for it. Most people agree that $100K in auto is the minimum one should carry. To all of you dissatisfied with GEICO (and you are legion, if this site is any indication), the place to complain about GEICO's nastier practices is your state insurance commissioner's office. You can bet I am!

I have just penned the following email to GEICO. Since 12/31/08 I have been making a simple request: send me documents showing when my father was included on my policy, and how much his coverage was. They have again and again sent me (and my dad's new carrier) forms that make no mention of my dad, what dates he was on my policy, or what the coverages were. A gigabyte of email and several hours on the phone have delivered the wrong documents again and again. Here is the email I'm sending them today:

GEICO: I have been in touch with you since December 1, 2007, regarding getting documents I need. This has not been done correctly. I have communicated with you via email on the following dates: Dec 31, Jan 2 (four times), Jan 4 (twice), Feb 25, Mar 18. I have also made numerous phone calls, the latest a few days ago. Nothing has been done correctly.

This is the request I have made many times: "Hi Geico. I recently requested a document showing when my father, Hans **, was insured on my policy, and what the coverages were. I need to send this to his new insurance carrier, so he can have evidence that he has been continually insured, without a break. The document sent to me only showed the current policy, which does not list my dad, who has recently been removed. I need a document showing what dates my father, Hans **, was insured on my policy, and what the coverages were. Thank you."

A document saying WHEN my dad was on my policy, and what the coverages were, has to go to [Dad's new insurance company, including rep's name and fax #]. Is there any way this can be done correctly, or should I just give up and switch from GEICO to another insurance company? That's it. Brilliant. I'm switching.

SAN LUIS OBISPO, CALIFORNIA -- First off, I will say that I was a fairly satisfied Geico customer for about eight years. All that changed when I was rear-ended by another driver. From that point on, Geico was so difficult to deal with. Even from the perspective that Geico should have been looking out for my interests, I got nothing but a very indifferent, disinterested attitude from them. They really didn't want to do anything to help me and I ended up having to do most of the leg-work myself to get the claim handled. Even after the other party's insurance accepted liability, Geico still did very little to help me.

Heck, the other party's insurance was more interested in my welfare than Geico was, and Geico was my insurer. Despite my better judgment, I continued to be a Geico customer until November of 2006. I was (ironically) rear-ended again. And again, Geico didn't really want to be bothered to do much. The claims adjuster was apathetic and my overall impression of Geico was that they didn't really want to do much because they were looking out for their best interest rather than mine. Of course, in this situation it was worse because Geico was also the insurer of the other driver.

Even after it was determined to be the other driver's fault, it still took FIVE phone calls to Geico to get them to transfer the claim to the other party's policy. Each employee at Geico assured me they would "take care of it", only to find out during another phone call that the previous employee had done nothing.

My overall impression of Geico is that when the chips are down, they are little better than dead weight. They do as little as possible for their customers (even when their customer is NOT the one at fault). They just don't want to be bothered, and they're only out for themselves. Even after my first accident and the other driver's insurance co. accepted liability, Geico fought me every step of the way (even though it wasn't costing them a red-cent). Sorry, but I would strongly advise against using Geico.

WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA -- When I moved to Florida from New Jersey, I called GEICO for insurance rates. I was told that I would pay a little over $220.00 per month for six months. I asked if that was for the entire year and the agent said, "yes, for the year". That is the way I had paid my insurance company in NJ, so even though I thought it was certainly no outstanding bargain at over $1,300 per year, it was not totally out of line, so I said OK.

When the 6 months had ended, I was told I had to pay another $1,300.00 for the balance of the year, making the total yearly premium over $2,600 per year. My mistake was that I had failed to read the "fine print" and had just taken their word for it. Even though their agent admitted the rates were ridiculously high, he said they could collect that from me because I had failed to read the paperwork, and because I was not a "preferred customer". I am not a high risk for automobile insurance, I got very good rates from six other companies once I decided to shop around.

I cancelled the policy immediately and purchased another policy from Electric Insurance for less than $1,200.00 per year, same coverage. GEICO then proceeded to inform me that I had to pay them for an additional month at $245.70 because they had not cancelled my coverage. Their coverage, therefore, overlapped my new policy because they didn't have absolute proof that I had other coverage. I had sent them written notification, but not PROOF.

GEICO has turned this over to a collection agent who is making threats. This is one of the most dishonest things I have ever experienced from a company who claims to be reputable. Every time I see one of their ads, I almost puke. I'd like to feed that little lizard to an American Eagle.

HARRISBURG, PENNSYLVANIA -- I have had a policy with Geico for over 14 years. I always paid my policy on time and never questioned the rates. However, I did make a claim about 7 years ago when my locked car was stolen in front of my house (and yes it was a nice neighborhood). The car was recovered but the airbag was set off as well as personal items of value were stolen. That claim was handled through the customer service on the phone. It was a real hassle and took me months to get it all straightened out with them giving me stouty attitude with every phone call I had to make and piles of paperwork to complete.

Even though the car was stolen from me, they made me feel as if the few dollars I got was a gift from them. Another 7 years pasted and I had a second claim as a result of a car accident (my one and only in 30 years of driving). I was left out on the limb to handle all of the difficult and terrible things that needed to be figured out to get the claim completed.

Again it took months back and forth with them to get everything settled. But the straw that broke the camel's back was recently when I removed a second vehicle and my 17-year son from my policy. The simply didn't want to do it! Again I got the stouty attitude acting as if they needed to straighten me out. They demanded proof that I had other insurance for my son and then called the company to verify. The real kicker was my rates went up because I was getting less insurance from them. What a rip-off!

After 14 years, I wasn't a loyal customer to them, I was simply cash flow. I don't care how much more I have to pay for insurance elsewhere, I'm going to another company where I actually meet with a real person face-to-face, who knows my name and is looking out for me! Too bad it took me so long to get tired of being treated so poorly.

NA -- I have been seeing more television advertisements for Geico auto insurance. The ads that I'm inquiring about are mainly for Geico.com. I've seen two of the commercials. One depicts a young gentleman trying to open some venetian blinds, and the commentator says: "No venetian blinds. That's what makes Geico.com so simple." Then he says in a questioning voice: "Or is it because you go online to make changes to your policy, pay your bill, or file a claim online?" Now, I understand the point that you are trying to get across in that you are trying to tell your customers that using Geico.com is easy, but your ads don't make the message clear.

I see ads for other insurance companies, such as Mercury, Progressive, Farmers, and State Farm, and they seem to get right to the point. They oftentimes compare their rates against the competition and use other messages that make sense to communicate the same message that you are trying to communicate with your unclear advertising.

Here's my question: This commercial seems to indicate that the other insurance companies' websites have venetian blinds, and that's what makes them complicated compared to yours. I understand that you're trying to say your website is easier and more convenient than others, but what do venetian blinds have to do with auto insurance or easiness of navigating a website? We all know that websites do not have venetian blinds on them. Why not do advertising that clearly shows how your company is better than the others?

Your website appears to have more features than some of the others, but the way that you're advertising it talking about something that is completely unrelated to auto insurance, or any kind of insurance, doesn't clearly show that. The same is true with your commercial featuring the "revolving doors", which features the same commentator delivering the same lines. If I were the president of Geico's advertising department, I would seriously consider finding a new person/group of people/advertising firm to make up advertising for the company. I would want for my advertising to state that Geico insurance is affordable, quality coverage.

I would also want to clearly tell people what Geico is about and how easy it is to file a claim, change a policy, or pay a bill on Geico.com. I would want my potential customers to see my ads on television and understand my message from the beginning. I think that would bring in more customers to my business. I understand what your advertising is trying to say and what message you're trying to get across, but it has taken several viewings and a lot of thinking to really understand what venetian blinds and revolving doors have to do with using your website. That's just my take on it.

I backed into a piece of property when I was with another insurance service provider. I smashed my rear windshield. The property was OK. I called the insurance company to ask them if they would cover anything. I did not have comprehensive insurance, so they did not. I did not technically want to "file a claim" but they did that anyway. This incident is not on my driving record. The landlord did not want any money, I paid $1000 towards my windshield and the insurance company did not have to pay or do anything. They did not hike my insurance up.

Now when I switched over to Geico, they quoted me an amount, and then hiked that amount up $500 as soon as I gave them my account number with the previous company and they discovered this "incident". Why should Geico hike up my insurance when no insurance company had to pay anything for this and it is not on my driving record? It looks like they pounce on any chance to rip you off.

I spend almost $2k a year on GEICO auto insurance and have always hated paying every penny. Despite this small fortune I fork over every year, GEICO failed to mail proof of my coverage to the state my car is registered in, and I had my car's license plates pulled. I figured this would be a small issue and since I'm a loyal customer (11 years), GEICO would reimburse me for the $85 I had to spend on getting my car towed and give me a few months of premiums for free. Not the case, GEICO's customer service reps were rude and told me to go screw myself.

I created a blog, **, where other angry GEICO customers can share their horror stories with the rest of the world. This is important because GEICO pays people in India to keep negative reviews from surfacing in search results. Join the anti-gecko army and make your voice be heard!

FREDRICKSBURG, VIRGINIA -- My complaint is reaching 75 years of age. My insurance went up $200 a year. I contacted Geico and asked why it went up $200 a year. I was informed that I had reached the age of 75 and the insurance automatically goes up and "everybody does it". I asked why and she said, "You had a birthday and reached 75." Again, I reiterated, "It sounds like discrimination." Again, she said, "Everybody's doing it." It would have been worth their time to go back and review any claims again Geico for my driving habits. Obviously, they did not. Therefore, putting Geico in a class of discriminating against older drivers. This is purely a discrimination case and I may follow through with an attorney.