Insurance

Larry · June 5, 2003

I am not sure if it was something I ate or the medication I am on but I had some crazy idea to trade my HD in for an Avalanche 2500 4x4 last week and called my insurance to see what kind of change it would make to my insurance. To my surprise it wouldn’t have changed it a bit. Well, I drove the Ave for a day but decided not to buy one just yet. Although, I liked the Ave I just can’t bring myself to letting go of my 2001 HD even though I despise the ZF 6 –speed. I am not that keen on the cladding on the 2500 series Ave’s nor the idea of being forced to have autocrap 4x4 as standard equipment.

Anyway, this little investigation into my insurance policy made me realize Allstate is screwing me blue for insurance. We are paying $327 a month for full coverage on the 02’ Taco and 01’ HD then liability on the 68’,72’, and 78’. The wife and I even have clean driving records. So I called Geico….several times actually….for different things like auto quotes, home owners and a personal umbrella. The people were always nice and helpful and the quotes for the most part were considerably less….except my umbrella policy. When I add it all up we can save over $100 a month with Geico and have more coverage (higher liabilities).

Hmmmm….seems to good to be true

Does anybody here have any experience with Geico? Are they any good?

holderp · June 5, 2003

I had them a while back. I don't now. They will do anything they can to screw you. I had hail damage on both of my cars at the time. They posted the claim against collision not comp. I had a higher deductable on collision. Then I got a ticket for making an illegal left hand turn. Was in bumper to bumper and there was a way I could turn off the road and get to work in 5 min. rather than the hour I would have sat in traffic waiting for the accident to clear. Made the turn. Cop was sitting right there. Why he wasn't helping out with the traffic I don't know. Two years later Geico found out about it and tried to double my rates. No accidents or any other tickets. Be careful.

I now have Nationwide and like them alot.

Lance Link · June 5, 2003

I recall years ago that Geico infused tons of cash into a lazer gun manufacturer and bailed them out of financial troubles. In turn, Geico was able to donate the guns free to police departments around the country for them to use in traffic control. Then, of course, the cops would start ticketing people for speeding, many of whom were holding auto policies written by Geico. Geico made their money back many times over by increasing rates of those ticketed. Ever since, I have refused to do business with this company. I'd rather have a company that's on my side. Car and Driver Magazine did a huge story on this in the early 90s- I'll try and dig it out.

gnet158 · June 5, 2003

Sorry to hear about you experience with Gieco. You’re the second person that I’ve head that have had problems. I have had them for a year now and couldn’t be happier. I had Mercury and then stink, I was rear ended on the freeway and called them to ask some basic questions. They open the case promptly enough however getting a hold of the agent was another story. After 5 phone calls and 6 days later he decides to call back. And no he wasn’t on vacation or any leave because I asked him. The guy who hit me had All State. His agent called me back a few hours later excepting full responsibility. She setup the shop appt & rental car. Very good. Anyway when I got my 02 Sierra Mercury was going to charge me an arm & leg to insure her. So I called everyone & their mother for insurance quotes. Gieco ended up being the cheapest. My policy includes bumper to bumper 100K extended warranty, road hazard, free windshield repair (if I don’t like the way it comes out then $50 get me a new one). All this for my 02 Sierra and my wife’s 03 Cadillac CTS for $170 a month. I can’t beat that anywhere.

Wingnut · June 5, 2003

I have had them for several years without problems.

But I have no tickets or at-fault accidents either.

Multimax · June 22, 2003

Wanted a quote from the Lizard people, first question over the phone was, "Do you have a radar detector?"Said what if I do? their response was, We don't insure people who speed. Can you believe that! Wonder who gets the first crack at the black box after a crash?

American Family, Cheap and local

jr.parrish · June 22, 2003

I don't know guys, we just switched to Geico last month. There has obviously been no claims since then and everyone on the policy has no tickets or accidents. Our insurance went down to $1265 every 6 months from roughly $2400 every 6 months from a company my parents have had the policy with for over 20 years, and the $2400 was including a discount for having homeowners insurance with them.

I've heard nothing but good things about their handling of claims, I hope thats the case.

Worktruck · June 22, 2003

I had Gieco for a couple of years with no trouble, also no claims. Trouble started when I traded in my wifes car. Took almost a week to get a binder from them so I could register. And when I did it had the Vin# from the old car on it and the town wouldn't accept it. Than they billed me complete for the policy so I paid it in full. Next thing I get another bill from the about three months later for $125.00. They had made a mistake in billing and now I owed them money and late fees. I refused to pay and they reported me to the credit bureau. This company s*cks. I now have Horace Mann Insurance and couldn't be happier. Also saved several hundred a year when all of my policies were totaled. Sorry bout the long post it just struck a raw nerve.

Frank S · June 23, 2003

[Rant Mode On]

I had them for 2 years and will NEVER switch back to them or give a positive reccomendation.

The wife had a no fault accident where the other driver didn't have insurance and the fixed her Tahoe with some kind of crappy aftermarket parts that didn't fit properly.The grill started pitting inside of 6 months so I called the adjustor who had told me that everything they fix was warrantable for the life of the vehicle and that if the aftermarket parts failed they would replace with factory GM.He proceeds to tell me that he will authorize a new grill but I would have to foot the bill for the labor.I was a little bit irritated about this because it was through no fault of ours and the guy basically told me "tough 5h1t".I responded by telling him to come over to my house and I'll remove the grill from the vehicle and place it into a certain orifice of his so he could go to the dealership and know what not to get.He hung up and I didn't hear from him again for some reason.

Next event was right after we switched from Geico to our current provider,State Farm.The wife is once again in the Tahoe and going to the grocery store when a young guy in a Jeep Cherokee rear ended her going between 40-45 mph.The resulting impact pushed her into a Ford F150 tearing up the defective parts they had put on the vehicle so they ended up having to make good on the repairs anyway.This time,I took her Tahoe to a local body shop we deal with because they fight insurance companies and do their customers right.To this day,Geico has yet to compensate her for lost time and wages because her seatbelt locked up right across her pacemaker causing it to go haywire and it took doctors close to a month to get it to rights.We have ongoing litigation on Geico right now.

As for my experience with State Farm,when my truck was hit by a "migrant worker" without insurance last August,they jumped on the claim immediately.They gave us 0 problems and fixed the truck with 100% new GM parts without so much of a complaint and the repair bill wasn't cheap.They also had to foot the bill for new rear axles because they were bent in the collision.This isn't even to mention that my rates are 15-20% lower than they were with Geico so I don't think they'll be getting my business like,ever again.

frdfandc · June 23, 2003

I have a close friend that was involved in an accident in which the other person had Geico. Took him over 3 years to get everything straightened out. He had to go to court over this. Ended up getting a nice settlement.

I have Erie insurance. So far they have been awsome.

bowtiepatroit · June 25, 2003

Is this the same as Government Employee Insurance Company? If it is than when I was in the Military Army I hjad some trouble getting my new s-10 insured. They claimed it was due to my 33 moving violations. Improper take offs, reckless driving(2 times I was caught doing dougnuts on dry pavement, drag racing, improper equipment(they do not like drag slicks on public roads), Got me once for lifting the front tires off the ground, they called it want and wndagerment or some crap. No duis or anything I just had too much HP and not enough brains.

Anyway these SOB insure my truck but they did not tell me I was not insured. Did not tell me until I got a letter from the bank saying they were going to come get my truck unless I got insurance.

If it seems like a good deal than look deeper.

MarkD · June 25, 2003

I have AllState. I delt with Farmers for about a year and a half, then decided to change.

The biggest plus is, I know how things will go with AllState.

I have heard quite a few complaints about Geico. Mainly like have been stated above.

bummed-n-Md · June 25, 2003

I have relatives in the Insurance business, and I don't know how true the following is, but I have heard this from more than 1 source (including some folks in the autobody busness)

From what I understand, the LIZARD will insure almost anyone up front right away.

If you have absolutely nothing on your record and absolutly never had a claim against an insurance company, LIZARD will have some of the best prices.

BUT as soon as they do a 'background check' and ANYTHING turns up, you are autmoatically transferred to the high risk accounts or they drop you.

If you have a policy with them and you fill a claim, the same thing happens.

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From personnal experience while I was stationed in S. Carolina in the mid '70s, I went with a LIZARD policy because I was only making $365 month (before taxes) in the Corps and so I could qualify to get my car on base. I was told by the LIZARD man that I was fully covered. Car insurance was a new thing for me. I paid the binder fees, etc. and waited form my policy to arrive. 2 months later, right after I left the house for work, some ALPHA-HOTEL (a$$h0le) who lived across the street stole the wheels off my car (put his old ones on), sugered and sanded my engine and left the state with his wife and kids. Went I went to see the local LIZARD man, I was told, "oh I'm sorry, all you have is liability. you're not covered". My car at the time was a 1959 Thunderbird that I had just finshed a 3 week engine re-build on. I knew who the person was and approximately where he was going to in Ohio. The LIZARD man said "wow, tough luck. Let us know when you get the car back on the road and we will re-start your coverage. For now we will just transfer it to a holding account while you are getting it repaired. Be sure to keep making payments so we don't have drop you and state fines you and takes your tags."

I knew many others with similar happenings dealing with the LIZARD.

I did report the theft and damage to the cops, but they never did catch the A-H.

stay away from the LIZARD!

Caveat Emptor

Think about their advertising, "everyday 10,000 people switch..." to them. If that were the case, years ago EVERY driver in the US would have been a LIZARD insuree. I wonder how many a day are dropped or don't renew because of disatisfaction.