Geico Insurance Insurance Renewal and extortionist business practices Washington District of Columbia Nationwide
I'd like to give consumers to beware of Geico's business practices when it comes to renewal of policy.
I was insured with Geico for 11 years, I kept renewing my policy year after year like I was on auto pilot. I knew there were better deals out there everyone I knew told me so but out of loyalty or laziness I just kept renewing.
However, I noticed that despite my great driving record my premiums were not budging. When I told them I was going to cancel the customer representative told me I had to renew, because if there was a lapse in coverage I would be fined by my new insurer. This information is actually half correct, but she was trying very hard to keep my account through "threats" not "service."
Consumers be advised that there are some states that will fine you if there is a lapse of insurance, however, each state has different laws regarding lapse of insurance. Secondly, there needs to be a huge gap such as 30 days or more for you to incur a fine. Do not let any insurance company or agent scare you into paying their high premiums. You have a right to shop around and find the best deal for yourself. This is a pure business decision.
This is exactly what I did. However, 3 months later I got a note from DMV telling me that I had incurred a fine for not being insured. It seems not only does Geico threaten customers into staying with them they also notified the DMV that I had a lapse of insurance because I was not insured with them anymore.
For those that are in the process of looking at insurance companies believe me you don't want a company like this to cover you. They're in the business of making money, whatever way they can. Instead of gaining loyalty through service they'd rather blackmail and threaten their customers into loyalty.
Marie
washington, District of Columbia
U.S.A.
4 Updates & Rebuttals
Truthadvocate
Virginia Beach,Virginia,
U.S.A.
Clarity for Steve in Asheville
#5Consumer Suggestion
Sun, December 28, 2008
Steve from Asheville.
I have read many of your comments, and I really think you need to educate yourself on Insurance.
Insurance works as a pool of money. Everyone pays in a little bit at a time so the company can pay out the larger amounts to individuals when they need it. They spread the risk out.
In order to assess risks as accurately as possible, ALL insurance companies use loss statistics to help determine their rates. They would be STUPID not to, and they will fail as a company.
If your pick up truck and a smaller vehicle are both driving the same speed, and both hit the same object, your truck will cause more damage because it is bigger and weighs more. That is probably why your rates went up.
If there is a hurricane or tornado and your house is the only one left standing... do you really think your homeowners rates will not go up just because you had no control over the hurricane or tornado?
If there is some new disease that costs health insurance companies a lot of money, but you don't get sick... do you really think your health insurance rates will not go up just because you had no control over the disease?
Accidents happen, even if you don't see them, and even if you are not the one involved. Noone has control over the large numbers in loss statistics.
Northwest
Gresham,Oregon,
U.S.A.
General commetns
#5Consumer Comment
Sun, December 28, 2008
Every few years it is good idea to check out auto insurance as your situation may have changed or the company situation may have changed. However, premium price should only be one consideration. Some companies are terrible in paying out claims, so if you save $60 a year, and after 2 years have a claim that puts you through $1,000 of aggravation, you have not done well.
A company will usually give a quote good for at least 30 days. So check prices (and companies) about a month before renewal. If you want to change, you simply have the new company start coverage the day after the old policy lapses, and that 30 days gives you time to get the money in, get the policy back, AND TIME TO READ THE POLICY.
The old company will send a notice to the DMV and the new company should also be sending a notice of new policy to DMV. In the papers you get from the new company will be a small card to carry in the car showing you are insured. I've never had any kind of problem changing.
Truthadvocate
Virginia Beach,Virginia,
U.S.A.
Extortionists?
#5Consumer Suggestion
Sun, December 28, 2008
Your comment about the company reporting you to the DMV may need to be clarified. In many states, and in DC, auto insurance companies are required by the state to report any lapses in auto insurance coverage. This is true of all of the companies, not just GEICO.
You stated that the agent warned you of fines from your new insurance company, but they may have been trying to warn you about the state fines. I have included some links to the DC DMV insurance requirements page, and to the Insurance comission of DC.
I hope this information helps others to avoid fines for a lapse of insurance, or to file a complaint if they feel a company mistreated them.
http://dmv.dc.gov/info/insurance.shtm
http://www.disb.dc.gov/disr/cwp/view,a,1299,Q,616101,disrNav,%7C32810%7C,.asp
I always want to hear both sides of every story. In the hopes of finding truth, please let us know of any other insurance (or any service for that matter) with a price that has gone down over the last 11 years. Due to inflation, almost everything costs more over time. If the price always went down, everything would be free by now!
Steve
Asheville,North Carolina,
U.S.A.
We just experienced this with GEICO ourselves
#5Consumer Suggestion
Mon, December 22, 2008
Same scenario you state, we were with them over 10 years, yet rates never going down but increasing slowly yearly until this recent renewal saw them going up like 30% more!!!
We went thru hell with their Customer Service and eventually an underwriter Supervisor got back to us and gave us some song & dance regarding our state of NC and then came back saying they would drop our rates to what we were promised and expected a year ago after purchasing the vehicle we had.. All of a sudden a magical $500.00+ annual rate premuim drop happened but we should not have lost work and wasted our time to refute GEICO rates in the first place being a logn standing customer like we were.. It was unneeded stress to have to go after them.
Why do they lie and tell stories is what I'd like to know? I have caught them in past too trying to "delay" crediting payments we had records sending even over internet and had to get uspet and angry thru many people until they came down off their elitist horses as half admitted they made mistak "again".
It seems they do anything they can to strong arm higher rates from even good risks and hope people do not have gumpstion to argue with them to get a lower rate and this should not be. In fact, GEICO told me they have no time to individually look at each policyholder today and go with blanket pricing index as in our state of NC, saying costs are higher here for auto coverages by the State, so they put many people in the NC insurance trust program which is higher costs because it is supposedly for high risk policyholders, so GEICO does not hold 100% of that policyholder on its books and this is wrong.. This is what they did to us this year and we went through the roof- being told we all of sudden became high risk because we live in NC and our 2004 pickup truck was a high risk vehicle to be insured in NC!!?? How outrageous of an excuse to hear from them.
We already are seeking other rates and now they come back and say "please don't leave us after 10 years and your good credit rating and no accident history, we will lower your rates and take you out of the NC State insurance trust pool and insure you diretcly from GEICO".... NO policyholder should have to go thru this is the point just to get fairness and truth.