Auto Insurance--Geico vs. Allstate?

May 29, 2006 2:54 AM

Allstate vs. Geico Auto Insurance?

I've had GEICO auto insurance for a few years, with no problems--but also no claims, since I'm a safe driver who fortunately has been in no accidents. Unfortunately, I live in Brooklyn, NY where my 2005 Acura TSX costs me $1800 a year. My question is this--an agent at ALLSTATE can give me the same rate, but they would also include their "Choice Auto Insurance" which claims to keep rates from going up due to an accident and to fully replace a totaled car with a brand new one.

Does anyone have any experience with this, or have any thoughts regarding GEICO vs. ALLSTATE?

posted by quintno to work & money (10 comments total)

I had Allstate before and had a mediocre experience. After an accident I was involved in, I took my car to a body shop, where it was worked on for 4 days, and got a rental (which was covered under my insurance policy). At around 4 PM on the 4th day, the shop called me to let me know my car was ready, but I couldn't pick it up since I was at work and the shop would be closed by the time got there. Also, I couldn't pick up the car in the morning, since I had to be at work an hour before they even opened the next day. So, I picked the car up at the end of the 5th day and dropped off the rental at the same time. Allstate refused to pay the 5th day of that rental, saying that I didn't really need the rental that day since my car had been fixed by that time.
posted by shoos at 3:57 AM on May 29, 2006

fully replace a totaled car with a brand new one

The Allstate site specifies that this applies to new cars only. Does your 2005 model count as new, and if so, for how much longer?

Not too many large companies that don't have enemies and I have no dog in this fight (although I do own shares of Berkshire Hathaway and carry GEICO myself), but you might want to check out allstateinsurancesucks.com. The site's a few years old and they may have cleaned up since then, but still, worth a read

If there are comparable sites for GEICO, I haven't found them. (If anyone knows of such, I would be interested, as I am sure quintno would be.)

Good luck.
posted by IndigoJones at 6:50 AM on May 29, 2006

"they (Allstate) may have cleaned up since then"
posted by IndigoJones at 6:51 AM on May 29, 2006

I've made one claim with Geico when I was rearended a few months ago. It was a simple and quick process and they were quite helpful, but I was only carrying No Fault insurance for the vehicle in question so it was a pretty limited process (brief assessment at a body shop, make a few faxes, get a small check for the mini-tort allowed amount). I can add they have always been helpful and intelligent when I've made various policy changes in the past: their customer service folks actually seem to understand what they're talking about. When I was initially switching from State Farm to Geico, the Geico rep actually called up a State Farm rep while I waited when she had some questions, rather than tell me that they would get back to me in an unspecified number of days.
posted by PinkStainlessTail at 7:07 AM on May 29, 2006

I used to work for Farmer's Insurance, and I don't know much about Allstate, but it was Geico that really presented the disturbing challenge for competitors, because they are famously all about the lowest possible premium.

For example, they will scan over your plan with another company, point out all the coverage you are currently paying for that "you don't really need" or will never use. Sure, you can save tons of money if you pick out only the options that sound right to you, and they will never encourage you to pick more--even if it would be in your best interest-- because they believe that most drivers are "overinsured". Unless you know a lot about exactly what insurance you need and should ask for, you are probably going to end up getting tripped up later on when something unforeseen occurs.

Also, and I can't stress this enough, actually having your own personal Insurance Agent, who has an office in your area and who helps you set up your plan, is crucial. Your agent is there to help when you run into snags in the bureaucratic nightmare following a claim, and they are able to be held accountable. With a service like Geico, you will never have more than just a phone number, and any interaction you have will always involve whatever random person you get via their phone system. And sure, this works for lots of people. But think about the times when there has been a problem with any utility you have, such as your cable service, and you have to call them: you never speak to the same person twice, you have to explain yourself over and over, and often what action you decide to take is determined by who you end up finally talking to about the problem. This is not the situation I'd want to be in say, after a traffic accident.

Anyhow, I don't have a car and hopefully will never have to deal with any of this crap myself ever again. Also, a lot may have changed in the last 7 years since I had this job. Just wanted you to know that real and honest insurance agents (if such a thing exists) can find ways for you to save money too, and would rather bleed from the eyes than have someone buy insurance over the phone.
posted by hermitosis at 7:13 AM on May 29, 2006

All insurance companies suck for someone, just like all airlines and banks suck for someone.

However, when I finally stopped using my parents' independent insurance agent and shopped for my own, we went with Geico, except that it wasn't really Geico, it was Home Something-or-other Blah Blah resold through Geico. For the first six months, it was the cheapest of any of the quotes I got. Then it went up for reasons we never really understood. I know a number of people who've had their Geico-administered policies suddenly moved around from one insurer to another, always with higher rates.

So we got the name of an Allstate agent from a friend. We can still do stuff through the website, but he'll call us afterwards and confirm or say "actually, let's do it this other way, that's better and also cheaper". Just having a real insurance agent has been a lot better, and our rates went down after we'd been with them a year. That's not to say that Allstate is the best, but I think having an actual insurance agent gets you much better service than using a company like Geico.
posted by Lyn Never at 8:01 AM on May 29, 2006

I have Geico, AND I've just recently been in an accident where I was at fault, which is probably one of the more complicated things that can happen to you with regard to car insurance.

The process was entirely painless, and I was very pleased with the way Geico handled everything. I filled out a claim report on their web site the day of the accident, and someone called me that evening to get some more details and help me figure out what to do about getting my car fixed. I was interested to find out that Geico has "express repair shops," which are basically independent shops with Geico offices in them. If you go with one of those to get your car fixed, they arrange to have it towed there (free) and the adjuster looks at it right away. Then you supposedly get priority repair service, and you don't have to deal with all the money swapping where you pay the body shop, then the insurance company pays you (less your deductible, in my case). Geico pays the shop directly.

The shop that did the work WAS fast, in my estimation. I had a pretty substantial front-end crash, and they had the car fixed (new bumper, hood, both quarter panels, plus paint/blending for all that) in four days. I didn't have a rental car, but if I had they would have covered it for one extra day past the date it was repaired. I also had some after-market lights that were damaged, and Geico only replaces stuff with OEM parts. They gave me the option to take the OEM replacements, or have them subtract the cost of those parts from my deductible payment so I could buy my own. I thought that was cool.

Anytime I've ever had to talk to someone at Geico on the phone, they've been very nice and easy to work with. I've also made changes to my policy online, and found that to be really easy as well. Hermitosis makes a valid point that it can be nice to have a local independent agent who knows you. On the other hand, I'm a child of the internet. I prefer to manage as much of my life as possible with a web browser and email rather than phone calls and office visits. I've had independent insurance agents who were good, but so far I've found Geico to be preferable.
posted by autojack at 10:25 AM on May 29, 2006

Look in the yellow pages for an independent insurance broker. They can compare quotes from many companies (and ensure that they are comparing apples to apples) and can give you advice on what coverage you should have from a more neutral POV than an agent for a specific company can.

If the two companies you have checked out can give you the same rate, I'll bet there's someone out there who can beat it.
posted by winston at 11:46 AM on May 29, 2006

Geico, you will never have more than just a phone number, and any interaction you have will always involve whatever random person you get via their phone system.

I was given a specific contact person in their Michigan office when I had my claim.
posted by PinkStainlessTail at 4:27 PM on May 29, 2006

Beware of independant agents offering amazingly low prices. Don't judge insurance by the premium, but rather by the compan's willingness to pay claims. In some places it is possible to be sold insurance from off-shore companies that can not be forced to pay claims.

I know nothing current about Allstate. In the past (decades ago), they had a bad reputation for refusing to pay claims. Search for statistics that are current.
posted by Goofyy at 2:46 AM on May 30, 2006