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The Government Employees Insurance Company (GEICO /ˈɡaɪkoʊ/) is an auto insurance company headquartered inChevy Chase, Maryland. It is the second largest auto insurer in the United States, after State Farm. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway that as of 2014 provided coverage for more than 22 million motor vehicles owned by more than 13 million policy holders. GEICO writes private passenger automobile insurance in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. GEICO uses a direct-to-consumer sales model. Its mascot is a Gold dust day gecko with a Cockney accent, voiced by English actor Jake Wood. GEICO is well known in popular culture for its advertising, having made a large number of commercials intended to amuse viewers.

About GEICO

GEICO was founded in 1936 by Leo Goodwin, Sr. and his wife Lillian to provide auto insurance directly to federal government employees and their families. Since 1925, Goodwin had worked for USAA, an insurer which specialized in insuring only military personnel; he decided to start his own company after rising as far as a civilian could go in USAA's military-dominated hierarchy. Based on Goodwin's experience at USAA, GEICO's original business model was predicated on the assumption that federal employees as a group would constitute a less risky and more financially stable pool of insureds, as opposed to the general public. Despite the presence of the word "government" in its name, GEICO has always been a private corporation not affiliated with any government organization.

In 1937, the Goodwins relocated GEICO from San Antonio, Texas to Washington, D.C. and reincorporated the company as a D.C. corporation after realizing that their business model would work best in the place with the highest concentration of federal employees.

An important figure in GEICO's history is David Lloyd Kreeger, who became president of the company in 1964 and helped steer it into a major insurance enterprise. In 1948, he formed a group of investors who bought into GEICO right before it went public that year. He became senior vice president and general counsel of the company. Six years after becoming president of GEICO in 1964, he was named chairman and chief executive officer. He retained those titles until he retired in 1975. He continued as chairman of the executive committee until 1979, when he was named honorary chairman.

In 1974, under Kreeger's leadership, GEICO began to insure the general public, after real-time access to computerized driving records became available throughout the United States, and it was briefly the fifth-largest U.S. auto insurer. By 1975, it was clear that GEICO had expanded far too rapidly (during the 1973–75 recession) when it reported a $126.5 million loss. To prevent GEICO from collapsing, a consortium of 45 insurance companies agreed to take over a quarter of its policies, and it was forced to issue a stock offering (thus diluting existing stockholders) to raise money to pay claims. It took five years (during which the company shrank significantly) and a massive reorganization to set GEICO on the path to recovery.

GEICO has also offered other types of insurance besides auto, including homeowner's insurance from 1962 to 1996. A sister company, the Government Employees Life Insurance Company (GELICO), offered life insurance from 1975 to 1985. Although GEICO has since focused on its core auto insurance competency (selling GELICO to Legal & General), it uses its established direct sales infrastructure to market homeowner's and other types of insurance underwritten by other companies.

In 1996, after many years as a publicly traded firm, GEICO became a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway.

GEICO generally deals directly with consumers via telephone and internet; however, the local agent program has more than 150 offices countrywide. GEICO is now the second largest writer of private auto insurance in the United States.

After several years of denying claims and even canceling policies for policyholders that used their personal car for ridesharing companies such as Uber and Lyft, GEICO began offering rideshare coverage in select states in 2015, including in high-population states such as Texas, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Georgia. The policy, which is issued through GEICO's commercial department, has received critical praise from insurance experts and quickly launched GEICO as the largest insurance provider for TNC drivers.

Advertising campaigns

Main article: GEICO advertising campaigns

GEICO has many well-known ad campaigns. In 2012 GEICO spent over $1.1 billion in advertising, or 6.8% of its revenue. All are made and produced by The Martin Agency, which is based in Richmond, Virginia. GEICO ads have featured several well-known mascots, including:

• Martin, The GEICO Gecko is the most prevalent spokesperson mascot and speaks with a Cockney accent.
• The GEICO Cavemen (from ads claiming using their website is "so easy, a caveman could do it").
• Maxwell, the GEICO "Piggy" who shouts a long "Whee" and appears in more radio and TV commercials.
• Actor Mike McGlone, who uses film noir-style narration to compare the ease of GEICO to things, famous people, or idioms. ("Could switching to GEICO really save you 15% or more on car insurance?...Is having a snowball fight with pitching great Randy Johnson a bad idea?") The scene is then acted out, with typically humorous results. In addition to Johnson, other ads have included Charlie Daniels, Andres Cantor, Foghorn Leghorn, Elmer Fudd, R. Lee Ermey, and Ed "Too Tall" Jones among others, including Maxwell the Piggy.
• The "money savers" campaign enlisted actors to portray average consumers who have resorted to various humorous extremes in order to save money, such as teaching a dog to sing or teaching a group of Guinea pigs to row a boat and perform some mundane task for the consumer, and then presented switching to GEICO as an easy alternative to such endeavors with the common line ".... there's an easier way to save money."
• The "Happier Than...." duo features Jimmy and Ronnie playing a guitar and a mandolin, respectively, on a small portable stage. They comment on a fictitious preceding event, such as a man dressed in 15th century attire laughing as he leads a trio of speed boats with the painted names Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria. After cutting to the duo, one says to the other "You know, folks who save hundreds of dollars by switching to GEICO sure are happy." The other then replied, "How happy are they, (Jimmy/Ronnie)?" and in the case above, the response is "Happier than Christopher Columbus with speedboats!"
• CASH, the stack of cash that represents the money you could have saved by switching to GEICO.

There are also GEICO ads that feature stories from GEICO customers about situations in which the company assisted them, but are translated by celebrities like Little Richardand Joan Rivers. Film trailer announcer Don LaFontaine appeared in one such ad, shortly before his death. The tag announcer for these spots was D.C. Douglas. GEICO is also an official sponsor of the National Hockey League and themed commercials for that always feature members of the hometown Washington Capitals.

Review of GEICO LIFE INSURANCE QUOTE

Founded in 1926, GEICO is one of America's oldest and largest full-service insurance companies. Today, the company operates their business out of the corporate headquarters in Washington, D.C, and they have insured more than 22 million vehicles to date.

• Fast quotes: GEICO can give drivers seeking auto insurance a quote for their insurance policy in less than 15 minutes.
• Quote storage: Once customers receive their quote, GEICO stores the information for 90 days, so customers don't have to start over if they take a while to decide how to act.
• 24-Hour customer service: The company has representatives available to help customers 24 hours per day, 7 days per week.
• Discounts offered: GEICO offers customers discounts on auto insurance, including discounts for customer loyalty, driver's education, vehicle equipment additions and more.
• Customer service satisfaction: The company is known for providing customers with excellent customer service, and they received the 2014 J.D. Power award for Highest Customer Satisfaction Among Auto Insurers.
• Best for New drivers, people who just purchased a car and parents who drive children in their cars.

Premium Rates

Geico's rates are some of the lowest of those we examined. We set up a sample customer profile with a clean driving record and checked insurance premiums for our fictitious driver with five cars in five areas across the United States. Like our Silver and Bronze winners, Geico's prices were cheaper than those of other car insurance providers we reviewed. Of course, your specific premiums depend on your own situation and your driving record. Therefore, we suggest looking at three or more of our top car insurance agencies and comparing the rates yourself.

The online quote system is easy to use and gives you a couple of plans to consider, or you can edit the plan to meet your specific needs. The price quote is an estimate. Your driving record impacts whether the final rate is higher or lower than the quote.

Customer Service

GEICO offers 15 discounts, including whether you drive more than one car or more have more than one line of insurance with the company. It offers homeowners, rental, condo or mobile home insurance as well as insurance for boats and snowmobiles. These policies are provided through non-affiliated insurance companies but secured through Geico.

Geico also offers discounts for federal employees and military members, and if you are a deploying, you can get further deals. This auto insurance agency offers discounts to members of more than 500 different organizations. Having good grades or having taken driver's education courses lowers your cost. Being accident-free for five years or more can cut your premiums, too. Finally, Geico reduces your rates if your car has specific safety features like daytime running lights or an anti-theft system.

One discount common to insurance agencies that Geico lacks is the driving habits discount. With this discount, you are given a device to plug into your car. It monitors your driving habits, including mileage and unsafe practices like speeding or hard braking. After a set period, the information is analyzed, and you are assigned a discount based on your driving. While some people may not want this kind of monitoring, others consider it a useful tool for seeing where they can improve their driving as well as save money. It's especially useful for teen drivers, as it gives them feedback on how they are driving when Mom or Dad is not sitting next to them.

You can access your policy information online through the member portal. From there, you can make payments, change coverage or order proof of insurance. If you have other Geico policies, you can access them from this site as well.

Geico has one of the highest customer satisfaction ratings of all the auto insurance agencies we reviewed. Every agency had a high rating, though, but Geico scored the highest in our evaluation.

Claim Processing

You can report a claim 24/7 using the interactive online form through the website or the mobile app. You can also report it via telephone. You can check your claim online to track its progress, but you'll need the claim number. You can view damage pictures and reports, schedule your vehicle for repair, electronically sign forms and communicate with the claims team.

Geico has approved assessment and repair facilities through its Auto Repair Xpress (ARX) program. If you are in an accident and have your car repaired by an ARX facility, it can handle the paperwork, and if you have the rental option, you can get a temporary vehicle at the facility. Your Geico adjustor keeps you informed of progress, and the work is guaranteed for the entire time you own your car. ARX facilities are not available in all areas. When filing a claim, you may be able to find an ARX location through the claims portal or a Geico agent can tell you if any are in your location. Of course, you can always use your own trusted repair shop.

Geico's mobile app is excellent. It has clear and understandable menus appropriate to the small screen of a smartphone. It also has a voice-activated virtual assistant, Lily, who can help schedule appointments with your agent, view your claim information, answer questions about your policy or tell you what she thinks of the gecko, the company's mascot. The app also stores your ID cards and proof of insurance and has an interactive accident guide in the event you're involved in a collision. The app is available for Android or iPhones plus tablets.

Summary

When it comes to automobile insurance, Geico is the best. Not only does it have low premiums and 15 discount options, but it has one of the highest customer satisfaction ratings we found. You can speak to an agent online or in person and file claims through the website or mobile device. The mobile app is among the best we've found for insurance agencies. Overall, Geico does an excellent job with car insurance and should be on your list of providers to consider when pricing plans.