The famous Geico Lizard
Geico Insurance – Quick Overview
Company Type: Auto and Property Insurance, a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway
Headquarters: Chevy Chase, Maryland
Founded: 1936
States Served: Nationwide, all 50 states and the District of Columbia
Number of Policyholders: 12 million (in policies and accounts, US and Washington, D.C.)
Number of Employees: 28,000+
Corporate Office Location: Maryland
You may know Geico from the infamous lizard that you see during Super Bowl commercials, but it is more than just a company there to entertain consumers through its catchy advertisements.
Starting out as Government Employees Insurance Company, Geico initially focused on the needs of government employees in order to prove them an automobile insurance company that works and understands their specific needs. Even with the acquisition of Geico by Berkshire Hathaway in 2007, Geico still remains a respected automobile insurance company that now offers both insurance products and support for such government employees, but now also offer the same to all consumers in the US.
Geico may not offer a lot of the same insurance policies now offered by their competition, but it is a formidable name in the auto and property insurance industry now, remaining one of the largest insurance companies of its kind and focusing on insurance products that are needed in the 21st century.
Differentiating Geico From Other Insurance Companies
Geico is unique in its business practice as it is one of the few insurance companies able to adapt a more relaxed but cost effective setup compared to other insurance companies. Instead of investing in strategically placed locations of brick-and-mortar offices, Geico uses the power of the internet to hire and connect insurance agents to other agents and to their clients, thereby creating a network of insurers without a lot of costs to shoulder.
Because of this setup, Geico was able to keep their insurance premiums lower compared to other insurers. What Geico is able to save cost wise is returned to their clients or used for advertising to reach an eclectic audience, such as those seen in now infamous Super Bowl ads – the most expensive kind of advertisements in the US to date.
Geico Insurance Discounts
Geico discounts include:
- Student and Senior Citizen Discounts: People who are looking for auto insurance can now breathe a sigh of relief with the discounts offered to students, further extending discounts for people over 50 who are either retired or have low paying jobs.
- Federal Employee Discounts: Geico pays it forward by looking back to its roots by offering government employees auto insurance discounts that they often can’t get anywhere else.
- Affiliate/Affinity Discounts: If you are an affiliate, a member, or employee with one of Geico’s affiliates or approved entities or organizations such as various credit unions and banks or specific employers, you are automatically eligible for auto and property insurance discounts offered by the company.
Consumer Ratings For Geico
JD Powers
- Home Insurance (out of 5 stars): Geico– 4/5
- Auto Insurance (out of 5 stars): Geico– No Data
AM Best
Types Insurance Products Offered By Geico
Auto Insurance
Geico is best known for its reliable auto insurance. There are different types of auto insurance discounts offered for different types of cars and for different situations. Car collectors can get better insurance coverage from Geico as they offer specialized insurance for these instances.
Property Insurance
Geico offers property insurance of different variants – homeowners’ insurance, renters’ insurance, condominium insurance, co-op insurance and flood insurance are some of the property insurance types from Geico.
Life Insurance
Although Geico is more popularly known as an auto insurer, it also offers life insurance to its policy holders. With flexible payment terms, it is best to get insurance quotes through a Geico insurance agent directly.
Specialized Insurance Types
Other insurance types offered by Geico include travel insurance (for overseas travel) and Identity Theft protection insurance.
Geico Insurance Bundles
Geico Insurance offers a discount to multi-policy plans (2 or more policy plans through one policy holder) and gives a premium discount through its car insurance. This insurance bundling offer is good if you would like to have all the possible insurance types without a lot of added costs. Since Geico is more of an automobile insurance company, the discounts are directed towards their most popular insurance type.
Geico is more than just a company that has funny and interesting commercials for their insurance products. More than it is a company that seeks to entertain while providing premium insurance policies to its policy holders, it is very committed in its promise to provide quality insurance policies with low premiums and better prices compared to the competition. Prices will be higher in the future, but still definitely lower than its competitors.
As Geico is now acquired by Berkshire Hathaway, people can only expect the strengthening of its auto insurance brand and the expansion of other insurance brands to serve the larger and more versatile American market. You can expect more advertisements from Geico during the Super Bowl season, but the content of their advertisements may have more to do with other insurance types rather than just purely auto insurance policies. In the future, Geico will also expand to different insurance brands as they find it appropriate or within the markets demand to do so.
It is possible that Geico will shift from its American market towards the rest of the world, but it will still uphold its values and its company practices as it bodes well with expansion and employment of people under the company.
