Why is Geico so cheap?

The best way to get cheaper car insurance is to compare quotes from multiple companies and then switch to whichever insurer offers the coverage you want at the cheapest rate. Other ways to get cheaper car insurance include taking advantage of discounts, improving your driving record, and raising your credit score.… read full answer

10 Ways to Get Cheaper Car Insurance

1. Compare quotes every 6-12 months.

Every car insurance company calculates premiums slightly differently, so the quote you get from one company can easily be hundreds of dollars more expensive than another company’s quote. Getting quotes from multiple insurers every time you need to renew your policy can help you realize if you’re overpaying for the same amount of coverage.

2. Take advantage of discounts.

All major car insurance companies offer a variety of discounts, which can save drivers as much as 35% in some cases. For instance, many insurers offer multi-policy and multi-car discounts, as well as good student and good driver discounts, and more.

3. Increase your deductible.

Raising your deductible will lower your premium, though it’s important to choose a deductible amount that you can afford in an emergency. A car insurance deductible is an amount that you have to pay out of pocket before your insurer will cover the rest. Deductibles apply to several types of coverage, including collision and comprehensive insurance.

4. Improve your credit score.

Insurance companies use credit-based insurance scores, where allowed by state law since studies have shown that these scores effectively indicate a driver’s likelihood of filing a claim. Given that insurance scores are based on credit report information, raising your credit score can help reduce your rate over time.

5. Consider usage-based insurance.

Usage-based insurance is a type of car insurance that calculates your premium based on your driving habits. Each company’s usage-based program varies, but most consider your total mileage, braking, acceleration, and speed. These programs are ideal for safe drivers, especially those who do not use their cars for long commutes or frequent trips.

6. Choose a car that is inexpensive to insure.

Cars that are particularly fast, powerful, and/or costly to repair are among the most expensive to insure. Insurers also charge higher premiums for cars that are more likely to be stolen. The next time you go car shopping, compare insurance quotes for different models in advance with this in mind. And if your premiums are prohibitively expensive now, consider trading in your vehicle for a car that is cheap to insure.

7. Take a defensive driving course.

In some states, insurance companies are required to give you a discount for completing a defensive driving course. Even where it isn't mandatory, insurers will sometimes provide a discount to encourage customers to improve their driving techniques.

If your insurer does not lower your premium just for taking a course, working on your driving skills will still pay off in the long run and help you keep your record clean. On that note, certain states also allow you to take a course in order to prevent driver’s license points from affecting your car insurance rates.

8. Consider your coverage types and amounts.

All the different types of car insurance can make it difficult to determine what exactly is worth paying for. At a minimum, you need to fulfill your state’s requirements and also purchase any coverage your lender or lessor requires. But beyond that, you can weigh whether each add-on coverage option is worth the price.

For instance, maybe you should drop uninsured motorist property damage insurance from your policy if you already have collision insurance. Or maybe you don’t need rental reimbursement coverage anymore because you could borrow a family member’s car if needed.

9. Practice good driving habits.

Moving violations like speeding tickets signal to your insurer that you are a risky driver, as do serious convictions like reckless driving. By driving safely, you can keep yourself safe and your premium low. If you have tickets or at-fault accidents on your driving record already, work on driving carefully from now on, since they will only affect your rate for a few years.

10. Check out local and regional companies.

Large car insurance companies spend billions on advertising every year, but smaller insurers may be able to provide the cheapest premiums in some cases. So, when you’re shopping around, make sure to compare quotes from companies of all sizes. You can use WalletHub’s cheap car insurance guide as a starting point. Just click on your state to compare the cheapest insurers.

Car insurance premiums are based on drivers’ individual risk factors as well as the coverage types and limits they choose. Check out WalletHub's full guide on the factors that affect car insurance rates for more information.

Geico’s rates increase when drivers add more coverage, get into an accident, receive a speeding ticket, or file a claim. Certain life events, like adding a teenage driver to your policy, can also increase your rates. Plus, it’s possible to lose discounts, which could increase your premium. Your teen might lose a good student discount, for instance, or a speeding ticket could cancel your good driver discount.… read full answer

Certain large-scale trends contribute to Geico and other insurance companies raising rates, too. Geico increases premiums as the cost of medical care rises, for example, because it makes bodily injury claims more expensive to pay out. Unpredictable, severe weather also causes prices to go up since insurers are hit with large numbers of expensive claims at once.

That helps to explain why Geico may continue to raise your rate even if you haven’t had any accidents or made any policy changes. Geico sets premiums based on how much they predict claims will cost. If those predicted costs increase, so will your premiums.

The bottom line is that there are a lot of factors affecting your insurance premium, and not all of them are within your control. But it’s still important to pinpoint the most likely causes of insurance rate hikes, so you can understand them better, at the very least, and hopefully make money-saving adjustments.

Why does Geico keep raising my rates?

• You got a high-tech car with more features, which is more expensive to insure and repair.
• Car accidents are on the rise, with 36,560 deadly crashes and 33,654 collisions in 2018—an 11% increase from five years earlier, despite safety improvements.
• The cost of healthcare rises by about 6% each year, which makes it more expensive to pay medical claims.
• Catastrophic weather is becoming much more common. In 2018, there were 55 weather catastrophes—the most in over a decade.

Those are some of the most common reasons why Geico may repeatedly raise a customer’s premium. And, as you can see, increases in insurance costs won’t always be about you in particular. The premiums we have to pay can also rise if the cost of providing car insurance goes up on the whole.

Does Geico increase rates after a claim?

Geico doesn’t always increase your premium if you file a claim. They consider your driving history, the number of claims you’ve had in the past, the payout amount and type of claim, and whether you qualify for accident forgiveness before raising your rate.

This is also true for speeding tickets and other moving violations. If you’re a loyal customer with a single incident, your premiums may not go up at all.

If your insurance rate is going to be affected by a claim or incident, you’ll get a new policy payment amount 30 days prior to renewal, so you’ll have time to shop around and compare rates if you want.

Geico started using telematics to monitor participating customers’ driving habits electronically in 2019, when the company launched its DriveEasy program. Since then, Geico has expanded DiveEasy and its telematics program across 17 states and plans to offer access to more states in the near future.

Geico is testing the smartphone app in certain markets first because telematics programs are still pretty new to consumers. Only 10% to 15% of U.S. drivers had tried one, as of mid-2019.… read full answer

The Geico telematics app, DriveEasy, automatically detects when you’re driving without you having to open and close the app during trips. DriveEasy provides feedback on your driving and scores your habits to determine your discount. Currently, the app monitors:

• Distracted driving
• Hard braking
• Time of day
• Miles logged

Some of these behaviors impact your score more than others. Distracted driving and total driving distance are given the most weight since they are the most likely to increase your risk of an accident. Although the app logs both handheld phone calls and active phone use, it won’t penalize you for hands-free calls or mounting your phone on the dashboard to use the GPS.

The app can tell if you’re the driver or passenger by using your phone’s sensors and GPS location, so you won’t have other people’s driving habits affecting your score. If DriveEasy incorrectly makes you a driver on a trip, you are able to correct it.

Geico guarantees you’ll get the full discount just for participating, which could be as much as 20%. How much you’ll save for trying the app depends on your location. Feedback from the DriveEasy app won’t be used to increase your premiums, but your discount may be reduced based on your score. The user agreement does say that Geico can use information from the app as part of its investigation of a claim, though.

States Where Geico's DriveEasy Program is Available