Author Topic: Why am I now paying so much now with Geico for car insurance? Help!  (Read 1734 times)

SharpGuy

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Back in 2017 I joined Geico for car insurance (and homeowners insurance) and saw a significant reduction in my car insurance rates (yay!).    At that time, I was paying about $485 every 6 months for 3 cars (all 2003 or older AND one driver being a teenage girl).  Flash forward to 2019-2020, I am now paying $1731 every 6 months with Geico.   The changes being, 1) Added a 2016 VW Golf for myself (so now we have that newer car + the 3 older cars), and 2) Geico now will no longer assign specific drivers to specific cars, thus now paying for all of us (including 19 year old teenage girl) to drive all 4 cars  (I don’t know if this is a Geico thing, or a state of CA thing).   We have  all of the possible discounts (good driver, good student,etc) for my teenager.

6-Month premiums being broken down as follows:

 $1,138    2016 VW Golf
 $212    2003 Honda Civic
 $162    1994 Honda Civic
 $219    2002 Honda Accord
TOTAL $1731

Further break down as follows:
 $564    Bodily Injury Liability ($100,000/$300,000)
 $562    Property Damage ($50,000 per occurrence)
 $154    Uninsured Motorist & Underinsured Motorist ($30,000 per person/$60,000 per occurrence)
 $26            Comprehensive (2016 Golf - $2,000 deductible)
 $368    Collision (2016 Golf - $368   - $2,000 deductible/waiver)
 $48            Emergency Road Service (total for 3 cars)
 $10            Uninsured Motorist Propery Damage (total for 3 older cars)
TOTAL $1731

Obviously we could get rid of a few cars, however family situation is such that we need at least 3 of those cars at the moment.

Any suggestions for how to reduce my rates would be appreciated!

Thanks,
Scott



ixtap

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Re: Why am I now paying so much now with Geico for car insurance? Help!
« Reply #1 on: February 03, 2020, 02:32:04 PM »
Have you gotten other quotes? I have never stayed with Geico for more than a couple of years because their rates have risen so fast.

OtherJen

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Re: Why am I now paying so much now with Geico for car insurance? Help!
« Reply #2 on: February 03, 2020, 02:50:46 PM »
That's a $1246 increase in your rate, of which $1138 is attributed to the 2016 VW Golf. Without that car, the increase is $108. So it's probably both the new car and a CA thing. We've seen our auto insurance rates go up here in Michigan, as well, thanks to new laws. (Our jump wasn't as significant, but we already have very high rates in this state.)

Still, that does seem like a really steep jump. I would recommend seeking quotes to see if another company can beat that rate. We've had good luck with Progressive, although that may vary by location.

MissNancyPryor

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Re: Why am I now paying so much now with Geico for car insurance? Help!
« Reply #3 on: February 03, 2020, 02:56:02 PM »
Sounds like a free quote from a broker who represents several agencies would be good.  I did that online with Zander Insurance because Dave Ramsey beats that drum over and over and I was pleased to see that I got a bunch of free quotes and - most importantly - they never bugged me.  No flooding my e-mail, no unsolicited phone calls, no hassle. 

I saved almost 50% by shopping it that way.  I think most companies boil us away like the proverbial frog thinking we won't leave them after they bait-and-switch us into signing up with them.  Mustachians are smarter than that.   

yachi

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Re: Why am I now paying so much now with Geico for car insurance? Help!
« Reply #4 on: February 03, 2020, 03:39:47 PM »
Check if it's Full Tort or Limited Tort, it makes a huge difference

BicycleB

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Re: Why am I now paying so much now with Geico for car insurance? Help!
« Reply #5 on: February 03, 2020, 03:51:54 PM »
Check if it's Full Tort or Limited Tort, it makes a huge difference

Please elaborate!

dogboyslim

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Re: Why am I now paying so much now with Geico for car insurance? Help!
« Reply #6 on: February 04, 2020, 08:46:12 AM »
Check if it's Full Tort or Limited Tort, it makes a huge difference

Please elaborate!

Full/Limited Tort isn't a thing if you are in CA. I know it exists in PA, but I'm not sure if it is in any other states.  Things to check are that your mileage is reported correctly, your location is correct, that your deductibles are correct and that your vehicle/driver counts are correct and that the limits are the ones you want.

I agree with those saying check other companies.  Direct writers tend to be least expensive (no agent to pay).  Independent agencies have a large number of carriers and can shop several for you, but they can choose which to present to you, so while usually they give you all the quotes, sometimes they don't give you the lowest cost if their commission wouldn't be good.  Also, Captive Agents (Allstate/State Farm and the like) can offer good deals depending on your household makeup.


Sibley

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Re: Why am I now paying so much now with Geico for car insurance? Help!
« Reply #7 on: February 04, 2020, 09:14:51 AM »
Geico has been raising rates.

OP, shop around. Insurance isn't a one and done thing, you need to revisit it periodically.

DeniseNJ

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Re: Why am I now paying so much now with Geico for car insurance? Help!
« Reply #8 on: February 04, 2020, 10:00:02 AM »
Also tell Geico you have Berkshire Hathaway stock in an index fund and you would like a discount.  Some ppl get nothing, some get anywhere from 5 up to like 200 bucks every 6 months.

chemistk

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Re: Why am I now paying so much now with Geico for car insurance? Help!
« Reply #9 on: February 04, 2020, 10:56:30 AM »
Yeah you definitely need to look into switching.

We were with Nationwide for ~5 years. Between year 2 (when we had 2 cars to insure) and year 5 our rates just about doubled - going from ~$70/month to ~$130/month. Also during this time both my wife and I turned 26, some older tickets fell off my record, and we moved to a house with a garage.

We switched (to GEICO) and immediately went back down to ~$70/month, while also getting better (lower deductible) coverage. When I called Nationwide to cancel, the representative asked me what coverage we now had with GEICO and how much we were paying, and she flat out told me that Nationwide would not be able to match. Our policy has now been renewed 3 times and we only saw a small bump when we purchased our van.

It never hurts to shop around, it pays to be disloyal these days. That being said, you can also certainly call GEICO and tell them that your coverage has become too expensive and that you're going to switch. They definitely have discounts they will be glad to apply to keep you as a customer.

use2betrix

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Re: Why am I now paying so much now with Geico for car insurance? Help!
« Reply #10 on: February 04, 2020, 07:20:08 PM »
You can get online quotes very very easily. Check out Progressive and some of the online mainstream insurance companies.

I switch every couple years when my rates jump a bit. For my wife and I, with our two cars, I can fill out the information online for a new quote in about 20 minutes.

firestarter2018

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Re: Why am I now paying so much now with Geico for car insurance? Help!
« Reply #11 on: February 04, 2020, 08:42:03 PM »
GEICO was good about limiting my increases for many years until the last year or so, at which point I switched to Progressive. It was a cheaper rate with the ability to do the Snapshot program for even more savings (if you're a good driver). I just got my renewal and it was almost $100 higher than my original policy from six months ago, even after I earned a pretty sizeable Snapshot discount.

After chatting with a rep I found out that Progressive gave me a huge discount on my initial policy for e-signing my policy documents, but it doesn't carry over to future terms. Translation: a big bait-and-switch to see if I would notice. I really hate these shenanigans, but it seems like this is the way of the consumer world now -- entice customers with big discounts at first and then keep increasing prices over time until they complain or threaten to leave. Anyway, I raised my deductibles to the max and am going to shop around for new quotes yet again when we trade down our primary car for a cheaper Prius in a month or two, but it's just annoying.

Bernard

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Re: Why am I now paying so much now with Geico for car insurance? Help!
« Reply #12 on: February 05, 2020, 03:33:09 PM »
I live in California, and I have my cars insured with Geico, because it's really the cheapest out there. I pay $523.40 for 3 cars annually. I also pay for our daughter's car insurance, and that's $405.18 per year.

Clearly, there's some issue with your 2016 Golf, so I'd call them and ask what the issue is.