GEICO Car Insurance Programs and Customer Reviews

Geico Car Insurance is known not only for its offbeat TV ads, but also its high quality customer service. When shopping for car insurance, there are a lot of things to consider. The lowest rates are not always the best deal. When an accident occurs, it is important that you can count on your insurance company to handle your claim efficiently, and get your car back on the road quickly. Reading customer reviews is one of the best ways to get an idea of how well an insurance company takes care of its customers.

Geico Facts
The Government Employees Insurance Company, or Geico as it is better know, has been around since 1936. It was founded by Leo Goodwin, and was originally set up to serve US government employees and military personnel. Geico currently has 9 million auto policy customers, and insures more than 16 million vehicles. They are the third largest auto insurer in the country, and the fastest growing auto insurer. They operate 12 major offices and employ 24,000 people. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway.

Reading Reviews
It is important when reading product reviews to concentrate on getting the overall picture. There are people that give every product they review a bad rating, as well as others that manage to gloss over any problem and constantly paint a rosy picture. You want to focus on the middle, reading enough reviews to give you an overall feeling about the company. Look for common complaints. If a large number of customers are making the same complaint, there is a good chance it is a legitimate weakness of the company.

Customer Ratings
There are a number of places you can read customer reviews about Geico. The first place to check is Geico's own site. If you check out Geico's review site, you can read reviews from current Geico customers. They manage to achieve a score of 4.6 out of a 5. There are currently about 6,000 reviews to read through, so that should allow you to get a good feel for the company. These are actual Geico customers, who have documented their experience with the company. The site is managed by an independent company, called Bazaarvoice, which lends it credibility, along with the fact that there are both good and bad reviews on the site.

Epinions.com also offers a number of Geico reviews. Geico garners 3 out of 5 stars, but the total number of reviews is only 315. The reviews range in date from the 1990's to very current. The majority of reviews are positive, but of course there are negative ones as well. Epinions is easy to read and well organized, allowing you to read the first few sentences of the review before deciding if you want to read the entire review.

If you are shopping for new car insurance it is a good idea to do a lot of research, and reading customer reviews is an important part of that. Geico achieves an excellent rating in not only customer service and ease of filing a claim, but pricing as well.

GEICO Car Insurance Programs for Federal Employees

If you are a federal employee you can save money with Geico car insurance. Geico was originally started as an insurance company for military officers and federal employees. They have been serving the general public for years, but still offer both military personnel and federal employees significant discounts and other helpful programs.

Discounts
If you are a senior level federal employee or work for one of the 19 federal groups that have an affiliation with Geico, you may be eligible for a 3 to 10 percent discount on your insurance premiums. The amount of the discount varies by state and agency, so check their website or with your employer.

Geico Public Service Awards
In addition to discounts on insurance, Geico takes its commitment to public service very seriously. Every year, Geico honors federal employees, both active and retired, who have contributed to the public good. Geico believes it is important to shine a light on the important contributions federal employees make to the public good through service to the community, as well as scientific and medical breakthroughs. The winner receives a cash prize and a trip to Washington DC for the awards.

Federal Employee Education and Assistance Fund
Geico is the only corporate sponsor of this program that provides financial help to federal employees and their families for education expense and cases of financial hardship. They also helped established the Oklahoma Bombing Scholarship fund.

Leave Record Cards
Geico has distributed Leave Record Cards to federal employees for over 40 years. These cards help federal employees keep track of their leave and holidays.

Other Services
In addition to these benefits, Geico also provides other services. They have donated thousands of car seats to federal day-care programs, and sponsored health fairs that provide information and health products to federal employees. Geico also sponsors the Public Employees Roundtable, which helps shine a light on the good work that Federal employees do to help out the country on a day to day basis. Geico is a big sponsor of savings bond drives, which help publicize the importance of savings bonds.

GEICO Car Insurance Programs for Military Personnel

Geico car insurance has been a big supporter of the military since its creation. While Geico now provides insurance products to the general public, it still takes care of its military customers with special programs, discounts and sales teams that understand the needs of military personnel.

If you are currently on active duty, retired military or in the National Guard, you can qualify for a discount of up to 15 percent on your insurance premiums. They have also recently expanded their Emergency Deployment Discounts, which offer significant discounts to people being deployed to certain countries. There is a list of approved countries on their website, along with an explanation of requirements. Geico also offers its military discounts to members of various professional groups that have a military affiliation. Check their website for details.

When deployed overseas, Geico can help with overseas insurance, both personal property and car insurance. Their 12-month auto policies make coverage easy, and include everything you need to register your car overseas. They also have offices in many countries, making claims easy to file and getting help as simple as visiting a local office. If you are being deployed for more than 30 days and need to store your vehicle, Geico can reduce or suspend your premiums as long as the car is in storage.

Geico is so committed to helping out military personnel that it has set up a military center, based in Virgina Beach, Virgina. It is staffed by former military members that understand the unique needs of people in the military. They are open 24/7 and can help you navigate the special insurance challenges that members of the military face. The members of their Military Assistance Program are always developing new insurance products to help out its military customers. Geico also offers free advice on its website, and useful tools such as a pre-deployment checklist to help military members properly prepare for departure.

Geico's support of the military does not just consist of discounts. They also fund and support many important programs directed at military families. "Baby's First Ride" offers the use of car seats to Geico military members. They also sponsor The Geico Military Service Awards, which honors members of the military who provide various services to their local communities. The winners are flown to Washington DC to attend the ceremony and receive a cash award.

When it comes to insurance, there are a lot of options out there, but if you are a current or retired service member, it is a great idea to check out Geico for your insurance needs. They have a long history of supporting the military and its members through discounts and special programs.