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  • Report:  #2296

Complaint Review: Geico - Nationwide

Reported By:
- Washington, DC,
Submitted:
Updated:

Geico
Nationwide Nationwide, U.S.A.
Phone:
1-800-861-8360
Web:
N/A
Categories:
Tell us has your experience with this business or person been good? What's this?
Are you tired of those Geico commercials that seem to be everywhere these days? I certainly am and everytime I see one I feel like throwing something. Listen up! If you're thinking about switching to Geico be very careful. You must BEWARE OF GEICO!

Several years ago I was involved in an automobile accident while living and driving in the State of Maryland. Approximately 10 months earlier I had switched to Geico insurance, had paid several premiums and had recently received correspondence from Geico. Consequently, I had every reason to believe that I was a current Geico policyholder. However, when I called Geico's customer service department to report the claim I was told that my policy had been cancelled for non-payment of an installment premium.

My first thought was that surely there had been a mistake because I had not received a notice of cancellation but I was assured that despite my protestations and declarations of innocence, the policy had indeed been cancelled. Admittedly, it was my responsibility to keep up with the dates that the premiums were due but what surprised me most was that Geico had failed to send me a formal notice of cancellation. Inasmuch as insurance was, and still is, mandatory in the State of Maryland, I was also surprised that I had not been notified of the cancellation by the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration.

When I signed up for Geico insurance I chose a payment plan which included eight payments which were due on staggered dates throughout the year. The installment premium which I had failed to pay was approximately $70 and was the last payment to be made. I simply missed it and it cost me dearly. As a result of being uninsured, a civil action was subsequently brought against me by the insurance carrier of the other driver and I was sued for over $70,000. In addition, I spent close to $10,000 in legal fees and the car which I then-owned [and which had less than 40,000 miles on it at the time of the accident] was declared a total loss. It was truly an insurance nightmare!

I was informed by the Geico customer service representative that my automobile policy had been cancelled on November 5th yet I did not find out until I called on December 25th. What a Christmas present that was! Can you imagine? Because I had not received a notice of cancellation I had unknowingly continued to drive illegally without insurance coverage for six weeks.

Another interesting fact is that during that same six-week period I had received a letter from Geico which was dated November 24th relative to insurance changes which were being made within the State of Maryland. November 24th was almost three weeks after the policy had been cancelled. The letter that I received was not a form letter. It was individually addressed to me and my handwritten notes on that letter clearly indicate that I must have called Geico for clarification before returning the questionnaire which was attached. Yet the Geico representative never informed me of the cancellation of my automobile insurance.

Customer service? I think not. BEWARE OF GEICO. The company's claims are not supported by my personal experience with the company.

For more details visit www.geicodirect.org



9 Updates & Rebuttals

Bob

Quinlan,
Texas,
U.S.A.
vitrolic?

#2Consumer Suggestion

Tue, February 22, 2005

I don't believe that Snowflake's comments would fall within the definition of vitrolic. Especially when you consider the context of what she was saying concerning community property. This was probably a typo as she goes on to say you can only go after one spouse, which is true for NON-community property states. Tit-for-tat Gail, I guess we should then completely disregard the rest of your post as well for taking her comments out of context. Bob


Gail

Locust Grove,
Virginia,
U.S.A.
snowflake you are incorrect

#3Consumer Comment

Sun, February 20, 2005

Snowflake is so very wrong.....Virginia is NOT a community property state. I do believe that if someone is going to leave such vitrolic opinions they have a duty to do thier homework. Please research items of which you are unsure. One glaring error in the begining will make most people ignore the rest of what you have to say. If you are wrong in the very first paragraph, why should someone read the rest?


Gail

Locust Grove,
Virginia,
U.S.A.
snowflake you are incorrect

#4Consumer Comment

Sun, February 20, 2005

Snowflake is so very wrong.....Virginia is NOT a community property state. I do believe that if someone is going to leave such vitrolic opinions they have a duty to do thier homework. Please research items of which you are unsure. One glaring error in the begining will make most people ignore the rest of what you have to say. If you are wrong in the very first paragraph, why should someone read the rest?


Gail

Locust Grove,
Virginia,
U.S.A.
snowflake you are incorrect

#5Consumer Comment

Sun, February 20, 2005

Snowflake is so very wrong.....Virginia is NOT a community property state. I do believe that if someone is going to leave such vitrolic opinions they have a duty to do thier homework. Please research items of which you are unsure. One glaring error in the begining will make most people ignore the rest of what you have to say. If you are wrong in the very first paragraph, why should someone read the rest?


Gail

Locust Grove,
Virginia,
U.S.A.
snowflake you are incorrect

#6Consumer Comment

Sun, February 20, 2005

Snowflake is so very wrong.....Virginia is NOT a community property state. I do believe that if someone is going to leave such vitrolic opinions they have a duty to do thier homework. Please research items of which you are unsure. One glaring error in the begining will make most people ignore the rest of what you have to say. If you are wrong in the very first paragraph, why should someone read the rest?


Pete

Rochester,
New York,
U.S.A.
Geico trys to weasle out of any thing they can.

#7Consumer Comment

Sun, July 18, 2004

I hate Geico. Their rates are lousy, and so is their service. I had a problem 3 years back. The State road crew were weed-wacking dead grass in a median(it had not rained in 3+ weeks). I was hit in the arm with a stone, and my paint was chipped. The damage was $600+. Geico had a claims adjuster(a little coporate weasle)say the damage was JUST UNDER my DEDUCTABLE!! He did this, so Geicoo did not have to help me. I took the KIA(don't ever buy one, thats another report)to 4 other places. Every place bid fom $570-$700 for my damage. I had to go to the Attouney General(the BBB did ZERO to help)for help. They put the squeeze on Geico, and AFTER A YUEAR OF FIGHTING, I got my car fixed!! Geicos rates are higher, on average; their service is well below average. I hope Geico sends you job to INDIA, then you will see the company for the greedy crooks they are.


Melissa

Fredericksburg,
Virginia,
U.S.A.
I'd like to know what snowflake is smoking!

#8UPDATE Employee

Sun, July 18, 2004

Please don't state that something is a "fact" when you obviously don't have a clue. As a claims examiner I continuously pay for property and bodily injury damages to a GEICO insured that was in an accident with another GEICO insured. We have very strict guidelines regarding the handling of claims that involve 2 or more GEICO policyholders. We treat it as if it was 2 entirely different insurance companies. There are times when we do not honor the other persons claim, but that is because Virginia is a comparative state which means 100% negligence has to be proved to recover from the other party. If there is no evidence (word versus word) then we will deny the other party. That includes people insured with State Farm, Allstate, Erie, Progressive, etc. The fact that they also have GEICO insurance does not impact the handling of the claim whatsoever. In regards to the original post, with the payment plan that the person was on you stay 1 month ahead. If you skip one month, you are technically considered "late" but as long as you make the payment by the next due date you will still have coverage. He skipped 2 payments to have been cancelled. The problem is that a lot of people intentionally let that 1st month go without payment because they can use the money elsewhere, but then there is no buffer...if you "forget" to pay then you have no coverage. I know if I missed 2 months of auto insurance I would begin to wonder about all the extra money in my account and investigate. In addition, cancellation notices not only go out, but they go out post office receipt secured. If you have any questions about it being mailed, you can always call and request proof of mailing. At that point it is in the post office's hands to get it to you. And if you called to discuss your policy it is IMPOSSIBLE for them to have not mentioned the fact that your policy was cancelled. It would have also been IMPOSSIBLE for them to not know that it was cancelled. People don't seem to mind skipping an insurance payment or two until 1. they have an accident while their policy is cancelled *or* 2. they receive a notice from the MVA that they are being fined for no coverage. To put things in perspective, if you didn't pay your electricity bill for a month, would you be surprised when your power goes off? If you didn't show up for work for a month, would you be surprised when you don't receive a paycheck and then have no job to go back to? The only difference with insurance is that you have to be a responsible adult and keep up with it since there is no tangible evidence that it is there until it is needed. (hmmm...I haven't paid my auto insurance in a while...maybe I should call to see if there is a problem)...


LC

Snowflake,
Arizona,
U.S.A.
Daniel, You must be really scared that your job will be outsourced to INDIA, too! No Justice for victims in Virginia!

#9Consumer Comment

Sun, June 27, 2004

That is the only reason I can see for you sticking up for GEICO. All of the folks at Capital One have already lost their jobs to the needy people in India, I guess you think you're next. Here is the facts about GEICO: If you are rear-ended by someone else going over 50 MPH, while you are at a dead stop, if the other person also has GEICO insurance, although clearly and admittedly in the wrong, the damage to your vehicle and your body and head will not receive compensation. If the other party's spouse works for the Central Intelligence Agency - forget about it! Despite the fact that Virginia is a community property state you can only go after the personal property liability of the one spouse. This is not for the purposes of protecting losses of citizenry, this is to underwrite irresponsibility. If you live in Stafford or Rappahanock County, Virginia then there is no way you will receive compensation via a tort suit. Just try and get an attorney to take the case. Even criminal cases are deferred for adjudication via tort, but even with the lower standards of proof required, the civil courts are also predisposed to helping out insurance companies. You see, not only do they provide jobs in the area, they also are major contributors to political action groups. Most of justice in Virginia is determined in the country clubs, not the courtroom.


DANIEL

FREDERICKSBURG,
Virginia,
U.S.A.
GEICO MAKES THINGS EASY

#10UPDATE Employee

Sat, June 26, 2004

Being an employee of GEICO has helped me to understand many things concerning the insurance world. I hear phone calls from people all day and night concerning being cancelled from their company because of lack of payment, or no reason at all in some cases. GEICO has one of the highest reputations in customer service in the state of Maryland as well as the other 47 states we insure. Failure to make a payment is not an insurance companies responsibility, the person with the policy should be completely aware of their payment plans and dates that they are due. In most states, it is only a 10 day "grace" period to keep a policy effective due to lack of payment. GEICO has an electronic funds transfer program that costs less than other payment plans, but also assures the customer that their payments will be recieved without worry or delays in the mail or incorrect mail handling. GEICO also offers payment over the phone in case a policy holder was late to the mailbox, giving them confidence in being with a company that is accessible twenty four hours, with understanding customer procedures. Every customer is responsible for reading through their policy and finding out the answers to any question that they may have, the true difference concerning GEICO and other insurance agencies, is that our customers are never told something different than the truth on the first phone call. No one should be left questioning their insurance policy, especially since insurance is something every driver needs. I am sorry to hear of one persons disheartening story, but taking responsibility for being late is the bottom line.

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