Gieco: Auto Insurance Adjustments

GEICO car insurance rates can increase at any time, even if you haven't had an accident or filed a claim. Various factors can influence premium hikes, including changes in your coverage, losing eligibility for a discount, accidents that result in a claim, speeding tickets, and moving house. However, GEICO also offers a range of discounts and ways to lower your premium, such as taking advantage of their auto insurance discounts, opting for a higher deductible, reducing your coverage, improving your driving record, and building your credit score.

Geico offers a wide variety of discounts to lower your insurance bill

GEICO offers a wide variety of discounts that can help lower your insurance bill. The company provides discounts or premium reductions on new or existing auto policies. These include good driver discounts, multi-car discounts, and more.

GEICO also offers exclusive discounts and premium reductions on car insurance, motorcycle insurance, and more. For example, drivers can get a discount of up to 15% if they insure a car that's three model years old or newer. Insuring more than one car with GEICO can save you up to 25% on your premium.

Driving History and Habits

• Five-Year Accident-Free Good Driver Discount: If you have a clean driving record and have been accident-free for five years, you may be able to save up to 22% on most coverages.
• Seat Belt Use Discount: GEICO offers a discount on the medical payments or personal injury protection portion of your premium if you and your passengers always wear seat belts.
• Defensive Driving Discount: If you've completed a defensive driving course, you may be eligible for a discount on your auto insurance.
• Driver's Education Discount: If a young driver in your family has completed a driver's education course, you may earn a discount on most coverages.
• Good Student Discount: Full-time students with good academic records could get up to a 15% discount on certain coverages.
• Emergency Deployment Discount: GEICO offers a discount of up to 25% on auto insurance for United States Military policyholders who are deployed to an imminent danger zone.
• Federal Employee Discount (Eagle Discount): Active or retired federal employees could qualify for a discount of up to 12% on their total auto insurance premium.
• Membership and Employee Discounts: GEICO offers additional discounts on auto insurance premiums for members of over 800 groups listed on their website.
• Multi-Vehicle Discount: Insuring more than one vehicle with GEICO can get you a discount of up to 25% on most of your car insurance coverages.
• Multi-Policy Discount: Insuring your car through GEICO and having a homeowners, renters, condo, or mobile home policy through the GEICO Insurance Agency can get you a discount on your car insurance.

Vehicle Equipment Discounts

• Air Bag Discount: You could save up to 23% on the medical payments or personal injury portion of your car insurance if your vehicle has airbags.
• Anti-Lock Brakes Discount: A factory-installed anti-lock braking system can get you a 5% discount on certain car insurance coverages.
• Anti-Theft System Discount: Cars with built-in anti-theft systems could earn you a discount of up to 23% on the comprehensive portion of your premium.
• Daytime Running Lights Discount: Vehicles equipped with daytime running lights as standard equipment could get you a 3% discount on certain car insurance coverages.
• New Vehicle Discount: New vehicles that are three model years old or newer could earn you up to a 15% discount on certain car insurance coverages.

You can lower your premium by opting for a higher deductible

Opting for a higher deductible on your insurance policy is a great way to lower your premium. This is because the deductible and premium are interconnected, with an inverse relationship. When one is more affordable, the other tends to be more expensive.

A deductible is the amount of money you need to pay before your insurance plan starts paying. For example, if your deductible is $1000 a year, your insurance won't cover any costs until you've paid that amount. A premium is the amount you pay for your insurance plan each month, regardless of whether you use it or not.

When you opt for a higher deductible, you are taking on more financial responsibility in the event of a claim, which lowers the costs for the insurance company. As a result, they can offer you a lower premium. This is a good option if you are generally healthy and don't have pre-existing conditions, as you will be paying lower monthly premiums while only visiting the doctor for annual check-ups.

However, it's important to choose a deductible amount that you can afford in case you need to make a claim. While a higher deductible can lower your premium, it also means you will pay more out-of-pocket for repairs or medical services as part of a covered claim.

Additionally, the savings you get from a higher deductible may be limited depending on other factors, such as the type of vehicle you drive or your driving record. It's essential to consider all the variables that contribute to the cost of your insurance and explore different options to find the best balance of premium and deductible expenses.

Improve your credit score to reduce your insurance rate over time

Improving your credit score is a great way to reduce your insurance rate over time. A higher credit score can open the door to lower interest rates when you borrow and can save you hundreds of thousands of dollars over your lifetime. Here are some ways to improve your credit score:

Review Your Credit Reports

You can access your credit history by pulling a copy of your credit report from each of the three major national credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. Review each report to see what's helping or hurting your score. You're entitled to a free copy of your credit reports from all three credit bureaus once each year through AnnualCreditReport.com.

Get a Handle on Bill Payments

Payment history has the biggest impact on your credit score. It's important to avoid late payments at all costs. Some tips to help you stay on top of your bills include creating a filing system, setting due date alerts, and automating bill payments from your bank account.

Aim for 30% Credit Utilization or Less

Credit utilization refers to the portion of your credit limit that you use at any given time. Keeping your total outstanding balance at 30% or less of your total credit limit is ideal for raising your credit score. You can also ask for a credit limit increase to help improve your credit utilization.

Limit Your Requests for New Credit

Try to limit hard inquiries into your credit history, which can adversely affect your credit score. Hard inquiries include applications for new credit cards, mortgages, auto loans, or other forms of new credit. While the occasional hard inquiry is unlikely to have a significant effect, multiple inquiries in a short period can damage your credit score.

Keep Old Accounts Open and Deal with Delinquencies

The age of your credit accounts is a factor in your credit score. Keeping old credit accounts open, even if you're not using them, can help improve your score. If you have delinquent accounts, get caught up on payments and work out a plan for making future payments on time.

Use Credit Monitoring to Track Your Progress

Credit monitoring services are an easy way to see how your credit score changes over time and can help prevent identity theft and fraud. Many banks offer free credit monitoring services to their customers.

Drive fewer miles each year to lower your Geico premium

One of the factors that affect your auto insurance premium is your annual mileage. The more you drive, the higher your premium will be, as you are at a greater risk of being involved in an accident. Therefore, driving fewer miles each year could lower your Geico premium.

Geico offers a DriveEasy telematics program that rewards good driving with a discounted premium. The program tracks your driving behaviour, including distance driven, and offers a discount of up to 25% on your rate.

You can also take advantage of low-mileage insurance, which is available at a discount if you drive less than 50 miles per day. Some companies offer low-mileage insurance if you install plug-in devices or download apps to monitor your driving. However, low-mileage insurance can be complicated, and it's important to be honest about your mileage, as some insurers will request mileage checks.

If you're driving less because you've retired or are working from home, be sure to inform your insurer about your new estimated annual mileage.

Geico offers reduced-rate insurance for stored vehicles

To be eligible for GEICO's reduced-rate insurance for stored vehicles, your car must be in storage for more than 30 days. GEICO also offers a Storage Protection Plan for military members who need to store their vehicles for 30 days or more due to deployment.

It's important to note that state and insurer-specific regulations will apply to long-term car storage coverage. For example, excluding New Hampshire, all states require drivers to carry at least minimum liability insurance. If you cancel your registration and remove your vehicle from public roads, you will need to follow the necessary protocols required by your state and the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV).

To learn more about GEICO's reduced-rate insurance for stored vehicles, you can call them at (800) 841-1587.

Frequently asked questions