In the battle of the online car insurance powerhouses, Progressive insurance and GEICO are the two biggest online car insurance companies.

On one channel, Flo is trying to sell you car insurance by attempting to give Progressive a feeling that you simply take that perfect insurance solution box off the shelf and run it through the checkout isle.

Flip to another channel, and the GEICO gecko is talking to his boss, turning on disco ball lights or wandering through grass into a busy street, all in an attempt to lure your car insurance premium dollars.

Who is Cheaper?  GEICO or Progressive?

This question has undoubtedly baffled lots of online car insurance consumers, and the answer is only found by obtaining a comparison quote using identical apples to apples policy values for each carrier.

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Most major car insurance companies are using your credit score as a very important factor in determining the rates you pay. But why does your credit history have anything to do with insurance?

Right or wrong, studies have shown that consumers with higher credit scores tend to have fewer accidents and claims that consumers with poor credit. Insurance companies use credit scores in an attempt to predict the likelihood of whether or not you will file a car insurance claim.

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Allstate and State Farm are two of the biggest car insurance companies in the United States. If you are shopping for lower car insurance rates, you probably considered one or the other or maybe even both.

Each company sells car insurance through insurance agents, so if you want to have a local agent to turn to at claim-time, both provide this service. Allstate also sells insurance through independent agents, so even though an agent may not advertise as being an Allstate agent, they may have access to Allstate products. Read the rest of this entry

That’s kind of a tawdry title for this post, but it’s really what we’re asking. Do you think your current car insurance company sucks? Or are you satisfied with how they’ve treated you as a customer?

If you have ever searched for insurance company reviews online, you know opinions cover the entire spectrum from raving satisfaction to intense loathing. Consumers are more inclined to go online to write negative reviews as a way of getting “revenge” or “pay back” for a denied claim or other situation. They aren’t so quick, however, to post positive feedback when something goes their way. This is why it’s important to keep that in mind when reading opinions online. Read the rest of this entry

If you’re thinking about insuring your vehicles with Allstate car insurance, there are a number of discounts that you need to be aware of before buying. Even if you currently have an Allstate car insurance policy, you may be missing out on discounts that can save you quite a bit of money on your auto insurance bill.

So whether you are comparing rates with your current carrier, or even if you’re currently insured with Allstate, follow these tips to make sure you’re maximizing the discounts available from Allstate. Read the rest of this entry

Finding cheap car insurance can sometimes be time consuming and even frustrating. As consumers, we’re constantly bombarded by car insurance advertisements and it can be difficult to make an informed decision.

Two of the larger car insurance companies in the U.S. are GEICO and State Farm. GEICO is well known for it’s catchy, somewhat quirky ads, and State Farm is well known for being a large multi-line insurance company.  GEICO and State Farm sell car insurance in two slightly different ways. GEICO sells car insurance direct to consumers via it’s website or over the phone. State Farm on the other hand, relies on it’s network of captive agents to serve the needs of communities. Read the rest of this entry

When it comes to buying car insurance online, there are two main players: GEICO and Progressive. You’ve seen the cute gecko commercials and Progressive’s insurance super market commercials. Which online car insurance company should you insure your vehicles with?  That depends.

Both GEICO and Progressive are solid financially, with GEICO having the backing of Berkshire Hathaway and the Oracle of Omaha, Warren Buffet. Both companies provide easy online quote forms, and a plethora of insurance options that can be customized to your needs.

Both companies also have extensive experience servicing policyholders no matter where you live. Progressive does sell through the independent agent channel, so if you prefer to have an agent to call when the need arises, then Progressive may win your business for that reason. Read the rest of this entry

GEICO and Allstate are two of the more recognized car insurance companies in America. Each year they spend millions of dollars are spent on print, television and internet advertising in an attempt to lure you into one of their car insurance policies.

Have you fallen for their advertising tactics? Are you a current customer of GEICO or Allstate? If so, why did you move your auto insurance business to one company over the other? Was it the cute little gecko, the allure of Allstate’s stand, or did you tune out all the advertising gimmicks and base your decision on an apples-to-apples car insurance comparison quote? Read the rest of this entry

Progressive Insurance has some changes coming to their car insurance policies that may lower your car insurance bill. Drivers will now be rated by averaging the driver risk across all the vehicles on your policy rather than on a specific vehicle. The changes include:

• Household Averaging Driver Assignment – This change means drivers are averaged across your vehicles instead of rating a specific driver on a specific vehicle. Occassional driver status will be taken into consideration when factoring these rates.
• Occasional Operators – Drivers age 25 or less who drive your vehicles less than 50 percent of the time will get a lower rate as long as they are not rated as a principal operator on any vehicle on your car insurance policy.
• Minor Child Discount – Drivers on your policy for at least 12 months who are 19 years or younger and children of the named insured will receive this discount.
• Distant Student Discount – Students who live at a school more than 100 miles from home and do not have regular access to your insured vehicles will get this discount.

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If you haven’t noticed GEICO’s new advertising campaign, you haven’t missed much. I don’t know how much they paid their advertising agency to slap a pair of google eyes on a stack of cash and build a commercial around it, but it was too much. The new GEICO car insurance commercials are almost as annoying as Travelocity’s gnome commercials.

The commercials do have a catchy sound track in the remake of “Somebody’s Watching Me” and GEICO offers a free download of the song on their website. Will a stack of dead presidents help GEICO sell more car insurance? Only time will tell. I won’t say I miss the gecko, but I will say GEICO should dump their expensive advertising agency and hire the two brothers who made the Doritos Super Bowl commercial. Now that was good entertainment.