The Government Employee Insurance Company ( GEICO ) is an American auto insurance company with headquarters in Chevy Chase, Maryland. It is the second largest auto insurance company in the United States, after State Farm. GEICO is a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway that provides coverage for over 24 million vehicles owned by more than 15 million policyholders by 2017. GEICO writes personal passenger car insurance in all 50 US states and the District of Columbia. Insurance agents sell policies through local agents, called GEICO Field Representatives, by phone directly to consumers, and through their websites. The mascot is a gecko day of gold dust with a Cockney accent, voiced by British actor Jake Wood. GEICO is famous in popular culture for its advertising, having created a large number of ads intended to entertain viewers.
Video GEICO
History
GEICO was founded in 1936 by Leo Goodwin Sr. and his wife, Lillian Goodwin, to provide auto insurance directly to federal government employees and their families. Since 1925, Goodwin has worked for USAA as an insurance company that specifically only insures military personnel. He decided to start his own company after riding as far as a civilian could get into the military-dominated hierarchy of USAA. Based on Goodwin's experience in USAA, GEICO's original business model is based on the assumption that federal employees, as a group, will become less risky and more financially stable groups of the insured than the general public. Despite the word "government" in its name, GEICO has always been a private company not affiliated with any government organization.
In 1937, Goodwin relocated GEICO from San Antonio, Texas to Washington, D.C. and reconnect the company as a company D.C. after realizing that their business model would work best in place with the highest concentrations of federal employees.
An important figure in the history of GEICO is David Lloyd Kreeger, who became president of the company in 1964 and helped direct him to a major insurance company. In 1948, he formed a group of investors who bought GEICO just before going public that year. He became senior vice president and corporate general counsel. Six years after becoming president of GEICO, Kreeger was appointed chairman and chief executive officer. He defended the title until he retired in 1975. Kreeger continued his role as chair of the executive committee until 1979, when he was appointed honorary chairman.
In 1974 under the leadership of Kreeger, GEICO began insuring the general public after real-time access to computerized driving records is available throughout the United States. At the moment, GEICO is briefly the fifth largest US insurance company. In 1975, it was clear that GEICO had grown too fast (during the 1973-75 recession) when it reported a $ 126.5 million USD loss. To prevent GEICO from collapsing, a consortium of 45 insurance companies agreed to take over a quarter of its policy, and was forced to issue a stock offer (thereby diluting existing shareholders) to raise money to pay claims. It took five years (where the company shrank significantly) and a massive reorganization to set GEICO on the road to recovery.
GEICO also offers other types of insurance than cars, including homeowner insurance from 1962 to 1996. A twin company, Life Insurance Company Employee (GELICO), offered life insurance from 1975 to 1985. Although GEICO has since focused on its core business. insurance competencies (selling GELICO to Legal & General), using a pre-defined direct selling infrastructure to market homeowners and other types of insurance borne by other companies.
In 1996, after years as a public company, GEICO became a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway.
GEICO generally deals directly with consumers by phone and internet; however, local agency programs have more than 150 offices throughout the United States. GEICO is now the second largest private car insurance writer in the country.
After several years of denying claims and even canceling policies for policyholders who use their private cars to ride companies like Uber and Lyft, GEICO began offering rideshare coverage in certain countries by 2015, including in high-populated countries such as Texas, Pennsylvania , Ohio, and Georgia. The policy, issued through GEICO's commercial department, has received praise from insurance experts and quickly launched GEICO as the largest insurance provider for TNC drivers.
In 2016, J.D. Power rated the company # 20 out of 24 for overall purchasing experience, with a score of 2/5.
Maps GEICO
Ad campaigns
GEICO has many well known ad campaigns. In 2012, GEICO spent more than $ 1.1 billion USD in advertising, or 6.8% of its revenue. All campaigns are created and produced by The Martin Agency in Richmond, Virginia. GEICO ads have featured some famous mascots, including:
- GEICO Gecko is the most common mascot spokesperson and speaks with a Cockney accent.
- The GEICO Cavemen (from ads claiming to use their website "is very easy, cavemen can do it").
- Maxwell, GEICO "Piggy" who shouted "Whee" long and appeared on more radio and TV commercials.
- Actor Mike McGlone, who uses film movie noir narration to compare GEICO's ease with objects, famous people, or idioms. ("Could switching to GEICO really save 15% or more from car insurance?... Is playing snowball by throwing a great Randy Johnson that's a bad idea?") The scene then acts out, with usually funny results. In addition to Johnson, other ads have included Charlie Daniels, AndrÃÆ'Â ss Cantor, Foghorn Leghorn, Elmer Fudd, R. Lee Ermey, and Ed "Too Tall" Jones among others.
- The "money-savers" campaign asks actors to describe the average consumer who has used ridiculous oddities to save money, such as teaching dogs singing or teaching a group of Guinea pigs to row a boat and doing some worldly tasks for the consumer, and then presented a switch to GEICO as an easy alternative to those efforts with a common line ".... there is an easier way to save money."
- The "Happier Than...." features duo Jimmy (actor Timothy Ryan Cole) and Ronnie (musician Alex Harvey) play guitar and mandolin, respectively, at a small portable stage. They comment on a fictional earlier event, like a man dressed in a 15th century outfit laughing while leading a trio of fast boats with names painted Nina , Pinta , and Santa Maria . After cutting to the duo, one word to the other, "You know, people who save hundreds of dollars by switching to GEICO would love it." The others then replied, "How happy are they, (Jimmy/Ronnie)?" and in the case above, the answer is "Happier than Christopher Columbus by speedboat!"
- Kash, a pile of cash representing money you can save by switching to GEICO.
There are also GEICO ads featuring stories from GEICO customers about the situation in which companies are helping them, but translated by celebrities like Little Richard and Joan Rivers. The broadcaster Don LaFontaine appeared in a commercial, shortly before his death. The tag announcer for these places is D. C. Douglas. GEICO is also an official sponsor of the National Hockey League and themed ads that always feature members of the Washington Capitals-born city.
Motorports
GEICO has long been involved in motorsports sponsorship. Since 2008, the company has sponsored the Germain Racing team, first at NASCAR Nationwide Series with Mike Wallace, and later on NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with Max Papis and Casey Mears. Ty Dillon, the grandson of racing legend Richard Childress, began riding # 13 GEICO Chevrolet in the 2017 season.
Competition
Pesaing utama GEICO termasuk Amica Mutual Insurance, Liberty Mutual Insurance, State Farm, Allstate, Asuransi 21st Century, Reliance Partners, Progressive, Nationwide Insurance, dan United Services Automobile Association.
Tuntutan Hukum
In December 2016, a federal Miami jury awarded $ 2.7 million USD to a family suing the company, claiming the company acted in bad faith.
In November 2015, a jury in Miami awarded a $ 14.5 million USD family after suing the company for bad faith.
In October 2015, the California Consumer Federation successfully sued the company for $ 6 million USD after alleged discrimination based on occupation, educational level, and other personal characteristics.
In October 2015, the US Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit corroborated the verdict against the company for more than $ 700,000 USD in breach of contractual agreement.
In 2013, Tony Dane of Las Vegas successfully sued GEICO for breach of contract following the theft of his car in which GEICO rejected his claim, accused him of stealing his own vehicle, and placed a private investigator on him. He's afraid he may lose custody of his children. Dane's real lawyer dropped him, so he chased the case and won, got a verdict from a jury.
In December 2010, the John Potts family, a man killed in a traffic accident by GEICO customers, successfully sued the company for $ 8.48 million USD after the company refused to pay an adequate settlement after the accident.
See also
- List of US insurance companies
References
External links
- Official website
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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