I know that there are other insurance companies in this ball game. I am about to purchase auto and renters insurance on my own for the first time (don’t judge). For me, State Farm and Geico were the only companies worth exploring. Although I like the Nationwide jingle (”Nationwide is on your side”), my family has always had State Farm – and they spend a lot of money on sports sponsorships – and Geico always advertisers that 15 minutes could save you 15% or more on car insurance. At this point in my life, it’s about cost. I am on a budget. I went through the process this week of getting quotes from both companies on both items (auto and renters). 

Resulting soap box: Why would Geico market themselves as the low-cost insurance provider if they really aren’t? Why would you have a tagline that implies cost-savings if you really aren’t going to save any costs? State Farm is obviously one of the biggest players. It probably wouldn’t take that much time to do some competitive research and figure out that your prices are actually more than another big player. I’m not saying that Geico should get out of the ball game, but they should figure out what it is that sets them apart. It may be customer service. It may be persistence (I have gotten great follow-up calls, emails and letters). I just know that it isn’t low costs. The problem here is that there may be people out there looking for the best customer service insurance provider with cost being the second item of concern. Due to the fact that they associate Geico with low costs, they probably won’t consider them. 

Maybe they are a low-cost provider. Maybe I am basing my soap box discussion on one account. Either way, I have decided to go with State Farm.