Geico Sematic Games San Diego, California

I'm not going to complain about Geico making me pay my deductible even when they found me "100% not at fault." Instead I'll complain about the semantic games they play to avoid protecting their customers.

My car was hit and, after a way-too-long battle with the other party's insurance (AAA), I decided to use my own. Geico arranged for my repairs, but I expressed concern that my car would not be finished in time to drive it on a trip I'd planned. I asked Geico if, should this happen, they would cover my rental for the entire time. The claims specialist told me she would run the request by her supervisor.  When she returned to the phone, she stated: "we will cover your rental until you're back." I even asked for clarification, and she again repeated it. Geico would pay for my rental car for the duration. I acted accordingly, and rented a car the next day when I checked mine in for repairs.

When I came back from the trip, I received a call from Enterprise asking for payment. I called Geico, where they were surprised to hear I believed Geico would pay for my rental. "No, we're not paying...a rental is not covered under your policy." I discovered that this is true, my policy does not cover rentals. I freely admit that I was not aware of this. Geico claims they notified me of this "several times," but then specifically stated that they would pay for my rental.  It's even in their notes. They have the date and the name of the person who told me. 

Here is Geico's explanation: supposedly, the note left by the claims specialist only says "Told customer OK to stay in rental until back from vacation." They claim this is "too vague" to definitively say that she told me Geico would pay. Apparently I somehow misinterpreted "we will cover your rental until you're back."

Since Geico refuses to acknowledge there may have been some context to the "vague" note entered by their claims specialist (she must have had a reason for entering this note…otherwise, it basically states that Geico was giving me permission to rent a car; why would she note that?), I asked them to give me the last date on which they notified me that my policy did not cover insurance, and then confirm the date on which the vague note was entered. The last reminder was several days prior to their agreement to cover the car.  In other words, the last thing Geico said to me about a rental was that they would pay for it. But it's my word against their bad note. They are effectively calling me a liar.

I've heard that Geico is great until you need them, a sentiment only reinforced by my experience. Not only are they outright dishonest, but they wear down their customers and abuse them until they have no fight left in them. I have spent countless hours and far too much emotional energy disputing Geico's statements. I should not have to defend myself to my own car insurance company, only to be mistreated.
Purchasing Geico insurance is one of the worst decisions I’ve ever made.