DEALING WITH GEICO ON ACCIDENT CLAIMS
GEICO Auto Accident Claims
GEICO is currently the 2nd largest auto insurance carrier in the United States. In Maryland, GEICO is by far the largest auto insurance company. So if you have an auto accident claim in Maryland, there is a good chance GEICO will be involved. Our firm has handled more claims with GEICO than any other insurance carrier, so we are very familiar with their claims process.
This page will lay out our expert scouting report for handling auto accident claims with GEICO. Learn what to expect from GEICO and how to get maximum value for your claim. We also provide prior settlement and verdict results from actual GEICO cases to help you get an idea of how much to expect in your claim.
GEICO Claims Process – What to Expect
AVERAGE GEICO INITIAL OFFER vs. MEDICAL BILLS
GEICO Makes Very Low Initial Offers
GEICO can be very difficult to deal with on larger accident claims. GEICO’s strategy for dealing with larger claims is simple. They make an extremely low initial settlement offer then refuse to negotiate until the claimant moves forward with a lawsuit. All insurance carriers employ this strategy to some extent, but GEICO takes it a step farther.
GEICO consistently makes the lowest initial settlement offers of any insurance company we deal with on Maryland accident claims. In most cases, you can expect GEICO’s initial offer to be only 10-15% more than the claimant’s medical expenses. This is significantly less than the damages that a claimant would be entitled to under Maryland law.
GEICO Offers Increase Dramatically After a Lawsuit is Filed
Filing a lawsuit in an auto accident case always increases the pressure on the insurance carrier. This is especially true, however, when dealing with GEICO on an accident claim. If you reject GEICO’s lowball initial offer and file a lawsuit against their insured, GEICO immediately changes its position on the claim. The case typically gets reassigned to a new GEICO claims adjuster. The new adjuster usually come in and promptly makes a better settlement offer.
Scouting Report on GEICO Claims
Lowball First Offers
GEICO always makes lowball first settlement offers. The first offer you get from GEICO is always going to be much lower than what your claim is actually worth. This seems to be a company policy in all claims, because all of their claims adjusters follow this strategy. If you want fair value for your case, don’t accept an initial offer from GEICO.
Friendly Adjusters
Notwithstanding their annoying habit of making ridiculously low initial settlement offers, the claims adjusters at GEICO are actually very friendly and pleasant to deal with. You can always expect them to return your calls or emails and they more things along fairly efficiently.
Lawsuit Sensitive
If you want GEICO’s claims office to take you seriously you need to reject their initial lowball offer and file suit against their insured. This almost always gets the claim reassigned to a new adjuster and makes them much more willing to negotiate on the value of your case. Soon after filing suit you can expect a second, more realistic settlement offer.
Reluctant Defendant
Some insurance companies get increasingly stubborn and dig their feet in as litigation moves forward. But GEICO is usually a very reluctant defendant and they are always looking for an opportunity to settle and avoid going to trial. You can expect them to increase their offer incrementally as the cases progresses.
GEICO Settlements & Verdicts
YEAR / STATE
CASE / INJURY SUMMARY
RESULT
2019 – Maryland
Pedestrian accident where plaintiff sought UIM benefits from GEICO for various soft tissue injuries, bruises and lacerations. GEICO eventually agree to settle.
$29,000 – Settlement
2019 – Maryland
GEICO contested liability on behalf of its insured in failure to yield accident involving multiple cars. Took case to jury trial in Baltimore City but lost.
$16,000 – Verdict
2019 – Maryland
Plaintiff claimed ligament injury in her shoulder. GEICO asserted that the injuries were due to pre-existing shoulder problems, but eventually agreed to settle.
$50,000 – Settlement
2019 – Maryland
Plaintiff alleged back and neck disc injuries from a broadside intersection collision. GEICO contented that her injuries were pre-existing and took case to trial in P.G. County.
$80,536 – Verdict
2018 – Maryland
Plaintiff suffered fairly serious injury to his elbow resulting in some partial impairment. GEICO claimed that the injury was due to a pre-existing degenerative condition. Case went to trial in Baltimore City.
$968,861 – Verdict