DEALING WITH GEICO ON ACCIDENT CLAIMS

Geico 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

This graph shows the average initial settlement offer from GEICO compared to the average total medical bills in 25 random GEICO accident claims. It shows that GEICO’s first offers barely cover the claimant’s 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.

GEICO CLaims Office

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