Choosing the right auto insurance can significantly impact your ability to protect yourself and your assets in case of an accident. With so many options to consider, it’s important that you conduct adequate research to ensure you’re getting the best car insurance rate possible for your situation, including your age, location, credit score, and driving history. Keep reading to learn about two of the most popular insurance companies in the country, Nationwide Insurance and GEICO, to determine which has the better rates, discounts, customer service, and perks that make it the best car insurance for you.
What Is Nationwide Insurance?
Nationwide is a company that offers protection plans for auto, home, pet, farm, life, and commercial insurance. They began as a small automobile insurance company known by the name of Farm Bureau Mutual Automobile Insurance before going coast-to-coast in their coverage. As a Fortune 100 company, Nationwide has become one of the most well-recognized insurance companies in the country and consistently ranks among the top and largest insurers in the world. In addition to their insurance plans, Nationwide also offers mutual funds, annuities, and retirement plans as part of their services.
What Car Insurance Coverage Is Available Through Nationwide?
Nationwide offers many of the standard coverage policie provided by most major auto insurance companies, including liability, collision, and personal injury protection insurance. Here are some of the additional areas where you can receive coverage from Nationwide according to Motor1:
- Accident Forgiveness
- Gap Insurance
- Bodily Injury Liability (BI)
- Towing and Labor
- Property Damage Liability (PD)
- Deductible Savings
- Roadside Assistance
- Comprehensive
- Rental Car Reimbursement
- Medical Payments
- Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist (UM/UIM)
- Total Loss Deductible Waiver
What Discounts Does Nationwide Offer?
Nationwide offers a variety of discounts to its customers that can save them substantial amounts of money either in their monthly or annual premiums, including:
- Multiple Policies
- Anti-Theft
- Safe Driver
- Usage-Based
- Automatic Payments
- Defensive Driving Course
- Affinity Membership
Nationwide offers discounts in some areas where GEICO doesn’t, including a discount for taking a qualifying defensive driving course.
What Are the Average Annual Premiums for Nationwide Customers?
According to U.S. News and World Report, the national average car insurance rate that Nationwide customers pay is $1,284 per year. The national average that people pay per year for car insurance is slightly higher at $1,321, making Nationwide a comparably affordable option.
It’s important to note that insurance premiums can change substantially from person to person, depending largely on outside factors such as age, location, credit score, driving history, and the make and model of your vehicle. For example, younger drivers almost always have higher premiums than older drivers, mainly because of their inexperience on the road. Similarly, areas with larger populations can also have higher insurance rates, as more traffic on the streets means more chance of collisions.
What Is GEICO?
GEICO is an insurance company that began as the Government Employees Insurance Company in 1936. Since then, they’ve become one of the most reputable insurance companies in the country, opening their services to non-governmental workers. Like Nationwide, GEICO offers coverage in multiple areas beyond cars, including homeowners, renters, motorcycle, boat, pet, travel, and business insurance.
What Car Insurance Coverage Is Available Through GEICO?
Similar to Nationwide, GEICO also offers many of the same standard coverage as part of their auto insurance plan, including:
- Rideshare Insurance
- Mechanical Breakdown Insurance (MBI)
- Bodily Injury Liability (BI)
- Property Damage Liability (PD)
- Comprehensive
- Collision
- Roadside Assistance
- Rental Car Reimbursement
- Medical Payments
- Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist (UM/UIM)
What Discounts Does GEICO Offer?
Compared to Nationwide, GEICO offers even more discount opportunities for customers to take advantage of, including:
- Multiple Policies
- Safe Driver
- Anti-Theft
- Usage-Based
- Multiple Vehicles
- Good Student
- Vehicle Safety
- Military
- Emergency Deployment
- Anti-Lock Brakes
- Daytime Running Lights
- New Car
- Passive Restraints
- Defensive Driving Course
- Federal Employee
Unlike Nationwide, GEICO’s discounts include multiple vehicles, good student, vehicle safety, military, new car, and daytime running lights.
What Are the Average Annual Premiums for GEICO Customers?
According to U.S. News and World Report, the average annual premium for GEICO customers is approximately $1,100. Like Nationwide, GEICO falls below the national average car insurance rate of $1,321. Compared to other major insurers, GEICO often ranks as one of the cheapest options after USAA, which is only available to military personnel. While auto insurance premiums can depend greatly on factors such as age, driving history, and eligibility for discounts, GEICO appears to be the most consistently affordable option available to all drivers in search of insurance.
Which Insurance Company Has Better Customer Service?
In terms of customer service, both Nationwide and GEICO rank highly among survey respondents. U.S. News and World Report claims that 55% of Nationwide’s respondents reported complete satisfaction when opening a policy compared to 69% of GEICO customers. For filing claims, 62% of Nationwide customers reported feeling completely satisfied with their experience, while GEICO remained higher at 73%. After the process of filing claims was over, Nationwide’s percentages increased to 72%, while GEICO’s slightly decreased to 70%.
Both companies have relatively high satisfaction rates for customer service, although, on average, GEICO is the insurance company that comes out on top. In terms of customer loyalty, GEICO also ranked higher, with 41% of customers saying they were likely to recommend the company to others, compared to only 26% from Nationwide.
Finding the perfect insurance company and policy for your needs can be overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be. With this article, you can feel confident that you have the information you need to choose the best plan for you. Shop around and get your free quotes to cross-examine your options. Look into each discount you’re eligible for to determine how much you could save. Speak to different agents to discuss your coverage options and potential bundles. With all these steps, you can surely find the best car insurance option for you, whether it’s Nationwide, GEICO, or something else entirely.
At FIXD, our mission is to make car ownership as simple, easy, and affordable as possible. Our research team utilizes the latest automotive data and insights to create tools and resources that help drivers get peace of mind and save money over the life of their car.
