State Farm vs Geico: Which has better auto insurance? - YouTube

Hi, it’s Megan here — the  insurance editor at Finder.

Welcome to Finder’s face-off between two of the  

most popular car insurance  companies — State Farm and Geico.

Overall, both companies stay pretty similar in the types of  coverage they offer. Both provide the basics,  

along with extras like roadside assistance,  rental car reimbursement and rideshare insurance.

However, Geico and State Farm  stand apart in different areas.  

What we found? Their reputation actually  matches up with what each company does best.

State Farm shines in customer  service through local agents 

While Geico actually offers some of the lowest premiums around.

And Geico's online experience is better  for basic questions and policy updates

But a fun fact? State Far Drive telematics app, Drive Safe and Save, works way better than Geico’s Drive Easy.

Now that you have our mile-long overview, let’s dig into the specifics on

Geico's and State Farm's price, bundling, customer service, and app experience.

If you’re shopping for the lowest-priced  car insurance, Geico's got your back.

Our insurance team recently pulled quotes for a 30-year-old driver with a clean record 

We ran the quotes on a 2021 Toyota  Corolla with full coverage,  

which includes liability,  comprehensive and collision

And … drum roll, Geico came out to $121  a month. State Farm's rate? About $182 a month.

That’s a $60 difference every month, which adds  up to over $700 less per year with Geico.

This is an example of the power  of shopping around for your car insurance. 

State Farm stands out with its  bundling discount, which goes up to 17%  

if you buy home or renters insurance  along with your car insurance.  

It also offers 20% off if you  insure two or more cars together.

Geico doesn’t drop the ball here, though. You can get up to 25%  

off for bundling vehicle policies,  like your car, motorcycle, boat or RV.

Either way, your final quote after getting  the discount is what’s most important.

Let's use our sample quotes as an example.

Let's say that you're looking to bundle your car and home insurance.

With Geico, you might pay $120 a month for car insurance with no bundling discount available.

With State Farm, you’d get  17% off your car insurance,  

but remember that State Farm’s rates  start out higher in the first place.  

With the 17% off discount, you’d be left paying around $150 a month.

In this example, Geico is still the cheaper  option even though State Farm offers the highest  

discount. But remember that your quote could  come out much different than this sample quote.

So it’s good to know that Geico works best  for bundling different kinds of vehicles,  

while State Farm is better for  bundling car and home insurance. 

Finding the best car insurance isn’t  only about getting the cheapest price.  

You want to balance price with solid protection  and service, and service is State Farm’s strength.

State Farm offers 19,000 local agents to help  you get personalized advice about your car insurance.

As for other ways to reach customer service, you can call State Farm's general customer service line

Or if you have the State Farm app on your iPhone,

you can text your agent with questions, as well as pay your bills, or file claims.

State Farm doesn't offer an online chat. Geico also has local agents,  

but they’re usually in major cities. But while State Farm relies on local agents,

Geico keeps a more digital approach. You'll find a live chat too on Geico's

contact page, plus a virtual assistant on its website and app to answer basic questions.

Like State Farm, you can text a Geico rep if you have the iPhone app, or call customer service the traditional way.

I know you're wondering, so we'll go through more of the app features in a minute.

But first, let's talk customer service ratings.

J.D. Power is one of the most reputable rating  

agencies around, especially for rating  insurance companies. In J.D. Power’s  

Auto Insurance survey, State Farm and Geico  are rated similarly for customer satisfaction.

But there are a few parts of the US where  State Farm clearly wins out for 2021,  

like New York and the  Northwest and Southwest states.

On Trustpilot, customers  rate State Farm with 1.8 out of 5 stars,  

while Geico sees a 1.7 star rating.  

Neither are great ratings, but it’s interesting  that both companies have similar scores.

Last but not least, Finder looks at customer complaints filed with the  

National Association of Insurance Commissioners.

Geico does pretty good on the index — it scored  a 0.79 for personal car insurance in 2020.  

Any number below 1 means the company sees fewer  complaints than other companies in the market.

But State Farm is the winner with a  score of 0. It saw only a couple of  

car insurance complaints last year,  which is pretty impressive for a  

major insurance company.

Geico is known for its top-rated app — customers  really love being able to update payment info,  

view their ID cards, file and track  claims and use Geico’s virtual assistant.

Plus, Geico’s app has a gas station finder,  

car maintenance reminders and  a cool virtual reality tool.

State Farm offers the same bill pay, claim  filing and ID card features as Geico’s app.

And on your iPhone, the app syncs with Siri to  pull up your insurance card or check your claims  

status — which, let’s be honest, is a little  more practical than a virtual reality tool.

That said, both Geico and State Farm get high app ratings. Both have a 4.8 out of 5 stars on the Apple store.

Overall, State Farm and Geico are  neck-and-neck on features for the  

main app. But not so much for the telematics app.

State Farm’s Drive Safe and  Save gets over 4 out of 5 stars  

on the Apple and Google Play stores.  Those are much higher ratings than  

Geico’s DriveEasy, which gets just over 2 stars.

These companies are close when you need  basic car insurance with solid service and  

a user-friendly app. The best one depends on  a few specifics that you might be looking for.

Geico works well if you’re  shopping for the lowest rates  

or if you’re bundling insurance on  different vehicles like your car and RV.

On the other hand, State Farm works best if  you’re looking beyond price to customer service  

ratings. It also works well for bundling  car with your home or renters policy.

And if opting into telematics is a selling  point, State Farm has a leg up there.

What do you think? Which car insurance company  is best for you? If you’re still undecided,  

check out the link below to see more features  for Geico’s and State Farm’s policies.

And don’t forget to hit Subscribe to  see more Finder videos when they drop.