Geico Insurance Hypocrisy

usp4u wrote:

The unfortunate part of this is that you do have to "lie". I hate that word as much as anyone, but, here is a caveat that...

The unfortunate part of this is that you do have to "lie". I hate that word as much as anyone, but, here is a caveat that might make it a bit more palatable...

If I were to add a natural gas heater to my garage, botch it, and blow up the structure...my insurance would pay. You see, part of insuring a person is also insuring against their stupidity. Same if I were to hit your house while DUI, they will still pay you for me being an idiot.

Some times when you get hurt, you need to remember that it happened going down the steps too quickly. If you get hurt badly enough to need an ambulance, you were trail riding for pleasure. If you get picked up at a track, it was part of your exercise routine.

*these are of course hypothetical views and anecdotal replies that I've heard around the track. *

Motodork wrote:

The "lie" part is hard, because most people that consider themselves honest and try to raise their kids with respect and pride will "lie" to the...

The "lie" part is hard, because most people that consider themselves honest and try to raise their kids with respect and pride will "lie" to the IRS, an insurance company or a Salesman. They will also go out of state to buy something and then won't claim it on their state tax and pay the sales tax for buying in Oregon but living in California. Just bringing up the fact that most all of these very honest people will "lie" when it serves their own interest.

JW381 wrote:

I've always been annoyed by that. My mom actually got our insurer to cover the damage to my bike when I crashed racing arena cross one...

I've always been annoyed by that. My mom actually got our insurer to cover the damage to my bike when I crashed racing arena cross one winter.

I whiskey throttled into a concrete barrier and mangled the front end pretty good. They must have really assessed it because they paid for everything except for the rear shock seals and a few other shock components?

They dropped me soon after, but she gave the agent shit because he knew I was gonna be racing it yet he didn't specify that wouldn't be insured. I think it had more to do with her treating to pull all the vehicles and house they had insured thru him. That was Farmers, I beleive.

Don't those policies usually jut cover theft anyway? Maybe some other damages involved with storage/transportation. So why do they care if it's being raced or ridden in the woods, they don't cover damages either way?

Mr. Ted wrote:

I was told by my agent that since my son races, if we are at the track for practice and his bike gets stolen and there...

I was told by my agent that since my son races, if we are at the track for practice and his bike gets stolen and there is a race anytime that weekend at that track, whether we are racing, not racing, signed up, not signed up, it could be a vintage race and my kid is on a supermini, not even present on race day, etc....they will not cover the theft. State Farm...

Skidaddle wrote:

Dont count on State Farm or any other company to insure it. And by that I mean paying a claim. Agents are fucking clueless as to...

Dont count on State Farm or any other company to insure it.

And by that I mean paying a claim. Agents are fucking clueless as to what is covered and not.

Only the underwriters and adjusters know what really is and isn't covered.
Keep in mind, it is their job to find a way to deny every and all claims.

For some reason someone reviewed your policy.
Otherwise had you had a claim.....guess what...denied.

JW381 wrote:

I've always been annoyed by that. My mom actually got our insurer to cover the damage to my bike when I crashed racing arena cross one...

I've always been annoyed by that. My mom actually got our insurer to cover the damage to my bike when I crashed racing arena cross one winter.

I whiskey throttled into a concrete barrier and mangled the front end pretty good. They must have really assessed it because they paid for everything except for the rear shock seals and a few other shock components?

They dropped me soon after, but she gave the agent shit because he knew I was gonna be racing it yet he didn't specify that wouldn't be insured. I think it had more to do with her treating to pull all the vehicles and house they had insured thru him. That was Farmers, I beleive.

Don't those policies usually jut cover theft anyway? Maybe some other damages involved with storage/transportation. So why do they care if it's being raced or ridden in the woods, they don't cover damages either way?

crusher773 wrote:

It's covered for everything except racing basically. Read your policy that is why it is there. Read the exclusions racing is always excluded even in your...

It's covered for everything except racing basically. Read your policy that is why it is there. Read the exclusions racing is always excluded even in your regular auto policy. Also if you Mom got them to cover it what she did was lie and commit insurance fraud. Racing is never covered I worked in that office that would have handled it for 6 years if it happened while it was raced and they found out about it the claim was denied. DWI and DUI also does not exclude coverage we pay for that crap all the time. Everyone insures stupid.

captmoto wrote:

I bought a bike on credit until I get my tax return. It needed to be insured so I thought I would use Geico ,you know...

I bought a bike on credit until I get my tax return. It needed to be insured so I thought I would use Geico ,you know, support the companies that support mx and sx. I payed up front for 1 years worth of insurance. They sent out a questionnaire about racing, track days and how many in a year. I guess I should not have answered truthfully since 5 weeks later I get a cancellation notice because the bike would be raced.
I called to see about a refund and to their credit,I was already refunded. I did let customer service know that I thought their policy was hypocritical given how involved they were in racing pointing out the investment in the Geico FC SX/MX teams as well as all the advertising they aim directly at racers. I guess it's back to State Farm, back then they didn't care if I was "racing for a 6 pack". Those were my agents exact words. So Geico is largely bullshit to me.

JW381 wrote:

I've always been annoyed by that. My mom actually got our insurer to cover the damage to my bike when I crashed racing arena cross one...

I've always been annoyed by that. My mom actually got our insurer to cover the damage to my bike when I crashed racing arena cross one winter.

I whiskey throttled into a concrete barrier and mangled the front end pretty good. They must have really assessed it because they paid for everything except for the rear shock seals and a few other shock components?

They dropped me soon after, but she gave the agent shit because he knew I was gonna be racing it yet he didn't specify that wouldn't be insured. I think it had more to do with her treating to pull all the vehicles and house they had insured thru him. That was Farmers, I beleive.

Don't those policies usually jut cover theft anyway? Maybe some other damages involved with storage/transportation. So why do they care if it's being raced or ridden in the woods, they don't cover damages either way?

crusher773 wrote:

It's covered for everything except racing basically. Read your policy that is why it is there. Read the exclusions racing is always excluded even in your...

It's covered for everything except racing basically. Read your policy that is why it is there. Read the exclusions racing is always excluded even in your regular auto policy. Also if you Mom got them to cover it what she did was lie and commit insurance fraud. Racing is never covered I worked in that office that would have handled it for 6 years if it happened while it was raced and they found out about it the claim was denied. DWI and DUI also does not exclude coverage we pay for that crap all the time. Everyone insures stupid.

JW381 wrote:

It was not fraud and there was no lie. They denied coverage orignally. My mom raised hell and convinced the agent to cover it, knowing it...

It was not fraud and there was no lie. They denied coverage orignally. My mom raised hell and convinced the agent to cover it, knowing it happened during a race. Not a practice, but a race. They dropped me after. Don't know what more to tell you.
Insurance may be a business, but it's a shitty business, and I'm not the only one that thinks so. We pay premiums and the insurer goes thru great lengths to try and deny coverage.
I'm not acting as if I, or the OP, is a victim. It's just kind of a shitty deal, a grey area in a world of black and white thinkers such as yourself.
The moral is that Geico markets insurance to riders and racers for vehicles that are designed for riding and racing, yet refuses to cover them in those instances. It makes sense, to a degree. Doesn't change the fact that it is a bit hypocritical.

JW381 wrote:

It was not fraud and there was no lie. They denied coverage orignally. My mom raised hell and convinced the agent to cover it, knowing it...

It was not fraud and there was no lie. They denied coverage orignally. My mom raised hell and convinced the agent to cover it, knowing it happened during a race. Not a practice, but a race. They dropped me after. Don't know what more to tell you.
Insurance may be a business, but it's a shitty business, and I'm not the only one that thinks so. We pay premiums and the insurer goes thru great lengths to try and deny coverage.
I'm not acting as if I, or the OP, is a victim. It's just kind of a shitty deal, a grey area in a world of black and white thinkers such as yourself.
The moral is that Geico markets insurance to riders and racers for vehicles that are designed for riding and racing, yet refuses to cover them in those instances. It makes sense, to a degree. Doesn't change the fact that it is a bit hypocritical.

crusher773 wrote:

It's people that don't understand that have that narrow mindset that is completely false. It is not a shitty business at all. So you pay a...

It's people that don't understand that have that narrow mindset that is completely false. It is not a shitty business at all. So you pay a $100 premium for say 5 years the company brought in $500. When you smash your bike into a wall during a situation doing something that they up front said we can't cover you doing this activity. They probably paid out $5K or whatever the market value on your bike was and that was a bad deal for you? Maybe check the numbers there. Nobody likes to pay insurance but on the day you need it you are sure as hell glad you did. If you think it's a shitty business it's because you don't understand it or get pushback when you are trying to get paid for something that shouldn't be. The policies are very clear and very broad and wide open as to what is paid. There are not a ton of things excluded but they are very specific. It is very seldom black and white most times its gray and every time its gray people get paid. I don't disagree on the Geico not covering them part. When I moved to Oklahoma Nationwide wouldn't cover my bikes anymore and said they don't write business in Oklahoma. I said but the name of your company is "Nationwide". I thought that was ironic. Nobody should think their adjuster is out deny a claim because we never are. If I think it might even be going that way I will even try and give some subtle clues and ask certain questions to move it the other direction so I can pay it. I know of 3 companies that tell their adjusters to just pay any possible way you can.

JW381 wrote:

It was not fraud and there was no lie. They denied coverage orignally. My mom raised hell and convinced the agent to cover it, knowing it...

It was not fraud and there was no lie. They denied coverage orignally. My mom raised hell and convinced the agent to cover it, knowing it happened during a race. Not a practice, but a race. They dropped me after. Don't know what more to tell you.
Insurance may be a business, but it's a shitty business, and I'm not the only one that thinks so. We pay premiums and the insurer goes thru great lengths to try and deny coverage.
I'm not acting as if I, or the OP, is a victim. It's just kind of a shitty deal, a grey area in a world of black and white thinkers such as yourself.
The moral is that Geico markets insurance to riders and racers for vehicles that are designed for riding and racing, yet refuses to cover them in those instances. It makes sense, to a degree. Doesn't change the fact that it is a bit hypocritical.

kmp1219 wrote:

You are seriously misinformed about insurance. You're a grown man bragging about your mom "raising hell" so that something that wasn't supposed to be covered would...

You are seriously misinformed about insurance.

You're a grown man bragging about your mom "raising hell" so that something that wasn't supposed to be covered would be covered.

Then you call the business that you and mommy took advantage of a shitty one?

Nothing is shittier than the kid who has mommy fight his battles for him. Grow up, pal.

You claim hypocrisy but isn't it a bit hypocritical for you to insult the industry that you and mommy took advantage of? You committed insurance fraud, you outed yourself, guy.

What a shit show this place can be. Go to your room, son.

Skidaddle wrote:

Dont count on State Farm or any other company to insure it. And by that I mean paying a claim. Agents are fucking clueless as to...

Dont count on State Farm or any other company to insure it.

And by that I mean paying a claim. Agents are fucking clueless as to what is covered and not.

Only the underwriters and adjusters know what really is and isn't covered.
Keep in mind, it is their job to find a way to deny every and all claims.

For some reason someone reviewed your policy.
Otherwise had you had a claim.....guess what...denied.

crusher773 wrote:

This is also completely false. I agree with most agents having no clue what they are selling. It is 10 times easier for an adjuster to...

This is also completely false. I agree with most agents having no clue what they are selling. It is 10 times easier for an adjuster to pay a claim than deny it. Our job is to find coverage in any way possible not to look for a way to deny. If it's even slightly a gray area the claims get paid. When it's a blatant no coverage though there isn't much an adjuster can do, we have to do our jobs too. We have to be able to document what we are paying just like anyone else. Its no different than any other job. At the end of the day the insurance company wants to keep you as a customer, the market has become super competitive and customer service is very heavily pushed. If you are just truthful and honest as long as it's a covered loss there shouldn't be an issue. If you are trying to lie or are a dick to the adjuster well then it complicates the process.

TheGetFresh wrote:

Dude, you did it to yourself. Those questions aren't on there to see how good of a boy scout you are, they're so they can weed...

Dude, you did it to yourself. Those questions aren't on there to see how good of a boy scout you are, they're so they can weed out people who seek behavior too risky for the overall pool.

They want a form that has your signature and a box checked "no, I won't be racing this vehicle" so that if you try to file a claim in a racing incident they won't have to pay it. Insuring a dirt bike is a tacit arrangement that they'll cover fire and theft or transportation incidences and you won't ask them to buy you new radiators when you crash. You probably paid $15-20 bucks a month for this reason. If they insured against racing incidences that would be in the hundreds of dollars a month and they'd end up with an insurance pool so fucked up with adverse selection that they'd be out of business before the outdoors started.

TXDirt wrote:

This is why you really have to lie about everything. If you try and be the honest good guy you will get screwed. If you get...

This is why you really have to lie about everything. If you try and be the honest good guy you will get screwed. If you get hurt, you tell all the doctors you got hurt on a bike. Meaning bicycle. If you get hauled into ER in your gear, you got hurt on your BMX bike.

GoggleFiend904 wrote:

I heard that before and mentioned it to a friend on the way to the ER, then another friend told me it wouldnt matter?

Skidaddle wrote:

Dont count on State Farm or any other company to insure it. And by that I mean paying a claim. Agents are fucking clueless as to...

Dont count on State Farm or any other company to insure it.

And by that I mean paying a claim. Agents are fucking clueless as to what is covered and not.

Only the underwriters and adjusters know what really is and isn't covered.
Keep in mind, it is their job to find a way to deny every and all claims.

For some reason someone reviewed your policy.
Otherwise had you had a claim.....guess what...denied.

crusher773 wrote:

This is also completely false. I agree with most agents having no clue what they are selling. It is 10 times easier for an adjuster to...

This is also completely false. I agree with most agents having no clue what they are selling. It is 10 times easier for an adjuster to pay a claim than deny it. Our job is to find coverage in any way possible not to look for a way to deny. If it's even slightly a gray area the claims get paid. When it's a blatant no coverage though there isn't much an adjuster can do, we have to do our jobs too. We have to be able to document what we are paying just like anyone else. Its no different than any other job. At the end of the day the insurance company wants to keep you as a customer, the market has become super competitive and customer service is very heavily pushed. If you are just truthful and honest as long as it's a covered loss there shouldn't be an issue. If you are trying to lie or are a dick to the adjuster well then it complicates the process.

Skidaddle wrote:

I didnt say agents look for a way to deny coverage. They will sell you anything. I said adjusters will look for a way to deny...

I didnt say agents look for a way to deny coverage. They will sell you anything.

I said adjusters will look for a way to deny paying the claim.

Most insurance companies will drop you if you even have a homeowners insurance claim over 30K. They don't give two shits if you've been a non claim having customer for over 25 years. In 3 years, they will look at you again.

Moto520 wrote:

So.....my protocol is I've fallen off a ladder. Never admit to the fact that you got hurt at the track. Get the hell out of the...

So.....my protocol is I've fallen off a ladder. Never admit to the fact that you got hurt at the track. Get the hell out of the facility if at all possible. In my case....I was pretty stuck. Of course the agent is just trying to make a commission and I'm sure they will fudge some shit to get you pushed through. The issue that does matter and is relevant is the change of status from amateur to professional once you take money. Doesn't matter if you are a vet rider or whatever.....once you take money you are a professional and you must disclose this or risk not being covered. Again....if you break a leg or arm they will generally cover you without question. It's when shit gets into the higher dollar amount range where it gets dicey. Some agencies will not pay and they will do their research to find a way not to pay. Amateur vs professional status is one such way. Right now.....I just pay a high rate for my insurance and I am ok with that. I'm a higher risk than joe public and, as a business, it has to make s nose to the insurance company that insures me.

They are pretty much banking on the fact that the institution that governs insurance will not act quick enough to keep your credit from falling to shit.

The people that wind up getting fucked? The doctors, nurses, and emt that deserve to get paid. The ones that save your ass wind up having to settle. 30% of what they should have gotten and they were satisfied enough to settle. They know the alternative is that the injured person will file medical bankruptcy. Medical bankruptcy is not even close to the same as regular bankruptcy. You can still get a freaking car loan/ house loan after filing medical,bankrupcy.

reded wrote:

It seems to me that Geicos slogan is a bunch of bullshit. I've gotten quotes from them several times and have found that they're normally 15-20%...

It seems to me that Geicos slogan is a bunch of bullshit. I've gotten quotes from them several times and have found that they're normally 15-20% higher than their competitors. Perhaps it's the state I live in or maybe I'm buying shit that's expensive to insure, who knows.

Funyun wrote:

No ones losing money over them giving you a deal. If the insurance did end up paying the hospital most likely would have got even less...

No ones losing money over them giving you a deal. If the insurance did end up paying the hospital most likely would have got even less. I honestly dont understand how the cost of healthcare works in this country it seems like a total scam with super inflated prices to scare people into insurance who then only actually pay the hospital a fraction of the bill.

Funyun wrote:

Ive had my car insured under geico for a long time now and after buying a new WRX they wanted $1600 for the year. I went...

Ive had my car insured under geico for a long time now and after buying a new WRX they wanted $1600 for the year. I went along with it for the first 6 months I figured it was just normal because they base it off the average idiot that drives a WRX. When it came time to repay for the next 6 months they bumped it up to $900 which would be $1800 for the year due to miscalculating something and that specific car should be even more to insure. $200/year bump from an already ridiculous cost! I immediatly looked around and almost everywhere i looked was cheaper and finally settled on all-state where im currently paying $920 for the YEAR with the exact same coverage.


Sometimes it feels like insurance companys dont care one bit about their current customers and just want to give deals to the new ones. Meanwhile they increase the rates of everyone whos been their customer and hope they are too lazy to look elsewhere. I've heard similar stories to mine from pretty much all companies

Moto520 wrote:

So....I jacked myself up pretty good while practicing. I ran out of gas like a dumbass on the face of a 4th gear tabletop......long story short.....broken...

So....I jacked myself up pretty good while practicing. I ran out of gas like a dumbass on the face of a 4th gear tabletop......long story short.....broken femur, shattered heel, broken thumb, dislocated shoulder, and a bad haircut. I was fully insured through a broker and answered all the questions accurately. Well...turns out I'm a professional motocross racer since I race for money. They were able to pull all of this up on the internet. $300,000 in medical bills later.....I find out insurance isn't paying. Turns out the broker that was getting me insured changed some of the information that I put on my application (more to it than that but for brevity's sake I'll leave out the details). So.....the protocol is to fight the situation with the state and file with the government agency that oversees insurance (you will see gaps in my story because my wife handles all the insurance....my terminology is a little off). During this period....it was messing with my credit as the medical companies don't mess around. The hospitals, helicopter ambulance, and all the rehab facilities wound up settling with me for about 30% of what was owed on a payment plan.

Don't come on here and be one of those assholes that says "you knew what you were doing and should have blah blah blah." I'm saying that I filled things out properly....or....my wife did. I'm not claiming to be a victim or anything like that. I'm just saying....make sure they know you are collecting money if you are racing for a purse. They will pay without too much of a question until you get into the really high dollar amount. Then...they will not pay and you will have to fight them. It's a business and they need to make money so if "A" doesn't equal "C" then "B." Just be careful and always gas up before a long Moto.

JB 19 wrote:

I would go so far as to say you should even be careful what you say on internet forums involving injuries. These days the internet is...

I would go so far as to say you should even be careful what you say on internet forums involving injuries. These days the internet is a pretty small place.

TXDirt wrote:

I got a good chuckle from the guy who said adjusters don't look for ways to deny your claim. Lol You are absolutely right. On one...

I got a good chuckle from the guy who said adjusters don't look for ways to deny your claim. Lol

You are absolutely right. On one end is the agent who will say and do anything to get you into a policy.

On the other end is the adjuster who's job is to deny your claim. And if he can't flat deny it then look for ways to pay out as little as possible.

If you have ever had to haggle with an adjuster then you already know they suck to deal with.

Whoever said their job is to pay the claim is seriously misinformed. And you have worked in insurance? An adjusters job is to find ways to pay as little as possible. And if he can find a way to deny the claim then he just did a fantastic job as far as his bosses are concerned.