Suing a company as big as GEICO is never easy. Learn about the challenges of taking on GEICO in court, and how an experienced attorney can tip the scales in your favor.
Darn near everyone can recognize the Government Employees Insurance Company's (GEICO) many clever advertisements, from the caveman, to their gecko, to several other well-known advertising campaigns, one might say that GEICO uses advertising as well as any insurance company.
Advertising, coupled with competitive insurance rates, explains quite a bit about how GEICO has become the second largest car insurance company in the United States.
From watching their fun, clever advertising, one might get the impression that resolving a claim with GEICO is a simple, straight-forward affair.
Unfortunately, when you are dealing with a company whose estimated revenue was $25.4 billion in 2014, you can be certain that nothing is ever simple.
In fact, like most other large insurance companies, GEICO uses the claims process to get you to voluntarily hand over information, which they turn around and use as ammunition to attack the value of your claim.
In extreme cases, information handed over by those injured in a car accident is used to deny a claim altogether.
The only way to hold a giant company like GEICO accountable is with the help of an attorney who has successfully pursued thousands of car accident claims, quite a few of them against GEICO, attorneys like those found at Grossman Law Offices.
Who is GEICO? A Quick Overview
GEICO is a Chevy Chase, Maryland-based insurance company, which has been in business for almost 80 years.
GEICO ensures over 22 million vehicles for 13 million people. Across all classes of insurance, GEICO accounts for a bit over 5% of the total U.S. insurance market.
Additionally, GEICO was one of the first large insurance companies to begin offering commercial driving policies for drivers of ride-share companies, like Uber.
Unlike many of other large insurance companies, GEICO is not an independent entity. Rather, it is a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway.
If that name doesn't ring a bell, then perhaps the name of it's chairman, Warren Buffett does. That's right, one of the ten richest men in the world and one of the most famous investors in American history is ultimately in charge of what happens at GEICO.
Due to its status as a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway, it is probably more correct not to think of GEICO as a $25 billion company, but a piece of an almost $200 billion dollar company.
If Berkshire Hathaway were its own country, it would be the 55th largest economy in the world.
Another way to try and picture the size of the company is that it is roughly twice the size of UPS, while it's annual revenue is the same as Romania's entire economy.
How GEICO Leverages Its Size to Minimize Your Payout
When you are dealing with a company bigger than 75% of the countries in the world, resources are no object to them.
In addition, every claim they can deny or undervalue is money that goes directly to the company's bottom line.
When you are operating on the scale that GEICO is that creates billions of dollars of incentive to undervalue claims.
If we were just talking about numbers and money on paper that would be one thing, but the damage payouts in car accident injury cases represent medical bills, lost wages, and a list of other very real damage to peoples' lives.
In many instances, GEICO will refuse to accept liability or properly value your damages.
Often, they will take the information they gather in the claims process to bolster their case that you are actually at fault for your injuries, not the driver that GEICO represents.
The next time you see a GEICO commercial touting their customer satisfaction rating, remember those ratings are surveys of people who are insured by GEICO, not of the victims who try and recover rightful damages from GEICO.
Additional Advantages Geico Uses for Lawsuits
Another advantage that GEICO's size gives it, is that they are able to retain their own army of lawyers to litigate cases.
You cannot scare GEICO by threatening to sue, because their lawyers are already paid and standing by to fight your lawsuit.
They count on the fact that most people lack the skills to properly investigate their accident and prove up damages so that they are admissible in courts.
Many assume that you'll show up with your medical bills and that the court will admit them into evidence. This will not be the case, since they have not been properly vetted and authenticated.
Without proper evidence of damage, it's quite possible that you can win your case, but get nothing in the judgment, because the records proving your damages were not admitted and allowed to be seen by the jury.
How to Fight Against a Giant Like GEICO
The good new is that you don't have to take on GEICO by yourself. At Grossman Law Offices, we have been standing for injured motorists against companies like GEICO for over 25 years.
In that time we have had the privilege of litigating thousands of car accident cases on behalf of those injured right here in Texas and throughout the United States.
Our extensive experience means that insurers like GEICO know exactly who we are and that we do what it takes to maximize our clients' claims.
Our tenacity when it comes to investigation and litigation comes from a passion for helping those who have been injured in accidents get everything they are entitled to under the law.
If you have questions about your case, or are interested in hiring us, call us for a free consultation at (855) 326-0000.
If you have been injured in a car accident and would like more information, please read some of our related articles:
- Negligence Per Se Arguments:Driving on the Left Side of the Road
- How Much Does a Car Accident Attorney Cost?
- 5 Things You Need to Know About Claims Adjusters
- You Should Never Prematurely Settle a Fatality Case
