GEICO is one of the largest auto insurance companies in the United States by market share, and its long-running advertisements suggest that a call to GEICO can save drivers 15% or more on their insurance.1
The Hartford doesn’t have as large a market share, but it’s offered auto insurance since 1913, a full 23 years before GEICO’s founding. The Hartford offers specialty insurance that caters to drivers older than 50.
To determine if The Hartford or GEICO is the best car insurance company for you, take the time to compare quotes, discounts, customer service, and coverage options from each company so you can make an informed decision.
While both GEICO and The Hartford offer similar auto insurance coverages, senior drivers may find exclusive services with The Hartford’s partnership with AARP.
Drivers of any age can get insurance through GEICO, while The Hartford specializes in auto insurance products for drivers 50 years and older. GEICO’s average monthly rates are also significantly cheaper than The Hartford’s for all drivers, whether they have clean records or spotty driving histories.
GEICO insurance may have the best rates, but it has a much worse record for customer satisfaction. GEICO’s National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) complaint index is 1.35, meaning it has a higher rate of complaints compared to the average.2 In other words, GEICO receives nearly one and a half times the number of complaints as the national average. The Hartford’s NAIC index of 0.78 means it receives fewer complaints than expected.3
GEICO is the third-largest auto insurance company by market share, according to the NAIC, and it offers competitive rates and a long list of potential discounts. While it’s a nationally known insurer, it also has a lower-than-average J.D. Power rating for claims satisfaction.4
Only AARP members can qualify for car insurance policies with The Hartford, but the company offers a number of benefits to customers, including customer support via local agents, disappearing deductibles, discounts for hybrid or electric cars, and new car replacement coverage.
GEICO and The Hartford both offer telematics programs that could potentially help safe drivers save money on their premiums.
The GEICO DriveEasy program is in the insurer’s main mobile app, and drivers can sign up for it by logging into their accounts on their phones. Once you sign up for DriveEasy, the mobile app uses your phone’s sensors to track various driving behaviors, including distracted driving, hard braking, cornering, and smoothness. It also tracks factors like distance driven, time of day, route regularity, and weather. The program assigns you a driving score based on this information.
Each time you renew your policy, GEICO partly determines your premiums based on your DriveEasy score. This means it’s possible to lower or raise your premiums with DriveEasy, and there’s no guaranteed discount. Additionally, every driver on your policy must enroll in DriveEasy if you sign up for the program.
The Hartford’s telematics program, TrueLane, offers an automatic discount of up to 12% when you enroll. The app automatically collects information about your driving behavior, including your speed, phone usage, cornering, braking, and acceleration.
When it’s time to renew your policy with The Hartford, your new policy premium will depend partly on your driving behavior. Good drivers can potentially save up to 25% at renewal. Not every driver on your policy has to enroll in TrueLane for you to take advantage of this program.
GEICO has cheaper car insurance rates than The Hartford, based on Insurify data. GEICO’s average rates are cheaper for every type of driver, including senior drivers, drivers with good credit, drivers with a DUI, and other high-risk drivers.
Because insurance companies use different factors to determine your car insurance rates, including your age, marital status, credit, ZIP code, and driving history, your rates with GEICO and The Hartford may vary.
Here’s what you need to know about both insurers’ average rates.
Keeping a clean driving record is a major factor in lowering your average annual premium, but GEICO’s rates for both full-coverage insurance and liability-only insurance are cheaper than The Hartford’s rates.
GEICO has lower rates for both full-coverage and liability insurance than The Hartford for drivers with a speeding ticket on their record.
Considering The Hartford specializes in insuring drivers older than 50 rather than young drivers, it’s not surprising that GEICO offers much lower average rates for teenage drivers.
Drivers with bad credit generally pay more for their auto insurance than drivers with good or excellent credit. GEICO’s premiums for drivers with bad credit are cheaper than The Hartford’s premiums for the same drivers.
Even though The Hartford specializes in senior drivers, GEICO’s premium rates are lower for drivers in their 50s, 60s, and 70s.
Drivers looking for liability-only policies can get the coverage they need from either GEICO or The Hartford. Liability insurance policies usually include bodily injury liability and property damage liability coverage, which together pay for damages to another party if you cause an accident.
Both insurers also offer additional coverages, like personal injury protection, medical payments, uninsured/underinsured motorist, comprehensive, and collision insurance.
Drivers looking for add-on coverage will find similar options at both GEICO and The Hartford.
GEICO offers a more robust list of car insurance discounts than The Hartford. Drivers with GEICO who insure multiple cars, install anti-theft devices, drive a new car, and get good grades may be able to access savings on their insurance bill. The Hartford doesn’t offer any of these types of discounts.
However, The Hartford does beat GEICO when it comes to alternative fuel discounts. Hybrid and electric car drivers can save with The Hartford and help the environment at the same time.
Use Insurify’s guide to the best and worst comparison sites while you shop for insurance, and check out the answers to common questions about GEICO and The Hartford below.
The 2023 J.D. Power U.S. Claims Satisfaction Survey found that The Hartford scored 877 out of 1,000 points for customer satisfaction with the insurance claim process. This is only one point below the study average of 878, which indicates that policyholders with The Hartford were reasonably satisfied with the insurer’s claims process.4
GEICO’s auto insurance rates aren’t the most expensive, according to Insurify data. They’re within the top 10 cheapest rates of the insurers Insurify analyzed. While several insurers have cheaper rates than GEICO, this company’s rates are quite competitive.
The Hartford generally rates well in a number of areas. It has a 0.78 complaint index with the NAIC, which means it receives fewer complaints than expected for a company of its size. It also scored 877 in claims satisfaction for J.D. Power, meaning its satisfaction rating is about average.3 4 The Hartford enjoys the highest customer satisfaction rating from J.D. Power in the Northwest region, as well as above-average ratings in several other regions.
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