Esurance vs. GEICO: Which is Best for You?

GEICO is cheaper for drivers with a traffic ticket, at-fault accident or poor credit. GEICO also has a higher J.D. Power score and a lower NAIC complaint rating.

Esurance auto insurance is good for drivers who want a wider variety of coverage options. Esurance is also cheaper than GEICO for drivers with a driving under the influence (DUI) charge.

GEICO auto insurance is good for drivers who want better customer service and drivers looking for multiple discounts.

GEICO is usually more affordable than Esurance. The average annual premium for GEICO is $1,047. Esurance has an average yearly rate of $1,473, which is $426 more than GEICO.

Keep in mind that these rates are national averages, which means your premium could be different. Rates vary based on your age, location and driving history, so you will need to compare quotes from both companies for the most accurate rates. Getting rates from several providers can help you determine the cheapest auto insurance company for you.

The rates above are based on a 40-year-old sample driver with a clean driving record, 100/300/100 liability insurance and comprehensive and collision coverage with a $1,000 deductible.

GEICO is cheaper than Esurance in most states.

For the 13 states where MoneyGeek has data on both company’s insurance rates, GEICO is less expensive in 11. However, it appears that Esurance has been merged into the Allstate brand as of 2020. Even when Esurance was a separate company, it only provided coverage in 42 states, which means there are eight states where GEICO is the only one of the two companies offering insurance. Individual states often have rates that are significantly higher or lower than the average cost of auto insurance.

GEICO is more affordable than Esurance in the 11 states MoneyGeek gathered rates from, while Esurance was the cheaper option in just two. Only GEICO offers insurance in all 50 states.

While they still have a functional website, it appears Esurance is phasing out policies under that name, aiming to eventually transfer their active policies to Allstate.

In the following table, you'll see many instances of the phrase "Not Available." This does not mean that coverage is unavailable. Instead, it merely means that our study included no data for these states. If you'd like to see which company may offer you a lower quote is your state instantly, use our car insurance cost calculator.

Many factors influence your insurance rates, including your age, driving record and credit score. Insurance is typically more expensive for drivers with poor credit, young drivers and drivers with tickets, accidents or other blemishes on their driving record.

Esurance is the most affordable choice for drivers with a DUI, while GEICO is a cheaper option for drivers with a traffic ticket, at-fault accident or poor credit.

• GEICO is cheaper for a driver with a ticket at $1,265 annually compared to $1,667 at Esurance.
• GEICO is cheaper for a driver with an at-fault accident, at $1,494 per year compared to $2,401 at Esurance.
• Esurance is cheaper for a driver with a DUI, at $2,346 annually compared to $2,680 with GEICO.
• GEICO is cheaper for a driver with poor credit at $1,676 annually, compared to $3,084 with Esurance.

Please note that the "Not Available" value in the following table does not mean that Esurance doesn't sell policies to 18-year-old students. Rather, it indicates that our study included no data for this type of policy.

How many discounts an insurance company offers isn’t as important as your final quote. Some insurance companies offer dozens of discounts while others offer only a few, but what matters most is how much you pay each year.

Home and auto bundling (a discount for having both homeowners insurance and car insurance with the same company) and usage-based car insurance programs are the two major discounts offered by almost every auto insurance company. Esurance only lists the usage-based discount on their website, but that doesn’t mean there are no other discounts available through the company. Because they recently merged with Allstate, you may have access to discounts and other benefits under the Allstate name. GEICO offers both discounts but doesn’t specify how much you can save, which means you will need to get a quote from both companies to compare rates. More analysis on the cheapest home and auto bundle is available on our guide.

Esurance offers a unique usage-based app called DriveSense. Esurance customers can use the app to earn customized discounts based on their driving behavior, but the program is available to anyone, not just Esurance customers. DriveSense is a tool anyone can use to track your driving behavior and see where you could make some improvements. GEICO offers a usage-based app called DriveEasy that offers a customized discount with the company.

Since Esurance only mentions one discount on their website, GEICO’s wide array of available discounts helps them come out ahead in this category. Esurance may have additional discounts available through Allstate, so it’s important to get a quote from both companies to find out exactly how much you can save on car insurance.

MoneyGeek measures customer service experience by reviewing ranking scores with J.D. Power and tracking the number of complaints made to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC). These scores are an important factor in determining which company offers the best car insurance for you.

The auto insurance industry average J.D. Power ranking is 835. Esurance has a customer satisfaction rating of 836 out of 1,000, about par with the industry average. GEICO has a customer satisfaction score of 843 out of 1,000, which is slightly better than the industry average.

The NAIC compliance report has a national median score of 1.00. A company that scores lower than 1.00 has fewer complaints than average, while a company that scores higher than 1.00 has more complaints than average. According to the NAIC, GEICO has more than double the average amount of complaints with a score of 2.04. Esurance scored 2.87, which is more than double the average score and significantly higher than GEICO.

Because GEICO comes out ahead in both the J.D. Power rankings and the NAIC rankings, GEICO is the winner when it comes to customer service.

GEICO ranks higher than Esurance on J.D. Power points for customer satisfaction, with 843 out of 1,000. GEICO scored highest in their rental experience, but the company does well in every J.D. Power category.

GEICO has a lower NAIC customer complaint ratio of 2.04, compared to the 2.87 score held by Esurance. This score means that GEICO received more complaints than average, but still fewer complaints than Esurance.

There are some types of coverage considered standard in the auto insurance industry, such as:

• Liability insurance
• Comprehensive insurance
• Collision insurance
• Uninsured motorist insurance
• Personal injury protection

Beyond these standard types of coverage, many insurance companies offer coverages that are unique to them in hopes of making themselves stand out against the competition.

GEICO has four types of additional auto insurance coverage, including:

• Accident forgiveness
• Roadside assistance
• Mechanical breakdown insurance
• Rental reimbursement (due to a covered accident)

Esurance has five types of additional auto insurance coverage, including:

• Roadside assistance
• Rental reimbursement (due to a covered accident)
• Custom parts coverage
• Rideshare insurance
• Gap insurance

For both companies, these additional types of coverage are usually offered for an additional cost. Esurance has more coverage options than GEICO, making them the winner in this category.

An insurance company’s A.M. Best rating is an indicator of a company’s ability to pay future claims. A.M. Best ratings are measured on an alphabetical scale, similar to a report card. Highly secure companies earn a superior rating of A++, while insecure companies, such as those undergoing liquidation, can earn a score as low as an F.

GEICO has the highest possible A.M. Best rating, an A++. Esurance has an A+ rating, which is lower than GEICO but still an excellent score. Most large insurance companies have a robust financial stability rating.

While both companies have excellent ratings, GEICO has a better ranking, making them the winner in this category.

GEICO has been built from the ground up to serve users online, and it's reflected in their website's experience. Their commitment here makes GEICO the winner in this category.

GEICO sells insurance directly to the consumer, which means they had an incentive to adopt online functionality earlier than most insurance companies. Their online platform makes it easy for customers to sign up, file claims and pay bills conveniently. GEICO even allows you to use some of their functions, such as online premium payments, without requiring a login to simplify the process for their customers.

Similarly, Esurance started out as a company designed to sell insurance online, taking agents out of the process. Because the company is merging with Allstate, who uses agents to provide service to their customers, Esurance customers could be at risk of losing access to the online services they are used to having as part of their policy.

Data on car insurance rates comparing Esurance and GEICO are for a 40-year-old male with a full coverage car insurance policy, unless otherwise noted. The policy includes:

• $100,000 on bodily injury liability insurance per person
• $300,000 on bodily injury liability insurance per accident
• $100,000 on property damage liability insurance per person
• Comprehensive and collision insurance with a $1,000 deductible

To evaluate available coverages, discounts and online tools, MoneyGeek collected information from insurer websites and quote tools. To score insurance companies on customer satisfaction and customer complaints, MoneyGeek referenced publicly available data from J.D. Power and the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC). Financial stability was measured using financial strength ratings from A.M. Best, a leading insurance credit rating agency.