GEICO vs. AAA: Which is Best for You?

GEICO is cheaper for drivers in every category. AAA is more expensive but offers additional benefits as part of their standard coverage and has a better customer complaint ratio.

GEICO auto insurance is good for drivers who need affordable coverage.

AAA auto insurance is good for drivers who consider customer service their top priority.

Drivers shopping for the cheapest auto insurance should know that GEICO costs less than AAA, on average.

The average annual premium for GEICO is $1,047. This rate is $365 cheaper than AAA, with a yearly premium of $1,412. These premiums are national average rates based on a 40-year-old male driver with full coverage and a clean driving record, so your costs may be different based on your personal information.

Your age, location and driving history are just a few of the factors that can impact your car insurance rates. Because there are so many different things that affect your rates, it is important to compare auto insurance quotes from both companies to determine which one has better rates for you. State and local laws can significantly impact insurance premiums, which means your location can raise or lower your rates by hundreds or even thousands of dollars per year.

GEICO is cheaper than AAA in most states.

For the 11 states where MoneyGeek has data on both companies, GEICO is more affordable in 10, while AAA is the more affordable option in only one state. Your state may have much higher or lower rates than the national average cost of auto insurance, but no matter how much your state average premium is, GEICO will be cheaper than AAA in almost every state. Both GEICO and AAA write policies in all 50 states and Washington D.C.

Please note that the "Not Available" text in the table below does not necessarily mean that these insurers do not offer coverage in these states. Instead, it means that data for these states was unavailable in our research. If you'd like to see which company may offer you a lower quote instantly based on you age or driving record, use our car insurance estimator.

Your age, driving record and credit score are just a few of the factors that impact your insurance premium. While you can’t control your age, keeping your driving record clean and your credit score as high as possible are both excellent ways to keep your insurance premiums low.

Compared to AAA, GEICO has the lowest rates in every driver category:

• GEICO is cheaper for a driver with a ticket at $1,265 annually, compared to $2,039 at AAA.
• GEICO is cheaper for a driver with an at-fault accident at $1,494 annually, compared to $2,115 at AAA.
• GEICO is cheaper for a driver with a DUI at $2,680 annually, compared to $3,974 at AAA.
• GEICO is cheaper for a driver with poor credit at $1,676 annually, compared to $3,556 at AAA.

Although the following table says AAA's premium for an 18-year-old student is not available, this means that our study included no data for this policy. It does not necessarily mean that AAA does not offer policies to 18-year-olds.

Most insurance companies offer multiple discounts for drivers, including students and drivers who have safety features such as anti-lock brakes and airbags in their vehicles. While it can be nice to find discounts, the number of discounts a company offers is less important than your final quote.

Most insurance companies offer two significant discounts. The first is your home and auto bundle, a discount for having both homeowners insurance and car insurance with the same company. The second is a usage-based car insurance program, a discount based on how much you drive and your behavior behind the wheel.

Most insurance companies offer a 17% discount for bundling your home and auto coverage, but this varies based on the company. Neither GEICO nor AAA specifies how much of a discount they give for bundling your policies. You can compare which companies have the best home and auto bundle discounts with the help of our guide.

AAA offers a discount of up to 10% for enrolling in their safe driving program called SMART trek, an app that allows your phone to measure your driving behavior. GEICO doesn’t say how much you can save with DriveEasy, their safe driving app. They do say safe drivers may see a premium reduction, while unsafe drivers may see a premium increase, so keep that in mind before signing up for the program.

GEICO offers significantly more discounts than AAA, but AAA giving specific numbers for potential savings on their safe driving app makes them the winner in this category.

MoneyGeek determines customer service experience ratings by reviewing J.D. Power customer rankings and tracking the number of customer complaints lodged with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC).

The J.D. Power auto insurance customer service ranking is 835. GEICO has a customer satisfaction score of 843 out of 1,000, slightly higher than the industry average. Because AAA operates under many different names, it doesn’t have just one J.D. Power score. It scored 842, 811 and 811 for three of its entities. These scores are all lower than GEICO, making GEICO the winner in this category.

The NAIC compliance report, which rates insurance companies based on their total number of complaints, has a national median score of 1.00. A company with a score less than 1.00 has fewer complaints than average, and a company with a score more than 1.00 has more complaints than average. According to NAIC, GEICO rated a 2.04, which means they have more than double the average amount of complaints. The NAIC rating for AAA is harder to track because it operates under multiple names across the country, but MoneyGeek has run the numbers and determined the NAIC rating for AAA is 0.58.

AAA’s rating is almost half the national average, making them the clear winner in this category.

GEICO scored one point higher on the J.D. Power rankings than the highest AAA rating, earning a total of 843 out of 1,000. GEICO earned 100% satisfaction on their rental experience.

AAA earned an NAIC customer complaint ratio of 0.58 compared to a national median score of 1.00. This ratio means that they received more than 40% fewer complaints than the average insurance company. GEICO earned a score of 2.04, which means they received more than double the average number of complaints.

Each insurance company offers coverage tailored to meet the needs of their target market, but some types of coverage are considered standard in the auto insurance industry. These include liability, comprehensive, collision, personal injury protection and uninsured motorist coverage. Most insurance companies offer other types of coverage for an additional fee.

AAA has three types of additional auto insurance coverage, including:

• Rental reimbursement
• Roadside assistance
• Identity theft coverage

Roadside assistance and Identity theft coverage are unique to AAA in that they are included with every insurance policy at no additional cost. Most companies carry these types of benefits as optional coverages available for a fee.

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

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

GEICO offers more additional coverage than AAA, making them the winner in this category.

A.M. Best ratings show an insurance company’s financial stability, which is their ability to pay claims and expenses in the future. A.M. Best ratings are similar to a report card, with an F rating for failing companies up to an A++ for the most financially secure.

GEICO has an A++ financial rating, which is the highest available rating from A.M. Best. Most large insurance companies have a robust financial stability rating. Still, not all companies have the A++ rating, which shows that GEICO is one of the country’s most financially secure insurance companies.

AAA has an A rating from A.M. Best, which indicates stable finances. While this rating is lower than GEICO, an A rating is still a respectable financial score.

Given their superior financial rating, GEICO is the winner in this category.

GEICO’s focus on online service makes them the winner in this category.

Almost all of GEICO’s business is conducted online, allowing customers to access their policies or pay their bills 24 hours a day. They even allow customers to make online premium payments without logging into the system.

AAA offers online quotes and policy access, but because they are split into multiple companies across the country, there isn’t a website where you can access general information about auto insurance quotes in your area.

Data on car insurance rates comparing GEICO and AAA 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.