Rant: US Car Insurance Company Advertising

[280SE Guy]

I don't know about you but to me there seems to be WAY too much excess money in the auto insurance industry as they are constantly bombarding us with billboard, internet, radio, TV, and other media advertising. GEICO seems to be the company that has way TOO MUCH excess money in their budget. A few observations on GEICO from my perspective: printed posters on the Illinois (Chicago) toll both gate windows (a stack of bills with eye glasses), endless TV commercials currently promoted by "The GEICO Question Guy"  that make no sense on almost every station I watch (thank God for the remote). Followed by Progressive Auto Insurance and their dark haired female spokesperson named Flo. I don't seem to dislike the Farmers Insurance adds, at least they make some sense and they have a catchy jingle; we are Farmers . . . bum d bum bum bum bum bum.

For you that are not in the US I have some Google video link examples below.

GEICO Insurance example:

http://www.youtube.com/v/IcZd-ql7t1I?version=3

Progressive Insurance example:

http://www.youtube.com/v/sgOI_8HlDwg?version=3

Farmers Insurance example:

http://www.youtube.com/v/jsbRwnim314?version=3

Your thoughts and observations?

\rant

Regards,

280SE Guy

[IXLR8]

All these ads say that you can save hundreds of dollars by switching from one company to another.

I've been tempted to try to reduce my insurance bill to zero by switching from Geico to Progressive to Allstate to AAA to etc., etc., etc.

Not sure anyone's politics, but since this is way off topic, Progressive is owned by a progressive liberal donor named Lewis, who donates more to Obama and the Democrat party than any other individual except Soros. That's enough to keep me far away from Progressive.

[mdsalemi]

In Michigan, there is significant profit in automobile insurance.  I don't have but the classic insurance on the Pagoda; since we don't own cars.  But when searching for homeowners insurance, curiously what they really want to do is sell auto insurance.  They kind of try and dismiss the homeowners!  Very high profits are what I am told...

[bogeyman]

Geico is owned by Warren Buffett.

Needless to say, it is profitable.

[Jim Fiske]

I'm a new member of this forum, which was recommended to me by a 230sl owner this past weekend at a car show outside Houston.

Sadly, I'm in the insurance industry and can provide some additional color to 280SE Guy's rant -
- The top 20 auto insurance carriers spent more than $5.1 billion in US advertising in 2011.  That's billion with a "B";
- Geico alone spends in excess of $1 billion annually in advertising.  Buffet has said that if he could figure out a way to spend more, he would;

When someone follows the herd ("call and save....", "click and save....") and doesn't research the company paying the claims, then don't act surprised when you claim is handled poorly.