AAA vs. Geico Insurance Review: Cost and Coverage (2024) (2024)

Geico is one of the largest car insurance providers in the U.S., while AAA is best known for its roadside assistance. So how do the two compare for car insurance? In this AAA vs. Geico comparison, we at the MarketWatch Guides team will examine how the companies stack up against each other in terms of coverage, cost and customer service.

In addition to these two providers, we’ve also reviewed and rated the best car insurance and cheapest car insurance companies on the market. To ensure you’re getting the best price possible for the coverage you need, compare car insurance quotes from different companies.

Learn more about our methodology and editorial guidelines.

AAA Car Insurance vs. Geico

AAA and Geico are reputable car insurance companies with good coverage options and customer service. However, our research team gives Geico an overall score of 9.3 out of 10 to AAA’s 7.3. Geico also ranks as the third-best car insurance company in our review, winning our award of Best for Budget-Conscious Drivers.

We reached out to AAA about its overall score but haven’t received a response.

Is AAA Better than Geico?

Geico outscored AAA overall in our ratings, as well as in three out of five categories. In the table below, you can see how each company performed.

AAA vs. Geico Insurance Comparison

In our research, we found that Geico offers some of the lowest car insurance rates nationwide. The provider also has an impressive A++ financial strength rating from AM Best, showing its ability to pay out customers’ claims.

While Geico has an excellent rating from the Better Business Bureau (BBB), neither Geico nor AAA has good customer review scores from the site. However, two of the three AAA regional chapters represented outperformed Geico in the J.D. Power 2023 U.S. Auto Claims Satisfaction Study℠.

We reached out to AAA about its F rating from the BBB and to both providers about their negative customer reviews but have not yet received a response.

AAA vs. Geico Coverage

Geico has the upper hand with coverage options, but both companies score reasonably well for that category in our review. No matter what kind of insurance policy you need to fit your lifestyle and vehicle, you can most likely find it with either AAA or Geico.

AAA and Geico offer most of the main types of car insurance, such as liability coverage for when you’re at fault for an accident. Here’s a complete look at the six standard types of car insurance coverage options offered by both providers.

• Liability: This includes bodily injury liability (BI) and property damage liability (PD) coverage. It helps pay for damages to other parties’ vehicles and persons after an accident where you are at fault. This type of insurance is required in most states.
• Collision: This coverage helps cover repair costs for your vehicle after an accident.
• Comprehensive: This pays for repair costs if your vehicle is damaged by a natural disaster, animals or fire. This coverage also helps pay to replace your car if it’s stolen or vandalized.
• Medical payments (MedPay): MedPay covers medical expenses for you and your passengers after an accident.
• Personal injury protection (PIP): PIP helps pay for medical expenses for you and your passengers, in addition to pain and suffering damages and compensation for lost wages if you cannot work due to an accident-related injury.
• Underinsured/uninsured motorist (UIM/UM): This coverage pays for property and injury-related expenses if you are involved in a hit-and-run accident. It also helps cover accidents with drivers who are uninsured or do not have high enough policy limits to cover the full cost of damages.

Additional Coverage Options

In addition to the standard types of car insurance listed above, AAA and Geico also offer several add-on coverage options. The chart below compares coverage options between the two providers.

Usage-Based Insurance Comparison

AAA and Geico offer telematics insurance programs that track your driving behavior and allow you to earn discounts for good driving habits. AAA’s program, AAADrive™, is only available in the 14 states and Puerto Rico within the Auto Club Group, while Geico’s program, DriveEasy, is available in 36 states and Washington, D.C.

One major difference between AAADrive and Geico DriveEasy is that when DriveEasy detects unsafe driving habits, Geico may raise your insurance premium. With AAADrive, driving in an unsafe way only means you’ll miss out on your discount, the amount of which varies between states.

Each program uses a mobile app to track behaviors such as the time of day you’re driving, your distance driven and your speed. DriveEasy is a feature in the Geico Mobile app, and AAADrive is a tool within the AAA mobile app.

Below is more information about how each program works and where it’s available.

Is AAA Auto Insurance Cheaper than Geico?

Geico is one of the country’s more affordable car insurance options, generally falling well below the national average of $2,008 per year for full coverage. AAA’s average annual full-coverage cost is on the other end of the spectrum at over $1,000 more than the national average.

On average, Geico has some of the lowest rates in the nation for most drivers. That’s why it receives a perfect 10.0 score in the cost category in our review.

AAA vs. Geico Cost Comparison

The table below lists the average costs for full- and minimum-coverage car insurance from AAA and Geico.

AAA Auto Insurance vs. Geico Rates

Your car insurance rate depends on many factors, including your:

• Age
• Gender (as listed on license)
• Marital status
• Location
• Vehicle
• Driving history
• Credit score (except in California, Hawaii, Massachusetts and Michigan)

AAA tends to be one of the more expensive options for insurance, especially compared to Geico. However, if you’re a AAA member already or you qualify for some of its many discounts, AAA car insurance might be a better option for you.

AAA vs. Geico Discounts

AAA and Geico offer many car insurance discounts to help you get a lower rate. You can get discounts for being a good student, having multiple cars on your policy or having anti-theft equipment on your vehicle, for example.

Discount	AAA	Geico
Accident-free/good driver	√	√
Advanced purchase	√
Air bag		√
Anti-lock brakes		√
Anti-theft system	√	√
Automatic payments
Daytime running lights		√
Defensive driving	√	√
Driver’s education course	√	√
Emergency deployment		√
Federal employee		√
Good student	√	√
Membership and employee*	√	√
Military		√
Multi-car	√	√
Multi-policy	√	√
New driver	√
New vehicle	√	√
Paperless payments
Pay-in-full
Prior insurance tenure	√
Seat belt use		√
Student away
Vehicle safety	√

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AAA vs. Geico Bundling Options

AAA and Geico offer discounts for bundling your car insurance with other types of insurance from the same company. To save money with Geico, you can bundle your car coverage with renters, condo, mobile home, motorcycle or homeowners insurance.

With AAA, you can bundle your home and auto insurance policy to save even more on car coverage as a AAA member.

AAA vs. Geico Car Insurance Customer Experience

AAA scores lower than Geico overall in our review, but when it comes to customer experience, it has some advantages over Geico. While Geico was below the industry average for overall customer satisfaction among large insurers in the J.D. Power 2024 U.S. Insurance Shopping Study℠, all three of the AAA chapters represented were either close to or above the study average.

AAA has closed a much lower number of customer complaints from the BBB in the last three years — around 250 compared to Geico’s 2,400 plus. However, it should be noted that Geico has a much larger customer base than AAA, so the number of complaints is similar in proportion to customers served.

In addition, because many AAA groups have their own BBB pages, customer service ratings may vary with the affiliates in your region.

Our review team reached out to Geico and AAA for comment on their customer ratings but did not receive a response from either provider.

AAA vs. Geico Mobile App Ratings

Geico and AAA have strong ratings when it comes to their mobile apps. Both are available on iOS and Android. Geico Mobile has 4.6 stars out of 5 on Google Play and 4.8 stars out of 5 on the App Store. The AAA Mobile app has 4.5 stars on Google Play and 4.6 stars on the App Store.

AAA vs. Geico Customer Survey Results

In April 2024, our team conducted a consumer survey that asked 2,000 customers how they felt about their car insurance companies. In the table below, you can see how AAA and Geico scored in our survey.

AAA or Geico: The Bottom Line

Determining whether AAA or Geico auto insurance is right for you can be difficult. Our team finds that Geico is the better option for many drivers. Our review gives Geico better scores in all categories except for coverage. However, both Geico and AAA are strong insurance companies with good coverage options and customer service.

Geico often has cheap car insurance compared to AAA, but with AAA discounts, that might not be the case. Our team recommends getting auto insurance quotes from both companies to get the best price on car insurance. You can learn more about the companies individually in our AAA auto insurance review and Geico insurance review.

Recommended Car Insurance Companies

Geico and AAA are quality insurers, but there are other options worth looking at when you’re searching for the right car insurance policy for you. Our team recommends Travelers and State Farm as two companies to consider.

Travelers: Best for Most Drivers

Travelers has an A++ rating for financial strength from AM Best, and it offers a wide range of coverage options. The company offers a variety of discounts for good drivers and similar discounts for customers with multiple covered vehicles. Travelers’ IntelliDrive® program that can reduce insurance costs through safe driving habits.

Read more: Travelers Insurance Review

State Farm: Best Customer Experience

State Farm is a quality auto insurance company for a variety of reasons. It has many discounts, as well as local insurance agents all over the country. This makes it easy to find and save on your coverage. State Farm is also a top option for young drivers with its Steer Clear^® program, which helps policyholders under 25 save money when they practice safe driving habits.

Read more: State Farm Insurance ReviewCompare: State Farm vs. Geico

Geico vs. AAA: FAQ

Our Methodology

Because consumers rely on us to provide objective and accurate information, we created a comprehensive rating system to formulate our rankings of the best car insurance companies. We collected data on dozens of auto insurance providers to grade the companies on a wide range of ranking factors. The end result was an overall rating for each provider, with the insurers that scored the most points topping the list.

Here are the factors our ratings take into account:

• Coverage (30% of total score): Companies that offer a variety of choices for insurance coverage are more likely to meet consumer needs.
• Cost and Discounts (25% of total score): Auto insurance rate estimates generated by Quadrant Information Services and discount opportunities are both taken into consideration.
• Industry Standing (20% of total score): Our research team considers market share, ratings from industry experts and years in business when giving this score.
• Customer Experience (15% of total score): This score is based on volume of complaints reported by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) and customer satisfaction ratings reported by J.D. Power. We also consider the responsiveness, friendliness and helpfulness of each insurance company’s customer service team based on our own shopper analysis.
• Availability (10% of total score): Auto insurance companies with greater state availability and few eligibility requirements score highest in this category.

Our credentials:

• 800 hours researched
• 130+ companies reviewed
• 8,500+ consumers surveyed

*Data accurate at time of publication.