Why Did My GEICO Insurance Go Up?

GEICO customers who saw big jumps were mostly feeling the repricing that followed GEICO's losses in 2022. In the first quarter of 2023, its average premium per auto policy was up 15.2% from a year earlier "due to rate increases," as reported from Berkshire Hathaway's quarterly filing ⁴. Since then the direction has turned in several states. GEICO has filed repeated decreases in Florida, and a 2026 Oklahoma filing shows a 7.2% average cut for one GEICO company ^{8 9}.

If your GEICO bill went up recently, the cause is more likely something on your own policy, such as a claim, a ticket, a lost discount, a new car or driver, or a move, than a broad company-wide increase. A published rate change is an average across a company's existing policyholders, not a forecast for any one renewal. Below is GEICO's record, built from its parent company's reports and state regulator documents. We are not affiliated with the insurers named.

GEICO is owned by Berkshire Hathaway, which reports GEICO's results in its filings. In 2022 GEICO had a pre-tax underwriting loss of $1.88 billion, according to a report on Berkshire's annual results ⁵. GEICO's answer was to raise prices and shrink. By March 31, 2023, policies in force were down 2.4 million, or 13.0%, from a year earlier, while the average premium per auto policy rose 15.2% ⁴.

The claim data in that quarter show why. For collision coverage, claim frequency fell about 6% to 7%, but the average cost of each claim rose about 7% to 8% ⁴. For bodily injury, frequency fell about 4% to 5% while average severity rose about 8% to 10% ⁴. Fewer crashes did not offset more expensive repairs and injury claims.

For the full year 2023, GEICO swung to a pre-tax underwriting gain of $3.6 billion, with auto policies in force down another 9.8% ⁵. Berkshire's chief executive, Greg Abel, wrote in the 2025 annual report that rate increases taken across the industry from late 2022 through 2024 "continued to positively impact performance in 2025," as reported by Repairer Driven News ³.

California's Department of Insurance reviews auto rate applications, and its records show the size of GEICO's requests during that period. On June 28, 2023, four GEICO companies (GEICO Indemnity Company, GEICO Casualty Company, GEICO General Insurance Company and Government Employees Insurance Company) filed for an overall private passenger auto increase of 20.8% ⁶. After the consumer group Consumer Watchdog intervened, the companies and the department signed a settlement stipulation for an overall increase of 12.8%, to take effect no earlier than April 30, 2024 and only once the Commissioner approved the filings ⁶.

The stipulated changes varied widely by coverage, which is one reason two California GEICO customers could see very different renewals ⁶:

A driver who carried comprehensive and collision would have been exposed to more of that increase than a driver with liability only.

Florida. Florida's insurance regulator said on March 5, 2026 that the state's five largest auto insurance groups showed an indicated average rate change of -8% for 2026, and that more than 700,000 GEICO customers would receive rate relief in April 2026 ⁷. On August 6, 2026, GEICO said it had filed two more decreases covering more than 1.3 million Florida customers, that it had cut Florida rates three times in the past year, and that its decreases over two years had lowered annual premiums by more than $500 million ⁸. GEICO credited the state's legal system reforms, while noting ongoing pressure from severe weather, accident severity and inflation ⁸.

Oklahoma. The Oklahoma Insurance Department's 2026 rate change report lists GEICO Advantage Insurance Company with an overall rate impact of -7.200% under SERFF tracking number GECC-134902737, effective April 9, 2026 for new business and May 26, 2026 for renewals ⁹.

The cuts come while GEICO's claim costs are climbing again. In Berkshire's second-quarter 2026 filing, GEICO's premiums earned were $11,291 million, against $11,064 million a year earlier, while losses and loss adjustment expenses rose to $8,644 million from $7,945 million ¹. Pre-tax underwriting earnings fell to $994 million from $1,821 million ¹. A trade report on the filing says premiums written grew partly because of commercial auto, "partially offset by lower average premiums per policy for private passenger auto insurance," and that the higher loss ratio reflected "higher claims frequencies and average severities" ².

Abel's letter also says GEICO has improved its customer segmentation and risk pricing ³. Finer segmentation may mean some customers pay less while others with similar profiles on paper pay more. These figures do not tell you what your own renewal will be, but they show how the average private passenger premium per policy could be lower in 2026 while some individual bills still rose.

GEICO's own guide to rate increases names these causes ¹⁰:

• A change in coverage, since any change to your coverage can raise the rate.
• A lost discount, for example a safe-driving discount removed after a violation or accident.
• Your driving record, especially an accident with a claim where you were found at fault.
• Comprehensive claims for theft, vandalism or hail, when several are filed in a short period.
• Life events, such as moving to a ZIP code with more traffic, which can raise liability and collision premiums.
• A new car, since different makes and models have different repair costs.

The 2023 data above add a background cause: when the average repair or injury claim costs more, as it did then, an insurer may file for higher rates, and an approved change reaches each policy at its next renewal ⁴.

1. Compare the new declarations page with the old one. Check drivers, vehicles, coverages, deductibles and discounts. Our guide to reading a renewal notice helps, and why discounts disappear at renewal covers the most common surprise.
2. Ask GEICO which factors changed and whether you qualify for discounts you are not getting.
3. Find the legal company on your policy. GEICO sells through several companies, and each files its own rates. Your state insurance department can tell you what that company filed. Our explainer on rate filings covers how to read one.
4. Compare quotes from several insurers before the renewal date. You can compare quotes here.
5. Contact your state insurance department with questions about rating. New York readers should know the state's financial regulator has proposed that insurers get prior approval for any private passenger auto rate increase, with the law and regulation set to take effect November 27, 2026 ¹¹.

Sponsored link. QuotePitStop is a lead-generation service and is paid by insurance partners when you request quotes.

For causes that apply at any insurer, see why car insurance goes up. For the national direction of prices, see whether car insurance rates are going down. State detail is on the Florida and California pages. For another large insurer's filings, see why Progressive insurance goes up.

• ¹ Reported: Berkshire Hathaway's 10-Q for the second quarter of 2026, segment data for GEICO premiums earned, losses and pre-tax underwriting earnings, checked October 11, 2026.
• ² Reported: Coverager's summary of GEICO's second-quarter 2026 results, including the stated reasons for premium and loss changes, checked October 11, 2026.
• ³ Reported: Repairer Driven News on Berkshire's 2025 annual report and Greg Abel's letter, for the comments on industry rate increases and GEICO's segmentation and pricing, checked October 11, 2026.
• ⁴ Reported: Repairer Driven News quoting GEICO's first-quarter 2023 results from Berkshire's filing, for the 15.2% average premium rise, the policy decline and collision and bodily injury frequency and severity ranges, checked October 11, 2026.
• ⁵ Reported: Coverager on GEICO's 2023 results, for the 2022 underwriting loss, the 2023 gain and the 9.8% decline in auto policies in force, checked October 11, 2026.
• ⁶ Official record: California Department of Insurance settlement stipulation in file PA-2023-00013, for the filing companies, the 20.8% requested and 12.8% stipulated increases and the coverage-level changes, checked October 11, 2026.
• ⁷ Official record: Florida Office of Insurance Regulation release of March 5, 2026, for the -8% indicated average for the top five groups and the GEICO customer count, checked October 11, 2026.
• ⁸ Reported: GEICO's August 6, 2026 release on two Florida rate decrease filings, customer count and premium reduction total, checked October 11, 2026.
• ⁹ Official record: Oklahoma Insurance Department SERFF rate change report for private passenger auto, January to August 2026, for the GEICO Advantage Insurance Company filing, checked October 11, 2026.
• ¹⁰ Directional: GEICO's consumer guide to rate increases, for the list of common causes, checked October 11, 2026.
• ¹¹ Official record: New York DFS release of September 9, 2026 on the proposed prior-approval rule and its November 27, 2026 effective date, checked October 11, 2026.