The Gecko Could Be Your Best Friend In A Roadside Emergency, So Consider Adding Roadside Assistance From Geico

If you’ve ever found yourself stranded by the side of the road or in a mall parking lot because your car isn’t working properly, you know the fear and frustration that can cause. It magnifies if your family is with you, it’s dark, and you have kids in the car.

If you happen to be a Geico car insurance customer, you can give yourself and your family peace of mind in these situations by adding Geico Emergency Road Service.

Geico Emergency Road Service

Geico offers customers its Emergency Road Service (ERS) coverage as an affordable option to your individual or family car insurance policy. With ERS, Geico provides drivers with 24-hour, 365 days a year toll-free emergency roadside service. If you find yourself in need of the covered services, an operator/dispatcher will help assess the problem and get a service professional headed your way. ERS covers:

Roadside mechanical assistance – if the problem is minor or if you need a flat tire fixed or even a jump-start, up to $100 of services will be automatically covered.

Emergency towing – if a problem can’t be fixed on-site, ERS will provide emergency towing service to a repair facility that can fix your ride.

Emergency lockout service – if the emergency is that you locked your keys in the car, your policy can pay to have someone unlock the car for you. Locksmith services are undertaken by an authorized locksmith and include expenses of up to $100 for labor and supplies if keys are locked in your ignition or trunk, or if a key breaks off in the ignition or trunk.

Reimbursement – if you have ERS coverage and for some reason can’t be connected to a covered service provider, requiring you to pay out-of-pocket for service, you can submit the original copy of the road service bill (including your policy number) and Geico will reimburse you.

Affordable  Emergency roadside assistance coverage

Most folks believe that they have to pay a steep additional cost for good roadside assistance. This belief stems from the fact that some of the nation’s well-known roadside assistance programs require membership in an auto club or trade association of some kind, requiring steep annual or monthly dues. Geico offers customers full ERS coverage add-ons for as little as $14 each year, per car. For a two-car family (or even a family with kids headed to college with a car) this is a remarkable bargain. (Not all states allow this full coverage or these rates, so be sure to consult with your Geico customer service agent for what’s allowable and available in your state.)

Geico’s Mechanical Breakdown coverage

In addition to the more traditional roadside assistance option, Geico also offers car insurance customers its Mechanical Breakdown Insurance (MBI) coverage. It acts, in many ways, like an extended warranty on your car, but it allows for more flexible and in some cases broader coverage.

After a $250 deductible on a covered loss, Geico’s MBI option covers repairs to all mechanical parts of the car (except for routine maintenance and normal wear and tear.) This includes all parts and systems. Many extended warranties limit the items covered by dealer warranties.

Geico MBI also allows you to use the licensed repair shop of your choice unless the auto repair is covered by a recall, voluntary repair program, or the manufacturer’s warranty. (In those cases you would need to take your vehicle back to a dealer who services the specific make and model.)

Once you’ve purchased MBI, you can renew it for up to seven years or 100,000 miles (whichever comes first).

The cost for adding MBI will depend on the state where you live and on the policy options you have in place, and you will want to consult with your Geico claims service representative to see what’s available to you.

Next time you and your family head off for an extended road trip, be sure you have some added protection in the event you encounter a roadside emergency. In that case, the little gecko may just become your new best friend.

(Note: this article is strictly informational in its intent as the author has no affiliation with Geico or any other car insurance provider.)