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Among the many insurance corporations in the United States, few are as well-recognized as the well organized and better marketed Berkshire Hathaway subsidiary, Geico. Business insurance, as well as homeowners insurance, life insurance, and, of course, auto insurance are offered through the giant, which has made it a Fortune 500 company in the mid-1990’s.
Geico (an acronym for Government Employees Insurance Corporation) originated in 1936 by Leo and Lillian Goodwin as an organization that provided car insurance to government employees, on the grounds that they are cheaper to insure than the general public. In 1964, the company expanded immensely under the leadership of David Lloyd Kreeger, who purchased the company and became CEO. During this time Geico began to offer car insurance to the general public, and was made more competitive by the fact that computerized driving records were widely available in the 1970’s. In 1996, the organization was purchased by Berkshire Hathaway under Warren Buffett. Although termed for government employees, Geico has been a privately run enterprise since its inception.
Geico’s edge has come from the use of telephones and information technology, which allow their underwriters to deal with Geico customers from a distance rather than meeting them in person, as many other insurance corporations did at the time.
Geico business insurance offers a number of business products that offer coverage for liability, errors and omissions, product insurance, EPLI and others. All of these are incredibly useful if you are looking to start a business, though it is essential to talk with your Geico business insurance representative (and your lawyer) about what products you need. Buying business insurance is a function of both your business and your risk tolerance lever; you want to buy enough so that you are covered for the biggest catastrophe that is within a reasonable level of likelihood, and of course remain in compliance with state and federal regulations for the business.
