A class action lawsuit filed in Florida federal court on January 28 accuses GEICO of violating state and federal consumer laws by adding drivers to insureds' auto policies without confirming they actually know the new driver.
According to the plaintiff Allison Kane, GEICO's standard practices allegedly utilized third-party information to find licensed or permitted drivers and add them to existing insureds' auto policies for an extra premium, regardless of whether the original insured knew the new addition.
The class action suit alleges GEICO failed to verify the residency of drivers they added to existing policies, and did not provide affected insureds with any underlying data or the identity of the consumer reporting agency it used to obtain driver information.
Kane claims that GEICO routinely refused to remove unknown individuals on insureds' policies, even after notification from insureds that they had no connection to those drivers or that the new driver was insured elsewhere.
In the class action, Kane looks to represent any GEICO customers in the U.S. who were sent a document informing them the insurer would add a driver to their policy based on third-party information and paid increased premiums for that addition. The suit alleges breach of contract, breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing, unjust enrichment and violation of Florida's Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.
Kane is seeking certification of the class action, damages, fees, costs and a jury trial.
Kane v. GEICO Casualty Company (case no. 6:26-cv-00225) is currently pending in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida.
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