GEICO (Government Employees Insurance Company) is a wholly-owned auto and property insurance subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK), traceable through Berkshire's SEC filings. Its privacy policy discloses broad Notice-of-Collection categories for California residents, including Social Security number and driver's license number, and a separate usage-based-insurance (DriveEasy) telematics program that collects phone sensor data (GPS, accelerometer, magnetometer, altimeter, gyroscopic, image, video, and audio) from opted-in drivers. GEICO states it does not sell or share Personal Information as those terms are defined under CCPA-style data protection laws, honors Global Privacy Control signals, but does disclose data to service providers, claims adjusters, and financial institutions under joint-marketing arrangements. In November 2024, New York's Attorney General and Department of Financial Services fined GEICO $9.75 million after hackers stole driver's license numbers and dates of birth from its online auto-quoting application and used them to file fraudulent unemployment claims.
TRACK RECORD
1 ENFORCEMENT ACTION
[2024-11-25]
New York's Attorney General and Department of Financial Services announced on November 25, 2024 that GEICO would pay $9.75 million in penalties (and Travelers $1.55 million) after hackers stole driver's license numbers and dates of birth belonging to more than 120,000 New Yorkers from GEICO's and Travelers' online auto-insurance quoting applications, information later used to file fraudulent unemployment claims; the investigation found GEICO had not implemented sufficient data security controls required under DFS's cybersecurity regulation.
GEICO's DriveEasy telematics program page states the app uses drivers' phones to automatically measure driving behavior, including braking, cornering, and phone use, to calculate a safety score used for discounts.
GEICO's Notice of Collection for California Residents, part of its privacy policy, states it collects contact and identification information including Social Security number, driver's license number, physical characteristics, and consumer status, plus driving and claims history and vehicle identification information.
Berkshire Hathaway Inc.'s Form 10-K Exhibit 21 (Subsidiaries of Registrant, as of December 31, 2025) lists 'GEICO Corporation' (Delaware) along with GEICO Advantage Insurance Company, GEICO Casualty Company, GEICO Choice Insurance Company, GEICO General Insurance Company, GEICO Indemnity Company, and other GEICO-branded insurers among Berkshire's disclosed subsidiaries, confirming GEICO is a wholly-owned unit of the publicly traded (NYSE: BRK) holding company.
GEICO's DriveEasy page separately states it will never share or sell driving data to third parties, and only collects driving-related data while a trip is in progress, without accessing messages or phone calls.
GEICO's privacy policy states it does not and will not sell or share Personal Information as those terms are defined under CCPA-style data privacy and security regulations, and requires third parties performing services on its behalf to safeguard any Personal Information they process.
New York's Attorney General and Department of Financial Services announced on November 25, 2024 that GEICO would pay $9.75 million in penalties (and Travelers $1.55 million) after hackers stole driver's license numbers and dates of birth belonging to more than 120,000 New Yorkers from GEICO's and Travelers' online auto-insurance quoting applications, information later used to file fraudulent unemployment claims; the investigation found GEICO had not implemented sufficient data security controls required under DFS's cybersecurity regulation.
GEICO's privacy policy discloses use of website cookies and states that when it detects a standard opt-out preference signal such as Global Privacy Control (GPC), it will stop collecting Personal Information for cross-context behavioral advertising purposes.