<P> In 1937, the Goodwins relocated GEICO from San Antonio, Texas to Washington, D.C. and reincorporated the company as a D.C. corporation after realizing that their business model would work best in the place with the highest concentration of federal employees . </P> <P> An important figure in GEICO's history is David Lloyd Kreeger, who became president of the company in 1964 and helped steer it into a major insurance enterprise . In 1948, he formed a group of investors who bought into GEICO right before it went public that year . He became senior vice president and general counsel of the company . Six years after becoming president of GEICO in 1964, he was named chairman and chief executive officer . He retained those titles until he retired in 1975 . He continued as chairman of the executive committee until 1979, when he was named honorary chairman . </P> <P> In 1974, under Kreeger's leadership, GEICO began to insure the general public, after real - time access to computerized driving records became available throughout the United States, and it was briefly the fifth - largest U.S. auto insurer . By 1975, it was clear that GEICO had expanded far too rapidly (during the 1973--75 recession) when it reported a $126.5 million loss . To prevent GEICO from collapsing, a consortium of 45 insurance companies agreed to take over a quarter of its policies, and it was forced to issue a stock offering (thus diluting existing stockholders) to raise money to pay claims . It took five years (during which the company shrank significantly) and a massive reorganization to set GEICO on the path to recovery . </P> <P> GEICO has also offered other types of insurance besides auto, including homeowner's insurance from 1962 to 1996 . A sister company, the Government Employees Life Insurance Company (GELICO), offered life insurance from 1975 to 1985 . Although GEICO has since focused on its core auto insurance competency (selling GELICO to Legal & General), it uses its established direct sales infrastructure to market homeowner's and other types of insurance underwritten by other companies . </P>

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