Sarah Duckworth (left) and Joe Shinko met at GEICO in 2003 when they alternated training shifts at the same desk. He left her notes and she thought he 'was weird'--but that wariness gave way to friendship and an October marriage. Photos by REBECCA SELL/THE FREE LANCE-STAR View More Images from this story Visit the Photo Place

View the Orange County community page

struck by Gecko's arrow Local singles have found paychecks and partners at GEICO

Hearts flutter and sparks fly at GEICO, where a good deal on car insurance isn't the only perk

Date published: 2/14/2006

By SCOTT NEAL

By SUSAN SCOTT NEAL

EICO has some good news this Valentine's Day.

You've probably al-ready heard the ads touting that you "could save hundreds of dollars on your car insurance."

But did you know you also could meet the love of your life by going with GEICO?

Romance is rampant at GEICO's Fredericksburg office on U.S. 17, where Cupid works even longer hours than the little green gecko.

Sparks fly among singles, and dozens of married couples work in the same building, all brought together by GEICO.

Make no mistake--GEICO is in the insurance business, not the dating business. The office environment is professional and proper, and you won't see public displays of affection.

And there's a strict policy against supervisors dating anyone they supervise.

But when as many as 3,000 males and females come together every day, all day, well, things happen behind the scenes. Hearts flutter and cheeks flush, palms get sweaty and tongues get tied.

It's one of the sweetest job perks of all.

"We have a fair workplace policy that addresses situations involving people in the same chain of command," said Theresa Livelsberger, director of human resources and a GEICO employee for 25 years.

"But we don't have a policy against workplace romance. In fact, our work culture is such that we encourage a friendly work environment and the development of long-term friendships."

Nobody's quite sure how many couples-in-love meet on the job at GEICO, one of the largest private auto insurance companies in the country.

Livelsberger said GEICO doesn't track the number of marriages within employee ranks because it doesn't believe in meddling in their private lives.

"But we do seem to have a lot of couples here," she said. "Though I don't think it's unique to GEICO or to any other large employer."

Livelsberger herself met her husband on the job at GEICO 17 years ago.

GEICO has been around since 1936 when Leo and Lillian Goodwin, a husband and wife working side by side, established the Government Employees Insurance Company in Washington.

There's been an office in Fredericksburg since 1991. The large regional facility on U.S. 17 opened in 1994, replacing the small local office on Tidewater Trail.

Follow us on

Date published: 2/14/2006