Geico tests Internet's limits

Geico Corp., the insurance company selling car coverage mostly through the Internet and telephone, might attract fewer policyholders unless it changes the way it reaches customers, the head of rival Allstate Corp.'s auto unit said.

Geico, owned by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc., appears to have recognized the threat to its growth, and is opening walk-in offices for drivers uncomfortable buying insurance without speaking to an agent, said George Ruebenson, president of Allstate's home and auto unit. Allstate, which ranks ahead of Geico as the second-largest auto insurer in the U.S., sells coverage primarily through agents...