I was one of the ~ 80 associates laid off. As far as know, no associates actually working as actuaries were fired, though some of the "modelers" had also taken exams.
It wasn't because of telematics, or at least not in a way that makes sense. Telematics creates numbers, and those numbers need to be interpreted to be a price. The Modeling and other research associates let go had the skills to do so. So, this will make it much harder to implement, price, and improve a telematics product at GEICO.
A better theory? GEICO is being prepped for sale (or otherwise spun off). The company has struggled to grow in 2021, Progressive IS growing, so its either spend years improving tech, or sell when growth is almost maxed out. R&D is expensive for long term growth, so its the first to go to make the balance sheet look better.
original post @1sxl+1djUspIi. I'm also a little bit afraid that GEICO is being prepped for sale.