Auto insurer GEICO is adding 300 jobs over the next three years through a new, $2.4 million expansion of its operations in Amherst, N.Y., which will serve as a backstop to its Virginia customer service center.

The insurer, headquartered in Chevy Chase, Md., announced the growth of its GEICO Insurance Agency subsidiary that will sell homeowners, renters, boat and other types of insurance coverage from its Erie County, N.Y., location.

In 2003, GEICO invested $36.3 million for a 250,000-square-foot customer service center in Amherst, N.Y., for sales, service and claims for auto insurance. That project created more than 1,500 full-time jobs in Western New York and the facility has the capacity to accommodate more than 2,500 employees, according to the company.

GEICO said the Amherst facility was ideal for its insurance agency subsidiary to establish a second center to help support the growth of the division and serve as a “back-up location” to its center in Fredericksburg, Va.

Tony Nicely

Tony Nicely, GEICO’s chairman, called the Amherst project six years ago “one of the best decisions we made.”

“We’ve been able to effectively serve a growing number of Northeast policyholders from here, and we’ve seen our staff continually expand and develop new skills,” Nicely said in a statement. “We are very pleased with what our associates have accomplished so far and that they took to heart our pledge to provide career opportunities. We know this new GEICO operation will be every bit as successful.”

The insurer will receive an estimated value of $1.5 million in Empire Zone tax credits over the next five years from Empire State Development and also receive sales tax exemption on equipment purchases from the Amherst Industrial Development Agency and an extension of low-cost power to 2013 from the New York Power Authority for the company’s Amherst facility.

Additionally, the Erie County and Niagara County workforce investment boards will provide GEICO with workforce training assistance, as well as connect available workforce with the company.

New York Gov. David Paterson said he is “pleased” with the insurer’s decision to expand in the western part of the state.

“During these challenging fiscal times, such achievement becomes increasingly important for our local and state economies,” Paterson said. “GEICO has the full support of the State in its efforts to expand its business operations, and we wish them much continued success.”

Since 1996, GEICO has been a privately owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway. As the nation’s third-largest passenger auto insurer in the U.S., it insures more than 9 million auto policyholders and more than 16 million vehicles, according to the company, and employs 24,000 associates with 12 major offices around the country.