Progressive Auto Insurance Review

Key takeaways:

• Progressive is one of the lowest-cost car insurance providers in most states.
• They offer rideshare coverage for gig workers.
• Progressive features an easy, online, obligation-free quote system that’s not common among the major car insurance providers.
• The company provides one of the most extensive lists of discounts, which may get you the lowest premium available.
• The Name-Your-Price tool lets you build a policy around the premium you can afford to pay.

Thanks to its Progressive advertising campaign, Progressive is one of the best-known — and most popular — car insurance companies. But there are plenty of reasons to choose Progressive beyond slick commercials. They became one of the largest car insurance companies in America thanks to a combination of generous discounts, customer-friendly coverage options, and some of the lowest premiums in the industry.

After reading this review, you’ll see why Progressive needs to be on your shortlist of choices for your next car insurance policy.

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About the Company

Progressive is the third largest auto insurance provider, based on direct premiums written, with 13.3% of all auto insurance in force in the U.S., trailing only State Farm and Geico. The company has more than 18 million customers nationwide, with over $33 billion in direct premiums written.

It’s easy to see why. The company is one of the lowest-cost providers in most states, largely as a result of the many discounts they provide. They also offer important niche products, like rideshare coverage, which reflect the changing needs of their customer base.

Progressive’s primary product is auto insurance, though it does offer home insurance and various other insurance and non-insurance-related services. In this review, we’re going to focus on Progressive car insurance.

Progressive Products and Services

Though Progressive is best known for car insurance — their main product — they also offer other services. The most prominent among these is home insurance, but they also have a wide range of other products and services.

We’ll only briefly mention other products and services offered.

Progressive Car Insurance

Progressive is one of the cheapest providers in most states, providing the lowest premiums in about 10 states.

Basic features of Progressive car insurance are as follows:

• Availability: All 50 states, plus the District of Columbia
• Covered vehicles: Autos, classic cars, motorcycles, Segways, snowmobiles, boats, recreational vehicles, ATVs/UTVs, and golf carts
• Customer support: 24/7 by phone
• Claims satisfaction: According to the JD Power 2020 US Auto Claims Satisfaction Study (released in October 2020), Progressive ranks #21 out of 24 companies providing car insurance nationwide. They score 856 out of a potential 1,000 points, which is below the industry average of 872.
• Financial strength rating: A+ (Superior)
• Better Business Bureau ranking: A+ (on a scale of A+ to F)

How to Sign Up with Progressive Car Insurance

The application process can be completed entirely online, although it can also be done by phone.

One of the features of the Progressive application process we really appreciated is the ability to get quotes online. By entering basic information, we were able to get quotes for various driver profiles without needing to enter sensitive information such as a Social Security number or phone number.

This is an important feature because some car insurance companies just ask for basic information, but then only provide quotes by contacting you, either by phone or by email. The Progressive experience enables you to shop for a policy without incurring sales pressure or repeated contact you may not want.

Unique Features

Though it’s common for consumers to shop for the car insurance provider with the lowest premium, there are several features that make Progressive stand out from the competition:

• Large number of discounts. Progressive offers one of the widest ranges of discounts in the auto insurance industry and advertises an average savings of $700 per year.
• Name Your Price Tool. You can build a policy based on the amount of premium you can afford to pay. That’s an excellent perk for anyone with a tight budget.
• Large and Small Accident Forgiveness. Premiums won’t increase for claims under $500. Further, if you’ve been accident- and violation-free for at least three years and have been a Progressive customer for at least five years, your rate won’t increase after a large accident. This is one of the most flexible accident forgiveness programs in the industry.
• Rideshare Coverage. This is an important add-on, with so many people now working in the gig economy. 

Progressive Auto Insurance Coverage Options

Progressive offers standard auto insurance coverage provisions, including liability, comprehensive and collision, uninsured/underinsured motorist, and medical payments.

Optional coverage provisions include the following:

• Loan/lease payoff (GAP). To pay off the difference between the value of the vehicle and the amount owed, up to 25% of the actual cash value.
• Rental car reimbursement. Receive reimbursement for a rental car while your vehicle is in the shop being repaired.
• Custom parts and equipment value. Covers up to $5,000 in components added after the vehicle was manufactured.
• Rideshare coverage. Provides coverage when you’re logged into your ridesharing app and waiting for a trip request or customer. Note that this option is not available in all states.
• Roadside assistance. Includes towing services, lockout service, flat tire change, fuel/fluid delivery, and related issues.
• Deductible Savings Bank. Subtracts $50 from your comprehensive and collision deductible for each policy period without an accident or a violation. A $500 deductible can be reduced to zero after five years (ten policy periods of six months each).

Progressive Discounts

Progressive offers one of the most extensive lists of discounts in the auto insurance industry.

Below is a list of the discounts they offer, and the average premium savings you can expect:

• Bundle with home insurance: 5%
• Multi-policy: 5%
• Multi-car: 4%
• Continuous insurance (even when you first switch to Progressive): Varies
• Snapshot (safe driver monitoring): $146 per year
• Teen driver discount: Varies
• Good student discount: 10%
• Distant student discount: Varies
• Homeowner discount: Nearly 10%
• Online quote: 7%
• Sign online: 9%
• Paperless documents: Varies
• Pay in full: Varies***
• Automatic payment: Varies

With so many discounts, it’s easy to see why Progressive advertises average savings of $700 per year.

(***Based on our experience obtaining quotes for this review, the pay-in-full discount averages between 10% and 15% of the annual premium. We did not reflect this discount in the quotes we’ve presented.)

Sample Premiums

To provide reasonable estimates of Progressive car insurance premiums, the table below presents annual premiums for four drivers under six scenarios each. We’ve obtained these through direct quotes from the Progressive website.

Three quotes are based on liability amounts. Liability limits are expressed in a three-number sequence that looks like XX/XX/XX. The first number in the sequence is the amount of coverage for an injury to one person in an accident that’s determined to be your fault. The second number is the coverage limit for all injured parties in a single accident, while the third is coverage for property damage to other people’s property.

The limits we’ve used in our table are as follows:

1. 30/60/25 (the minimum coverage allowed in Texas)
2. 50/100/50
3. 100/300/100

In addition, the table also presents each liability coverage amount with uninsured and underinsured motorists, as well as collision and comprehensive coverage added to the basic liability policy.

We got quotes for four individual driver profiles, including a 23-year-old male, a 23-year-old female, a 53-year-old male, and a 53-year-old female. All four live in suburban Houston, Texas (Zip Code 77380), and drive a 2018 Toyota Camry 12,000 miles per year. None of the drivers has a moving violation or at-fault accident claim in the previous three years.

For simplicity’s sake, each driver is single, rents their home, and has a college degree.

Here are the results:

Who Progressive Is Best For

There is no single car insurance company that is best for all drivers. But Progressive may be the right choice for you if any of the following apply:

• Progressive is the lowest-cost provider in your state for your driver profile.
• You participate in ridesharing activities.
• You have a family with multiple drivers and vehicles that will qualify for several volume discounts.
• You’re the type of consumer who is not fond of company solicitation, and you like the idea of the all-online quote system and application process.
• You are over 40, where Progressive offers some of the lowest premiums in the industry, likely due to family volume discounts.

Progressive vs. Other Car Insurance Companies

The table below compares Progressive with three of the most popular auto insurance providers in the country: Geico, State Farm, and Allstate. We’ve used side-by-side comparisons of three popular coverage levels, as well as the claims satisfaction and financial strength rating for each company.

This is a high-altitude comparison only. Which company will work best for you will depend on your own driver profile, your state of residence, and the specific needs and preferences you have for your policy.

What To Know About Auto Insurance

When shopping for car insurance, it’s common to make the lowest premium the most important consideration. But there’s a lot more to car insurance than premium.

1. Make sure you are adequately covered — the liability limits in your policy should roughly match your net worth. State minimum coverage will be inadequate if your net worth is several hundred thousand dollars.
2. Car insurance companies consider your credit score — the higher it is, the lower your premium.
3. Don’t skimp on coverage options — optional provisions like GAP or uninsured/underinsured motorists are inexpensive compared to the benefit they provide.
4. A large deductible can lower your premium — but it can put you in a financial bind if you won’t have the cash available to cover it.
5. Ask each company about all discounts they have — not all are published, and there may be more that will apply to you.
6. Shop, shop, shop — get quotes from at least three or four companies to evaluate coverage and cost.

Other Services Offered by Progressive

Though car and home insurance are Progressive’s main product lines, they also offer the following:

• Home insurance
• Business insurance
• Business owner’s policy
• Commercial auto insurance
• General liability
• Professional liability
• Worker’s compensation
• Health, dental, and vision insurance
• Electronic device coverage
• Life insurance
• Pet insurance
• ID theft insurance
• Travel insurance
• Umbrella insurance
• Wedding and event insurance

If any of the above situations apply to you, you may want to discuss it with a Progressive representative when purchasing your auto insurance policy, or if you already have a policy in place.

The Bottom Line

Progressive is one of the largest auto insurance companies in the country, covering more than 13% of all drivers. Despite the below-average customer service ratings the company receives, it’s obvious millions of consumers are choosing Progressive because of its advantages. The low premium structure in many states, as well as a large number of discounts, are major reasons why.

When shopping for car insurance, be sure to get quotes from several providers. Everyone’s situation is different, and you may find the best combination of coverage and low premium with a company not necessarily known for cheap rates.

But when you’re shopping for those quotes, Progressive should be one of the choices. They have what may be the easiest, obligation-free quote systems in the industry, one that you should take advantage of when looking for a policy.