So, Massachusetts has finally gotten around to allowing some competition with auto insurance, and I decided that I should look around and see what kind of quote I could get. I went to the Progressive website and, after entering all my information, determined that I could get increased coverage at half the rate that I’m getting now.
Now, that sounds too good to be true to me, so I’m wondering if anyone has experience with Progressive and their customer service. Anyone had to make a claim? Any horror stories, or any happy stories? Any info at all would be helpful.
(Feel free to share positive/negative stories about other insurers, too, if you so desire).
I’m happy with them. Of course, I’ve never had to report a claim, so I couldn’t really tell you how their customer service is, but their online services are pretty well laid out and the insurance costs are sensible.
I have State Farm; I grew up in Illinois and went to school in Bloomington-Normal, where their home office is.
The Progressive ads always bug me. IIRC it was when they first came out that they’d say they had these response vehicles that would come out and take care of everything when the accident happened. I thought, ‘If I’ve just had an accident, I’m shaken up and not thinking straight, and I sure don’t want to sign anything with my insurance company.’
I thought Progressive was owned by Allstate (bad reputation) but haven’t been able to confirm.
I’ve had Progressive for 6 years. In that time, I’ve filed two glass claims (comprehensive) and one collision claim (single car accident on wet road). In all cases, they made the claims process easy, and relatively pain free. Even dealing with my own at-fault accident, they took very good care of me with a courteous, professional, and communicative claims agent. From getting me a rental car, to handling the repairs, to revisiting the case months later when the state sent me a bill for the damaged guard rail, they were great to deal with.
I have had Progressive auto for nearly 10 years. Overall, I’ve been pretty happy with them. I check on alternative coverage every year at renewal time and have yet to find anyone cheaper for us. In some years, our premiums have dropped noticeably, and in other years they have inched up, but our overall rates have declined over the years, even though we have continually upgraded to newer & nicer vehicles. We also receive a discount for paying our annual premium in full, but I don’t know if that is available in every situation. They have forced a few changes I didn’t agree with, such as requiring rental & towing coverage if collision coverage is selected, but the overall cost has consistently been lower than others. It is also easy to handle your policy, claims, quote changes etc. on their website.
As for claims service… We’ve filed about 8 comprehensive glass claims in the last 3 years (including 3 full windshield replacements in the last 8 months), and one at-fault accident, and haven’t had any issues in filing claims or getting appropriate service. One thing to consider… if you are in an at-fault accident, you potentially waive your right to have your vehicle repaired at a shop of your choice, and agree to use one of their preferred shops and/or accept reconditioned or non-OEM replacement parts. Progressive may have a local claims service office that will completely handle your at-fault or comprehensive repair. We’ve done this before and have not had any issues whatsoever, but it is a potential issue for some people not to have choice in the matter.
As for the response vehicles someone else mentioned… one came out to see our vehicle when someone rear ended us. All they did was take photos, document the damage, give an instant estimate, and recommend repair shops (the other party was at-fault). We did not have to sign or acknowledge anything. The only peculiar thing was they took a photo of the odometer reading.
I just signed up with Progressive last week. I cannot vouch for them on anything except for the fact that for full coverage on my 2007 Aveo they want $450 every six months. Geico wanted $1200.
I’ve got full coverage, with twice the maximum payout as my old Allstate full coverage, along with roadside assistance and a host of other goodies… all for less per 6 months than any of the older major companies were quoting for bare-minimum liability-only. ~ $200 for half a year… not bad. (I’d be paying less than $100 if I’d stuck with lower maximums and such.) Geico was quoting around $300-- still cheaper than the majors.
I haven’t had any claims yet, but they were proactive in contacting me to see if I needed to file a claim after floods hit my county, which is better than my prior experiences with Allstate.
These are precisely the sorts of answers I was looking for. Keep 'em coming! And thanks to everyone who has taken the time to respond - I appreciate it very much.
It’s not such an amazing thing now, but a few years ago, it was simply amazing to be able to go to Progressive’s website, get a quote, bind coverage and get proof of insurance without leaving home or touching the phone.
I used to have Progressive and was completely happy with them for a handful of years. My ex was an insurance adjuster, so he was familiar with pretty much every company’s behaviors, and in his experience, Progressive was among the best in terms of fair and quick settlements. The only reason I switched is because I get a multi-policy discount through my homeowner’s insurance.
We’ve had Progressive for 5+ years, and have had nothing but consistently lower rates. My only claim has been for a not-at-fault accident (some idiot woman hit my parked car) last summer, and I had a local agent to talk to, good repair shop recommendations, and super-quick reimbursment.
Be sure to check the term. Progressive is big on quoting 6 month rates, rather than 12 month rates.
Other than that, I used them once in NH for my motorcycle insurance. I had some trouble with the agent, then more trouble trying to change agents… and getting my billing address updated. I had no claims, so I can’t speak towards that. At the final renewal, they wanted to raise my rate by about 40%, with no activity that should have changed the rate by that sort of dramatic increase (no tickets, accidents, claims, or change in lifestyle/marital status).
I’m not sure why, but Progressive has a thing about odometer readings. They offer discounts on insurance depending on how little you drive your car. I think it’s anywhere from 5 to 15%. The obligation is that you have to report your odometer reading online at regular intervals.
I’m not sure how that relates to the agent taking the photo, admittedly, but odometers probably figure prominently in their policies.
Yeah, I was momentarily fooled by the 6 month rate. At first it looked like their rate was 1/4 what I was paying now and I was like “No frikkin’ way!” Then I realized it was a 6 month rate. But even still, it’s 1/2 what I’m paying now, which is a pretty good deal!
That’s becoming increasingly common, and dare I say, it’s become the standard in California. The last time I shopped rates, all of the offerings were for 6-month policies, regardless of the company.
When I went to Progressive for my car, I’d already been dealing with 6 month policies, so it wasn’t anything new. When I got my motorcycle recently, though, they quoted me at 12 months. Confused me for a minute, I can tell you.
The Auto Club still quotes (and bills) auto insurance on an annual basis. (Our annual renewal bill is sitting on our kitchen table right now, awaiting my attention.) They may well be one of the only ones, though. About eight years ago I switched from State Farm, and they’d been on six-month billing cycles for as long as I’d been with them.