My independent insurance agent gave me a quote for Progressive car insurance that is about $150/yr less than I’m paying Geico for identical coverage.
But I’m skeptical.
I’ve seen alot of negative reviews of Progressive; I’m wondering if they run variations of “bait and switch” and whether they’ll give me some “gotchas” and nickel-and-dime me to death during the sign-up process. I’m averse to that kind of crap.
Any experiences with Progressive you can share?
Rates will go up over time. I have been a State Farm customer (auto, home, liability) for 30 years or so. My wife had her car with progressive when we married. Every year the rate went up even as her car got older and no accidents. Progressive just said it was normal premium increases. When we bought my wife a new car, I just had it added to our State Farm policies, and ditched the relationship with Progressive.
I was fine with progressive when I owned a car. Charged me significantly less for insurance (although, to be fair, I was aging out of the “young male” premium bucket at the time), and I had no occasion to interact with them in any other capacity.
I had them for a while, only had a couple claims with them and they weren’t too bad. The only frustration I had with them was a hail damage claim where they said I had $1500 damage. I only owed $500 on the truck and the damage didn’t bother me, so I tried to get them to split the check between me and the bank. They wouldn’t do that and insisted I had to get it fixed and would only write the check to a body shop because I still owed money on it. I ended up waiting until I paid it off, then contacted them again and they finally wrote the check to me.
My wife and I have found that allegiance to a single insurance company doesn’t mean anything to them, so we shop around every few years and go with whomever gives us the best deal. If Progressive was the low bid, I would have no problem going back to them.
I don’t have any experience with Progressive for autos, but they’ve been my motorcycle insurer for at least 10 years. I have multiple motorcycles and they have the best rates which have overall dropped over time (it’s hard to track exactly as I buy and sell motorcycles). I had one incident where I needed their help and they were very helpful. It was the other drivers fault and they ended up paying out of pocket, but the Progressive agent was super helpful. I’d recommend them to anyone for motorcycles.
I have State Farm for everything else. They hate motorcycles though: It would cost more to insure one motorcycle through them than 5 through Progressive. And if it’s any form of “sport bike”, fughetaboutit.
They insured my SO’s car when it was totaled in an accident. They handled the claim quickly and fairly and we had no complaints. We had the same experience as Omar Little with their car premiums, though, and eventually moved to a different company. They still insure my bike, though, and I’d have no hesitation going back for the right price.
I’ve had American Family for years, but I had to deal with Progressive a little over a year ago when one of their clients ran a stop sign and t-boned me. I didn’t have a stop sign so had the right of way. The rep I dealt with was snippy and bitchy. I realize that was just one employee but…they were only willing to offer a 30/70 settlement. According to them, I was 30% at fault because I didn’t try to avoid being hit! Luckily, my insurance company went to bat for me. The claim had to go before a board (there was a term for this that I don’t remember) of other insurance companies. It was then deemed 100% the other driver’s fault. 
I guess it depends on which side you’re on when dealing with them.
I was in a wreck a few weeks ago, definitely the other driver’s fault. This was on a Saturday. Got a call from Progressive the next Tuesday. When I said I had to go to the emergency room, she said that will require another agent, who will call tomorrow. He called nearly a week later. They gave the case to a guy on vacation! I finally got paid for the car a week and six days later. Medical bills are still processing.
They are my motorcycle insurer, no complaints. My insurance has gotten cheaper as me and my bike get older. Nice website, simple billing.
My advice, especially for motorcycles, please get as much UIM coverage as you can. I just had a case where two motorcycles were wiped out by a pickup truck, with only $50,000 in insurance. Two dead, two in the hospital.
Basically the same here and the one time I had to call them/claim they were as easy as can be expected of any insurance company. I do keep the house and car with Hartford though; great rates over a long period of time and seriously good service – they just charge out the ying-yang for multiple motorcycles.
I spent years switching back and forth from GEICO to Progressive, every six months. I’d get a low rate from one, then after one 6-month period the renewal rate would jump 10%, so I’d switch to the other one and save 10%. The rate would consistently jump 10% but the savings gradually tapered down to nothing and I’d get essentially the same offer from both companies, give or take a few bucks so after I got married I picked one, in this case GEICO, and stuck with them.
I have had USAA since I was 16 (I’m 49 now) and I’m not switching. They’re great. Haven’t heard anything bad about Progressive though, unlike Safe Auto and their ilk. Stay away from them if you can.
I had a fender bender about 15 years ago and took it to a body shop for repair. They asked what insurance I had, and I said Erie, and they said, Great! I asked why, and they said they hate to see people come in with Progressive or Geico insurance, because it is so much work to get them to pay and they don’t pay well. Erie and Allstate, they said, was good insurance, no problem.
Progressive had the best rates when I bought my car in 2014. I had them for two years. No claims, no tickets, no traffic stops, automatic payments were never late. Each year, the rate went up significantly. So when it was time for the renewal for the third year, I went through my credit union. The bill dropped by about $70 a month.
Every time I check rates Geico and the general come in as the highest.
Did this back-and-forth switching always go smoothly, no glitches, penalties, whatever?
The Progressive rate is so much less than my current Geico rate that I’d expect an increase, as happened to other posters above. Seems like a “come-on” gimmick. But if there are no hidden snags involved in switching, maybe I should try it.
I don’t understand how their quote could be so much lower. Could it be that I’m over 55-yrs-old, thus lower risk?
I’ve had Progressive for several years, and even had to make multiple claims on one vehicle. Never had any problems, and the claims were handled swiftly and easily. One was a deer-on-the-interstate issue, the other was a hit-and-run that totaled my vehicle, both were handled fairly and promptly.
I have the snapshot device in my current vehicle, though, and it seems really touchy- I probably get beeped at for hard braking 15 times a week…
Why is gambling risky? Why don’t bookies all come up with the same odds on a given race? The universe is chaos, and insurance attempts to impose a predictive model on a world with nearly infinite variables. The times when you get a good rate is when you and your personal variables mesh favorably with a company’s opinion of what makes you a smart horse to bet on. Any given company is constantly tweaking and reworking its underwriting model, and there are many hundreds of companies in the insurance game. It stands to reason that if any of them ever found the magic algorithm, they’d all be using it or there would soon be only one insurance company standing.
Low rate means nothing more. And yes, long term loyalty is rewarded by means of a token premium reduction, but when it’s claim time you’re treated no differently from the fellow who just signed on yesterday.
Yes. I always just did it all online, never had any issues from either company at all. It always increased 10% after the first six months, so I’d switch. As I said, after a few years the savings for switching eventually evened out, but by then I figure I’d saved a couple of thousand dollars, at least.