Progressive Insurance Review - My Experience Getting A Quote With Progressive

Progressive Insurance is obviously known for their auto insurance – you’ve seen the commercials, I trust. But what many people don’t realize is that Progressive offers a bunch of other insurance products. Things like renters insurance, homeowners insurance, life insurance, and pretty much anything that has a motor can be insured with Progressive.

In this article I’ll review everything they have to offer, so you can decide if they’re right for you.

What is Progressive Insurance?

Progressive Mutual Insurance Company was launched in 1937 by Jack Green and Joseph Lewis, an attorney pair that thought a financial investment in an insurance company was a really good concept. 

Progressive has consistently been at the forefront of creativity in the insurance provider industry, considering that they were the very first to come out with strategies like drive-in claims service, pay as you drive user-based auto insurance plans, and installment plans for paying insurance premiums. 

How does Progressive Insurance work?

Customers are able to obtain price quotes for the following Progressive insurance coverage products online, over the phone, as well as with the help of an independent insurance agent representing Progressive:

Vehicle insurance

Progressive has a lot of options when it comes to vehicle insurance, and it extends far beyond just your normal day-to-day vehicle. For example, you can insure your ATV, boat, classic car, or motorcycle with Progressive.

What I found even more interesting is how Progressive stretches the boundaries outside of what you’d consider “vehicle insurance.” For instance, you can get insurance for your golf cart, RV or trailer, personal watercraft (i.e., jetski), as well as a snowmobile and segway, if you have one.

Property insurance

Progressive also does an excellent job with property insurance options. Obviously they offer a variety of coverage levels for homeowners insurance, but they also provide renters insurance, flood insurance, condo insurance, and mobile home insurance.

On top of that, you can get home warranty insurance, home security insurance, and even homeshare insurance, which is incredibly valuable if you rent your home out through services like Airbnb.

Commercial insurance

Progressive also offers commercial insurance for those who own businesses. This includes things like business insurance, business owners policy, commercial auto insurance, general liability, professional liability insurance, and workers’ compensation insurance.

Personal insurance

Finally, Progressive offers personal insurance, which pretty much covers “everything else.” This includes things like wedding and event insurance, travel insurance, pet health insurance, electronic device insurance, and identity theft insurance.

In addition, though, Progressive has some insurance that falls under health – such as actual health insurance coverage and life insurance. 

Pricing for Progressive Insurance

Progressive, like any other insurance company, will estimate their premiums based on a number of different factors. Pricing will vary based on what kind of insurance you want, as well. To give you a barometer, though, I looked at Quote.com, who ran a few scenarios for me.

Remember, though, that Progressive also has bundling promotions, and so you might possibly end up spending even less money. Listed below are a number of examples of what one can anticipate paying for homeowners and renters insurance from Progressive, according to Quote.com:

• Someone in Salem, Oregon, leasing an apartment for just over $1,000 a month could spend $195 a year in renters insurance coverage.
• A person in Boise, Idaho, leasing a townhouse for $1,450 a month might spend $255 a year for renters insurance.
• An individual in Sacramento, California, that owns a single-family home worth anywhere between $600,000 and $700,000 could spend $834 a year based upon their price quotes.
• Someone in Nashville, Tennessee, renting a studio for just more than $1,300 a month may pay $218 a year for his or her renter’s insurance coverage with Progressive.

Now, remember, these are merely samples. To get a better idea, you’re better off getting a quote directly from Progressive. From what I’ve seen, however, Progressive’s pricing is highly competitive.

Progressive Insurance features

The most popular products with Progressive are homeowners and auto insurance.

Homeowners coverage

Dwelling coverage

Covers damages to your house and anything permanently connected to it, including things like your garage, roof, chimneys, connected outdoor deck, countertops, cabinetries, floor surfaces, vanities, and so on.

Other structure coverage

This protects structures not permanently connected to your residence, like unattached garage areas, gazebos, decks, courtyards, storage sheds, pergolas, pickets, drives, and more.

Personal possessions

This protection covers nearly all of your belongings in the event that they’re wrecked or stolen. This may encompass electronics, home furnishings, clothes, tools/power equipment, and a lot more.

Your things are even covered if they’re not held in your house (sheds, garage areas, your car, storing facilities, etc.).

Loss of use

Loss of use covers short-term living expenditures so you and your family won’t be left without a place to stay. If your residence is destroyed from a covered loss (anything homeowners insurance covers) and you can’t stay there, loss of use covers rent payments, lodging, as well as food expenditures over what you’d ordinarily pay.

Personal liability

This will pay for litigation against you. So if somebody else takes legal action against you or a family member you reside with (for personal injuries or damage to their residential property), personal liability is going to pay for your lawyer, court costs, and particular damages you will have to pay for, contingent on your insurance policy.

Medical payments

This coverage will take care of medical bills in the event that another person is harmed at your house or on your property.

Water back-up

Addresses water damage from backed-up sump pumps as well as sewer systems. Many homes have sump pumps in their basements/crawl spaces that are made to pump water away from below and around your foundation. In some cases, sump pumps or plumbing/sewer systems get backed up.

Water can then flood right into your home, producing an extravagant mess. Water back-up policy coverage will then take care of damage to your valuables and water extraction.

Personal injury

Personal injury protection pays for your legal fees and additional damages from slander or libel suits (anything you say/write that ruins a person’s reputation or company), lawsuits against you like wrongful entry, or malicious prosecution, unlawful eviction, unlawful arrest, detention, or jail time.

Perils

According to Progressive, what’s typically covered under perils includes:

• Lightning.
• Fire and smoke.
• Tornadoes.
• Power surges.
• Damage from the weight of ice, snow, or sleet.
• Volcanic eruption.
• Windstorms and hail.
• Theft.
• Explosions (e.g., aerosol can or gas grill).
• Vandalism and riots.
• Car/aircraft crashing into your home.
• Falling trees or other objects.
• Water damage (from leaking roofs, burst pipes, or broken appliances, but not floods).

What isn’t covered

While the above is pretty comprehensive, here are things that Progressive’s homeowner’s insurance will not cover:

• Floods (if you live in a flood plain, your lender will likely require this insurance).
• Earthquakes, landslides, and mudslides.
• Sinkholes.
• General wear and tear.

Auto insurance features

Bodily injury liability

Covers medical bills as well as lost income (as high as your limitations) in the event that you hit someone else and they’re hurt. This protects any individual in the accident, as well as legal expenses if you’re prosecuted following the incident.

Property damage liability – takes care of damages (up to your limits) to someone’s automobile and/or property.

Comprehensive

This deals with events outside of your control. It provides protection to your vehicle against fire, stealing, wreckage, striking an animal, glass wreckage, as well as weather/acts of nature. An insurance deductible ordinarily applies, but you’ll have the opportunity to decide on the amount.

Collision

Pays to fix, or even replace your wrecked vehicle if ever you strike another object, including other vehicles, curbs, trees, and so forth.

Collision protects you irrespective of fault and additionally includes a deductible.

Free coverage for pet injuries

If you have collision coverage, and your household pet is hurt in a collision, Progressive covers your veterinary charges up to a determined limitation.

Uninsured/underinsured bodily injury

Protects you and your passengers (up to your limits) if ever you’re wounded in a crash and the at-fault driver has either no insurance coverage or inadequate insurance coverage.

Uninsured/underinsured motorist property damage

This coverage pays to restore or replace your car (up to your limits) if you’re struck by a driver with insufficient coverage or perhaps no coverage whatsoever.

Medical payments

If you’re in a crash, this will cover medical and even burial expenditures (up to your limits). Medical payments might additionally deal with your family members or passengers, no matter the fault. The policy coverage additionally applies in the case that you or your family members are passengers in other automobiles or struck by a vehicle while you’re taking a walk or riding a bike.

Custom parts and equipment value

Custom parts and equipment (CPE) coverage will fix or even replace things that you add to your vehicle, such as an audio system, GPS system, custom-made wheels, as well as a paint job.

Assuming that it had not been added by the initial manufacturer, then it’s regarded as an after-market add-on that you’ll need to properly insure.

Deductible savings bank

You can easily add Progressive’s deductible savings bank feature, which will deduct $50 from your collision and comprehensive deductible for each claim-free insurance policy period. Automobile insurance policy durations last six months.

Roadside assistance

Progressive Insurance’s Roadside Assistance covers a towing service in the event that your vehicle breaks down for any reason, whether or not you’re on the road or in your private drive.

They’ll haul you to the local maintenance shop or the auto mechanic of your preference if the repair shop is within 15 miles. Roadside assistance additionally offers lock-out service, flat-tire changes, fuel/fluid delivery if you run out of gas, and a lot more.

Loan/lease payoff

You might want this policy coverage if you finance or lease your vehicle. Usually regarded as gap insurance, loan lease payoff pays for the difference between what you are obligated to repay on your car and what it’s really worth (as much as 25% of the actual cash value).

Rental vehicle reimbursement

If your vehicle is in a “covered accident,” they’ll cover you to get a rental car (up to your limits, usually up to $30 to $50 every day) while your car is in the repair shop. A covered accident is something Progressive covers and does not include routine servicing.

Rideshare coverage

Rideshare coverage enhances your car insurance coverage to protect you when you’re logged into a ridesharing application and anticipating a trip request/customer. This is very important since rideshare companies’ insurance coverage gives finite insurance protection during this moment and might not include any damages to your vehicle.

In most cases, their insurance policies just provide more insurance coverage immediately after you’ve taken a trip request as well as while driving a client.

My experience using Progressive Insurance

Getting started with Progressive was really easy, and as you’ll see below, my quote was pretty competitive.

First things first – I went for an auto quote – so I clicked “auto” from the main page. From there, I entered my zip code:

Then, I filled out some more detailed information about myself:

After that, Progressive was able to pull my insurance from Geico and serve up my two cars – which was super convenient and save me a ton of time!

After, I answered more detailed questions about me (note: they asked for my social but I didn’t give it to them, as it’s not required for a free quote) and my car.

Then, Progressive found my existing insurance policy with Geico and had me enter details on when I’d want to start my policy.

After that, I got my quote. The middle-tier was just over $36 per month, which is actually less than what I’m paying with Geico:

Since I’m happy with Geico, I chose not to switch, but now I know I can get a really competitively-priced policy from Progressive in a matter of minutes. The whole thing took me about five minutes, and that was with me stopping to take screenshots.

Who is Progressive Insurance for?

Progressive is worth a look if you’re shopping for homeowners or car insurance. While they do offer a bunch of other products, they’re well-known for those two. Over 18 million people use Progressive and they’ve become a highly-trusted brand.

That being said, Progressive a great option for more obscure types of vehicle insurance – such as RV, ATV, boats, and golf carts. Believe it or not, you do need insurance on your golf cart if you want to drive it off your property in most states.

Progressive also has some unique tools that will help you find the lowest premium on auto insurance. In fact, Consumer Reports rated Progressive’s claims process (the satisfaction of going through a claim) for auto insurance as Very Good – which is a great mark.

Who is Progressive not for?

If you aren’t going to get auto insurance, I would probably look for other options. Progressive’s bread and butter is auto insurance, and they offer you a lot of perks and discounts for having it. Yes, they do offer other types of insurance, but it doesn’t make a lot of sense to me to sign up just for their homeowners insurance – which they farm out to another underwriter anyway.

Also, they tend to not always be the cheapest. If you’re looking for barebones, cut-rate insurance, Progressive probably isn’t for you.

Progressive Insurance vs. competitors

Liberty Mutual

Liberty Mutual isn’t always lower in price than other insurers, but you can leverage discounts to reduce your costs. You can save by bundling home and auto, but you can also take advantage of what the industry calls “affinity discounts.” Basically, based on your memberships and other “affinities,” you may be eligible to take part in a group discount.

Another great thing about Liberty Mutual is its online portal. You can sign up for insurance and manage your policy completely online. Of course, you also get this with Progressive, so it’s important to look at other features when comparing.

Summary

Overall, I found Progressive to be an solid option for auto insurance. As long as your record isn’t trashed and you don’t drive thousands of miles a week, you should be able to get a fairly competitive quote.

One thing I didn’t do is sign up for Snapshot, which may have gotten me a better quote by tracking my driving. 

For homeowners, they have great rates, but you need to search a little more for them. Progressive also has a bunch of other insurance policies and a ton of discounts overall.

If you’re looking for a quick quote to see how they compare, I would highly recommend Progressive.

Read more:

• How To Compare Car Insurance Quotes
• Auto Insurance Scores: The Surprising Truth About How Credit Affects Car Insurance Rates