Any thoughts on Progressive for car insurance?

[bnme]

I just did a rate quote for car insurance through Progressive’s website. Any thoughts or opinions on this company?

I am embarrassed to say, we are extremely under-insured by Allstate and did not even realize (We have been with the same agent forever, I will be calling him later). We currently have only 25k/50k for bodily injury and un/under insured motorists and only 10k for property damage! The Progressive quote was for 250k/500k and 100k property insurance. The thing that is most disturbing is that the Progressive quote was over $400 less per year for SO MUCH more coverage. I am just wondering if there is any other advantage to going with a company like Allstate. I know I also have Accident Forgiveness and some sort of ‘guarantee’ that we can’t be dropped through Allstate (?).

I will be calling my agent later but I’d like to have as much info before hand as possible. I don’t want to just jump on Progressive but I know I need to raise my coverage ASAP. If it makes any difference we are paying about $1200 per 6 months for this coverage.

TIA

[clc053103]

Besides accident forgiveness, Allstate may offer a multiline discount- meaning if you insure both your autos and your home. If you have Allstate for your home, find out what amount of discount you will lose to make sure you are comparing apples to apples.

As a company, I wouldn't have a problem being insured with progressive. i used to work for them, and their claims service is actually very good, they hold them to high standards.

I applaud you for reviewing your coverage and recognizing that you did not have enough to sufficiently protect you. Definitely get the new policy ASAP, regardless of what company you choose!!!!

[wellyes]

I had Progressive for a while, they were fine.

Ask Progressive, and anyone else you get quotes from, about discounts. Some give discounts for no accidents in five years, or all drivers are college graduates, or other such silly criteria. Always ask.

Another thing to consider is getting "umbrella" insurance. If you have assets (esp. stock/bonds outside of retirement funds) an umbrella policy will kick in if your auto is exhausted. We have a $1 million umbrella for about $115/year.

[scrooks]

I had Progressive for awhile and generally had no complaints. I was in a minor fender bender and their claim service was excellent.

I suggest shopping around a bit. I'm guessing insurance $$ can vary widely based on area of the country and type of car but we pay $1200 for the whole year combined for our 2 vehicles for coverage similar to what you are describing. We are insured through Farmers and they also have our house policy(therefore we get a discount).

[JTsMom]

DH has dealt with every insurance company imaginable. He used to work for Lexus, and they were a certified repair shop for pretty much everyone. He says Progressive is one of the worst for trying to weasel out of claims, and would insist on aftermarket and used stuff.

I think I would try calling another Allstate agent and seeing what they can do for you. We have Allstate, and they give us amazingly low rates. State Farm is also supposedly very good.

[AnnieW625]

I only used Progressive in 2003 (when DH and I had to shop for joint auto insurance when we got married) and they came up higher than the rest of the companies so I never actually investigated getting a policy with them. We were living in the burbs of Sacramento then so I don't know what it would be here. Prior to that I had been on my parents policy with AAA but they wanted to charge us an arm and leg to add DH, and then DH had Allstate, which was uber expensive to add me so we ended up with new policies through State Farm and have been very happy. We haven't had an accidents so I can't comment on that, but for home, life, and auto (I have been driving for 14 yrs. and have 1 traffic ticket that goes off in February; and DH has been driving for 19 yrs w/no tickets) and we pay $246 a month for all services.

I really think you need to do research where you live and based on how much you drive because my rates are going to be inflated from your rates because we live in the greater Los Angeles area so the chance that we are going to get in accident is probably much greater than someone who lives on Long Island, however maybe they'll be close to the same. Good luck!

[bnme]

Thanks for the input everyone. I hate insurance because you pay the bill but you never really know how they are going to be with claims, etc unless you really need it. Luckily the only thing we've ever 'used' our insurance for is glass and that has been great.

So my Progressive quote is for $173 per month. I was paying close to $200 for the crappy coverage through Allstate. My agent (who is not exclusively Allstate) said we were under an old Allstate policy that doesn't even exist anymore and quoted me $155 per month under the 'new' Allstate policy for coverage identical to the Progressive. Now I am not sure what to do. Maybe I should call some other agents. I have been happy with Allstate but I think I should be concerned that my agent hasn't recommended we switch policies, or do they not do that and it’s really my own responsibility (?). I really need to get on the ball with this stuff!

[mytwosons]

Progressive is really good at accurately identifying low risk drivers and offer them very competitive prices. They are not the cheapest option if you don't fall into their best tier.

I've been hit twice while being covered by them and found the service to be excellent in both cases. I was able to take my car to the repair shop of my choice and they didn't use aftermarket or used parts.

I was also very impressed with their customer service when I had to call and have them fax over proof of insurance to Home Depot. I was renting one of their delivery trucks and couldn't find my insurance papers. They faxed it over immediately.

[Fairy]

The problem with all insurance companies is that they're in the business of not paying out if they can at all avoid it. I'm very anti-insurance, so consider the source, here. But no matter who the company is, they may end up trying to weasel out of it. The really good, reputable ones try less often. Sub-standards try every time.

In my experience, Progressive is not a bad insurance company. There are your A+ companies, your sub-standards, and your folks in between. Progressive is not considered Allstate or State Farm or Travellers, but if they're highly rated, then who cares. Get your comparisons, don't go with a sub-standard if you are able not to. We almost went with them, and I wouldn't have a problem doing so now, either.

I do, however, hate the new line of commercials with the uber-annoying spokeschick.

[Emmas Mom]

Well with ALL respect to my dear friend Hil's feelings on the matter I'll offer my two cents. :hug5:I've been a Claims Analyst (handle auto claims) for almost 13 years I can honestly say I've never been told NOT to pay on a claim. ;-) Unless, of course, there was honestly no coverage. I've never worked for Allstate but I'm not loyal to my own company. I shop around often & switch whenever it works for us. As long as you've been continuously insured it doesn't hurt. We had Progressive for a couple years & had no issues with them. I definitely think you need to find another agent though. While technically they do not HAVE to research lower rates for you, it sounds like you've been with him for quite awhile and I would think he'd at least periodically review your coverages for you (or with you).

[new_mommy25]

I had Progressive for awhile. We had one incident (car was parked in front of our house and someone backed into tearing off the fender) and they were kind of a PITA to deal with. We switched because they raised the rates across the board and we got a better deal with Geico. Geico actually lowered rates when we made our last payment, which I liked, but I haven't had to deal with them and an accident yet.

[Claki]

I have had Progressive for several years and have been very happy. My rates always go down with each renewal!

[LearningAsIGo]

I switched to Progressive and still saved over $50 for BOTH of our vehicles together from what I was paying from a local agent just for my car alone!

Its been a good company - but I haven't had to deal with any issues yet.

[Fairy]

Well with ALL respect to my dear friend Hil's feelings on the matter I'll offer my two cents. :hug5:I've been a Claims Analyst (handle auto claims) for almost 13 years I can honestly say I've never been told NOT to pay on a claim. ;-) Unless, of course, there was honestly no coverage. I've never worked for Allstate but I'm not loyal to my own company. I shop around often & switch whenever it works for us. As long as you've been continuously insured it doesn't hurt. We had Progressive for a couple years & had no issues with them. I definitely think you need to find another agent though. While technically they do not HAVE to research lower rates for you, it sounds like you've been with him for quite awhile and I would think he'd at least periodically review your coverages for you (or with you).

I'm glad that there's an opposing view to mine here, cuz again, my background makes me anit-insurance company (I'm sorry, Kristine!!), but I acknowledge that I'm biased based on that background. That said, they are necessary, IMO, and there are good ones and bad ones, and some that are shades of gray. IMO and IME, Progressive is on the good end, not the bad.

[kijip]

We have Progressive and also have our homeowners through a Progressive partnered/owned? company (for a discount).

It is very cheap. It was cheaper to us than Geico had been for an older car. Insurance is required in my state. We own the car outright but still carry comprehensive because I don't want to be in a position to replace a newer Camry out of pocket. Once the car gets a little older, then we will drop the comprehensive.

We have had 2 claims, which combined with moving to a higher theft zip code raised our rates, but not by a lot. We priced it out last year and they were still the best rate for us.

Both claims (someone hit and run our door and left a huge dent in the door) were EASY to handle and they had a rental car waiting for me at their repair shop. They used Toyota parts.

I have been very happy with them. We will be pricing it out again in October when the policies come due just because I like to see what is out there.

One thing that seems to make them cheaper is that we pay for 6 months at a time, in advance rather than monthly. At Geico paying all at once saved us the billing fee of $3 (or was it $6?) dollars for each installment but at Progressive it's closer to $200 off the 6 monthly rate for 1 lump sum payment. And the rate with Progressive monthly is still less than our price quotes from Geico.

[amandabea]

No experience being insured by Progressive, but we've been very happy with Mercury. I had Wawanesa prior to moving in w/ DH and I combining policies and I thought they were the best by far (great customer service, great rates, and no annoying TV commercials), but DH had a lease and they don't offer gap insurance.

[clc053103]

Well with ALL respect to my dear friend Hil's feelings on the matter I'll offer my two cents. :hug5:I've been a Claims Analyst (handle auto claims) for almost 13 years I can honestly say I've never been told NOT to pay on a claim. ;-) Unless, of course, there was honestly no coverage. I've never worked for Allstate but I'm not loyal to my own company. I shop around often & switch whenever it works for us. As long as you've been continuously insured it doesn't hurt. We had Progressive for a couple years & had no issues with them. I definitely think you need to find another agent though. While technically they do not HAVE to research lower rates for you, it sounds like you've been with him for quite awhile and I would think he'd at least periodically review your coverages for you (or with you).

Claims Specialist for 16 years and ITA with the above. I have worked for Progressive and 4 other carriers.

From a claims perspective I can tell you some of the worst claims service I've dealt with has been Allstate and Geico. At Geico, you are lucky if they even return your calls. But if you consider the amount of time you spend dealing with a claim vs the overall savings you could get from some of these companies, it may not really matter to you that much.

[Nyfeara]

We just switched to Progressive. I read one of the other threads about using an independent agent & decided that we hadn't really reviewed all of our policies in about 6-7 yrs, so it was time. We had been with State Farm all that time.

By switching to Progressive, we saved over $600/yr on our car insurance, $150-200/yr on our homeowners, and we added an umbrella policy for $159/yr (State Farm wanted $214/yr). I had checked with All State and Nationwide myself a few months, and while they may have been able to save us a few $$, it was nothing like this. The agent said that Progressive was really after writing policies in our area of PA.

No experience with their claims dept as of yet, but the agent we used said that they've had no complaints.