Is Progressive a good insurance company?

[beatle]

My fiancee and I are getting married this month and we want to take advantage of cheaper car insurance. We're both good drivers, no points, no accidents, etc. and have older cars (97 Miata , 2000 Civic).

Progressive is quoting us both with, $50/$500 comp/collision deductible, and $100k/$300k coverage. I had them throw in renters' insurance since it's too cheap not to have. A 6 month premium is only $347! Other companies quoted were:

Allstate: $608 - $617
Erie: $490 - $519
GEICO: $532 - $625
Nationwide: $597 - $662
State Farm: $728 - $798

Any problems with Progressive that I should know about before pulling the trigger?

 

[KillerCharlie]

It's been great for me so far - their roadside assistance service is great. My sister got hit by someone with Progressive and was very quickly taken care of.

 

[beatle]

Do I need their roadside assistance if I already have AAA?

 

[ViviTheMage]

Originally posted by: beatle
Do I need their roadside assistance if I already have AAA?

no

 

[Me Llamo Hefe]

The knock on Progressive is that they will be cheap trying to fix your car and probably won't even pay you enough for the repairs. It can also be difficult trying to communicate with the company.

If you go with another company you can find a good rate through a broker or agent. The price may be a little higher but you will have someone that won't ignore your calls and will act as an intermediary between you and the insurance company. The broker/agent can also continually shop your insurance with their companies to ensure you are still getting the best rate.

That said, all companies have some knock against them and there will be good and bad things about all companies.

 

[jlee]

Originally posted by: Me Llamo Hefe
The knock on Progressive is that they will be cheap trying to fix your car and probably won't even pay you enough for the repairs. It can also be difficult trying to communicate with the company.

If you go with another company you can find a good rate through a broker or agent. The price may be a little higher but you will have someone that won't ignore your calls and will act as an intermediary between you and the insurance company. The broker/agent can also continually shop your insurance with their companies to ensure you are still getting the best rate.

That said, all companies have some knock against them and there will be good and bad things about all companies.

I had no difficulty when my truck was repaired. The adjuster was in constant communication, and they warrantied the body work for as long as I owned the truck. I've had Progressive for several years, and don't foresee myself switching in the near future, unless I can get a much better deal elsewhere...which I doubt.

 

[Me Llamo Hefe]

Originally posted by: JLee

Originally posted by: Me Llamo Hefe
The knock on Progressive is that they will be cheap trying to fix your car and probably won't even pay you enough for the repairs. It can also be difficult trying to communicate with the company.

If you go with another company you can find a good rate through a broker or agent. The price may be a little higher but you will have someone that won't ignore your calls and will act as an intermediary between you and the insurance company. The broker/agent can also continually shop your insurance with their companies to ensure you are still getting the best rate.

That said, all companies have some knock against them and there will be good and bad things about all companies.

I had no difficulty when my truck was repaired. The adjuster was in constant communication, and they warrantied the body work for as long as I owned the truck. I've had Progressive for several years, and don't foresee myself switching in the near future, unless I can get a much better deal elsewhere...which I doubt.

Like I said, there will be good and bad about all companies. Not one company will be all good or all bad.

 

[M0RPH]

I've been a customer for years, I love that I can do everything online including making payments and making policy changes. And I like the discount they give (5 or 10% ?) if you pay your bill in full for 6 months. I've never had to make any claims so I can't comment on that.

 

[jlee]

Originally posted by: Me Llamo Hefe

Originally posted by: JLee

Originally posted by: Me Llamo Hefe
The knock on Progressive is that they will be cheap trying to fix your car and probably won't even pay you enough for the repairs. It can also be difficult trying to communicate with the company.

If you go with another company you can find a good rate through a broker or agent. The price may be a little higher but you will have someone that won't ignore your calls and will act as an intermediary between you and the insurance company. The broker/agent can also continually shop your insurance with their companies to ensure you are still getting the best rate.

That said, all companies have some knock against them and there will be good and bad things about all companies.

I had no difficulty when my truck was repaired. The adjuster was in constant communication, and they warrantied the body work for as long as I owned the truck. I've had Progressive for several years, and don't foresee myself switching in the near future, unless I can get a much better deal elsewhere...which I doubt.

Like I said, there will be good and bad about all companies. Not one company will be all good or all bad.

Well, I haven't experienced any of the bad things you've mentioned about Progressive - but I suppose each has different opinions.

 

[deadlyapp]

I've had them for a while on my car, liability only, and while I havent had any accidents, I have no complaints.

 

[RaistlinZ]

No complaints here either. I actually called and negotiated with them to lower my policy by 10% the other day. It was mostly just to test them to see if they would really work to keep my business. I haven't had to file a claim though, but customer service wise so far they've been easy to talk to and seem to be willing to help as much as they can.

 

[Captante]

I've had them for my Motorcycle for many years & the one claim I made for repairs went through with no hassle & no rate-increase either ... I got a much better deal from Geico for my car though.

Also don't assume the quotes Progressive gives you for other companies plans are accurate ... they were way-high last time I shopped around about a year ago.

 

[GeneValgene]

i had them for two years, because they were the cheapest. never had to make any claims, but they started jacking up the price on me for no reason. i ended up switching to geico since they had a better rate after the price hike from progressive.

 

[Tobolo]

Progressive is AWESOME if nothing ever happens to you. You do not want to have to deal with them in an accident.

BTW, if you ever want to see what is the best, call your local car repair shops and ask them. They will tell you real fast who will screw you.

 

[beatle]

Hmm, I stopped receiving email notifications on the thread... back now.

Sounds like a mixed bag which I kind of expected being that they're an insurance company. I remember with GEICO they would not insure my car because it was over 10 years old. A friend of mine recommended Safeco, which I had not heard about. He said they were a heck of a lot cheaper than his previous company. I'd have to give them a call since they don't do online quotes.

Also, on Progressive's quote, they base the rate on you having excellent credit. That's not a problem for us, but I'm not sure if the other quotes they gave factor this in or not. I read a thread on SD praising the merits of calling your insurance company and asking them to run your credit for a steep discount. The OP in that thread saved over $500.

 

[Nitemare]

Originally posted by: Tobolo
Progressive is AWESOME if nothing ever happens to you. You do not want to have to deal with them in an accident.

BTW, if you ever want to see what is the best, call your local car repair shops and ask them. They will tell you real fast who will screw you.

I had Progressive and was involved in 2 accidents and they were great.

 

[Kalvin00]

I had them for a while...never used a claim, but my impression of them was awesome.

 

[CycloWizard]

Progressive sucks. I had full coverage from them for three years. I got hit and run. They retroactively cancelled my policy because my vehicle was garaged in a state where I was not licensed (which they already knew and was the reason I went with them to begin with).

I also highly recommend NOT using the quotes from their website. They are almost always horribly inaccurate. They quoted me $180/6 months from one insurer. When I went to that insurer's site, I could only get that rate if I insured a home and got health insurance through them as well. It's a ghetto system from a ghetto company.

 

[CptCrunch]

I have progressive and have no compliants. I pay around $100 a month for full coverage on a 2006 toyota corolla 100k/500k 250/500 deductible, road side assistance, rental, medical, etc. Can't complain. Next time I up (already checked a quote) should be around $85 a month for the same coverage

 

[beatle]

Their quote with Allstate was within a few dollars. My fiancee currently has Allstate and she inquired about their rates directly.

I'm not too thrilled with Liberty Mutual, my current carrier. My premiums have actually gone up every year I've been with them, despite my good driving record. If they want to keep me, they'd better drop the premium through the floor!

 

[eplebnista]

I have had a policy with them for several years now and haven't had any problems with them either.

 

[sactoking]

Progressive tried to job me when my truck was stolen. I spent a few hundred dollars to fly cross-country (I was on vacation) to mitigate my damages, then they told me they wouldn't cover the tow and impound b/c there was no damage to the vehicle. Being a claims adjustor, I knew that was BS. A few weeks and a DOI complaint later I had my truck, my money, and a new insurer.

I'd say that it was the luck of the draw and got a crappy adjustor, except that the claims manager, district manager, and their attorney ALL denied my claim, so it had to have been corporate policy. Seriously, what part of "We will have your vehicle returned to you, at our cost" is ambiguous?

 

[Chiropteran]

I hate progressive, they were terrible to me when I was in an accident (the other driver was at fault, but both of us used progressive).

However, I pick my insurance based on price rather than service so I stuck with them.

 

[Viper GTS]

Every experience I've had with them has been great, & I've definitely had things happen:

1) Somebody backed into the g/f's car. He was a Progressive customer as well. The repair shop they referred us to was great, we actually ended up having unrelated things done there because we liked them.

2) G/F caused an accident. IIRC we used their drop off system, got their discount on the rental (we didn't have rental coverage). Had a minor issue with their repair of her car, was fixed without incident and didn't have any further problems until we sold the car. One minor detail she was driving in Oregon while we were still on a Pennsylvania policy. Didn't cause any issues (we had just moved).

3) Someone keyed my Mustang. I waited several months before filing the claim, they did ask why I'd waited so long but didn't bitch about paying for it. I picked my own repair shop, paid my $100 deductible, & everything went fine. Total billed to Progressive was less than $1,000 (barely) so it didn't affect my rates.

Also had a few glass claims thrown in there for good measure. Overall at least 5 incidents, & they haven't given us any problems. Paying about $1300 every six months for two drivers and 3 vehicles, a 2006 Sonata + 2002 Mustang + 1993 Jeep. $500K CSL with full coverage on the Sonata + Mustang, Comp on the Jeep.

Viper GTS

 

[mb]

I have them, but I'm only happy with them because I haven't had to make a claim and I'm getting a great rate. I'm glad a lot of you have had positive experiences with them when making a claim, because I've heard nothing but bad things. Unfortunately, I really just needed the cheapest coverage.