Established in 1937, Progressive Insurance was founded by two attorneys from Cleveland who aimed to create an insurance firm. As of now, Progressive has gained recognition as one of the largest home insurers all over the country, and its headquarters is located in Mayfield Village in Ohio.
Progressive has established a distinguished reputation in the insurance sector, offering over 30 diverse insurance solutions and serving 20.4 million policyholders. As an intermediary, Progressive provides its customers with access to homeowner insurance from companies like Assurant and Nationwide.
As a reputable insurance company, we expect their reviews and ratings to be top-notch. We’re here to get down to the truth and see just how well Progressive treats its people. In this review, we’ll look at their financial standing in the insurance industry and what their customers have to say about their service.
We’ll even look at their claims process, their level of complaints, and their attention to coverage. Using their quote tool, we could better compare this insurance giant to its competitors.
Progressive home insurance coverages & premiums
Like thousands of customers, we took to their quote tool to find out just how Progressive would set up our home insurance. We used our test address in Central Arkansas. This is a 1,220-square-foot, tri-level home built in the 80s. In Arkansas, average annual premiums range from $1,254 to $4,826 for $350,000 worth of dwelling coverage.
After plugging our test address into their quote tool, we were met with the typical clarifying questions. Progressive wanted to know if this would be our primary residence, if we lived in a condo, if we had a dog on the property, etc. They wanted to hit all the stops before giving us a quote.
Once it was all said and done, here is what Progressive gave us to work with:
Coverage | Limits |
Dwelling | $203,000 |
Other structures | $20,300 (10%) |
Personal property (replacement cost) | $101,500 (50%) |
Loss of use | $20,300 (10%) |
Personal liability | $300,000 |
Medical payments | $5,000 |
Ordinance or law | $20,300 (10%) |
Wind & hail deductible | $1,000 |
Property deductible | $1,000 |
Settlement options for both dwelling and personal property coverage were automatically set at replacement cost. This just means that our property would be repaired or replaced according to its cost, regardless of depreciation.
We proceeded through the quote tool to see our customization options. From here, we could raise our dwelling limits up to 15% at $233,450. Personal property could be raised to 70%, and loss of use could go up to 20%.
We noticed immediately that they provided us with more personal liability and medical payment coverages than your average insurer. These limits usually start at $100,000 for liability and $1,000 for medical payments. Not that we’re complaining, but it just seemed like a bold move to set us up with so much coverage as a preliminary move.
We were able to change these coverages in the customization tool as well. As you would expect, personal liability could be toggled to $100,000 or $500,000.
Additional coverages available
Progressive also lets us choose from a few optional coverages. They were:
- Extra coverage for jewelry and other expensive items: choose between $1,000, $2,000, $3,000, and $4,000 worth of extra coverage.
- Water backup: select from various limits to protect plumbing and sump pump overflow. These limits go up to $50,000 for finished, unfinished, or partially finished systems.
- Loss assessment: get $5,000 or $10,000 worth of coverage for damages charged by a homeowners association.
- Matching of undamaged siding/roofing: receive 2, 4, or 6% of dwelling coverage limits to ensure you can replace damaged shingles and siding to match undamaged ones.
Progressive home insurance cost compared
Our quote from Progressive ended up being $2,183 per year. Here is how Progressive compares to the other home insurers we’ve reviewed thus far:
Insurer | Dwelling Coverage | Annual Premium |
Hippo | $200,000 | $2,075 |
Farmers | $260,000 | $1,300 |
Costco CONNECT | $348,300 | $3,172 |
Allstate | $240,097 | $1,540 |
State Farm | $291,000 | $1,454 |
Farm Bureau | $154,000 | $1,663 |
Progressive | $203,000 | $2,183 |
So far, they’re the second most expensive insurer we’ve received a quote from. It could be due to some of the higher limits we were met with.
Even after toggling our personal property to a standard $100,000, and the medical payments to a standard $1,000, our annual premium only went down to $2,060. Raising our deductibles helped get this premium below $2,000.
Of course, it would be inaccurate to assume that Progressive’s rates would compare in the same way for all locations and types of properties. Many customers praise Progressive for their rates. We might have just gotten unlucky considering that many customers have talked about their affordable, stable premium rates in their online reviews.
Progressive homeowners insurance discounts
Depending on the carrier you’re linked to, you could potentially meet the criteria for certain reductions on your home insurance when enrolling in a policy with Progressive.
Progressive’s quote tool asked us questions that could lead us to some savings. Although they weren’t clear whether we qualified for these discounts or not, we were able to find the kinds of incentives and lowered rates we were looking for. Here is what they have to offer:
- Multi-policy bundle: Consolidating your home and automobile insurance policies with Progressive can lead to savings.
- Safety measures: If your residence is equipped with smoke detectors, fire alarms, security alarms, or other monitoring systems, you may qualify for discounts.
- Paid-in-full: Opt for the paid-in-full option to settle your policy annually. Get additional coverage by investing in a personal umbrella insurance policy and teaming it up with your home insurance coverage.
- Electric: Sign up for e-billing and get an e-copy of your policy for hassle-free access.
- Claim-free record: Not filing claims for a specific period may make you eligible for rewards.
- Home improvement: By upgrading your home’s plumbing, heating, cooling, or electrical systems, you may be able to receive a discount on your policy.
- Rooftop ranking: Your rooftop’s age and surface material impact your rate. If your roof is less than a certain number of years old, you can receive savings. On the other hand, Progressive will not insure your home if your roof exceeds a certain age limit.
- New homebuyer: If you just bought a home within the last 12 months, you could be eligible for a discount.
- New construction: You could receive discounts for living in a newly constructed home.
- Non-smokers: If you live in a non-smoking household, you may be eligible for discounted premiums.
- Previously insured: You can save money if you had continuous coverage with your previous carrier for a certain number of years.
- Gated community: Your neighborhood can also affect your rates. For example, if your community has secure vehicle entrances with 24/7 monitoring, or if you utilize smart home technology to prevent common risks like fires, water damage, and burglaries.
Progressive’s claims process
To file a claim with Progressive, you can go to your mobile app and handle it from there. With your mobile app, you can also upload pictures and find details about your agent, policy, and claims details. You can also call their 24/7 claims number at 1.800.776.4737.
Complaints about their claims process are far and few in between. On the contrary, many customers are talking about Progressive’s rapid response times and courteous service.
What Progressive customers have to say
On the National Complaint Index, Progressive received enough complaints to be considered above industry standards in 2022. At a rate of 1.29, Progressive just overshot the national average of 1. Of all the complaints they received, however, only 4 were about their home insurance.
Progressive customers are singing a slightly different tone, as well. Many customers are very satisfied with their insurers, citing excellent customer service and a convenient online presence. As for the BBB, they’ve only noted 15 closed complaints in the last 3 years. Considering Progressive is among one of the most popular insurance companies, this number is very low.
Progressive’s financial stability ratings
Progressive and some of its affiliates have decent insurance ratings from Weiss. According to Weiss Ratings, Progressive has a score of “B-” for insurance safety. This score represents Progressive’s presence in the lower third of insurers to offer good financial security with the resources to deal with a variety of adverse economic conditions.
With a financial stability rating of “A+”, AM Best seems to agree with this sentiment. The same can be said for the BBB, which gave Progressive an A+ as an accredited company.
Save for not being rated by Demotech, Progressive has a promising financial future.
Final verdict
Progressive is a big name in insurance. These giants will always have a few caveats to their services, but we don’t have many bad things to say about Progressive.
This home insurer would be perfect for anyone looking for solid coverage and a seamless claims process. If this sounds like you, be cautioned that Progressive may offer you higher-than-average rates.
Otherwise, Progressive has a nice financial outlook and is backed by several companies who will vouch for this. When you consider their coverage options and lack of overwhelming gripes about their service, this insurance company comfortably hits the mark.