Anyone use Progressive.com?

FastEddieB

FastEddieB

Touchdown! Greaser!
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Fast Eddie B
We’ve been with State Farm forever, but just had a huge jump in the rate for our 2011 Ford Flex, from about $380 for 6 months to almost $500. This is in GA, with no tickets, accidents or claims in forever, a $1,000 deductible and multiple-car discount, but with uninsured motorist coverage.

I just checked similar coverage online from Progressive.com, and they’re quoting a bit under my original State Farm rate.

I’m considering switching, but want to check for any horror stories.

Thanks!
 
I use em but haven't had any claims so I have no good or bad feedback. F insurance companies.......if they are giving me identical coverage (you want to check to make sure it is) for less, I'm going with what costs me less.
 
I use them for my motorcycle and used them for one of my boats. USAA no longer writes for boats or motorcycles and they have some sort of relationship with Progressive which allegedly provides me with a discount. Never had a claim so I have no idea whether they are good or bad. I do know they have perhaps the most obnoxious ads on tv.
 
We were with State Farm for a very long time. After writing some ads for an independant agent, (I’m in advertising) I realized insurance was one expense we never re-evaluated. After some quotes, we switched everything to an independant agent — house, cars, rental houses, mistresses houses... everything. They reshop it all annually — nothing is sacred, all goes before the firing squad.

Right now some things are Kemper and some with Safeco. We haven’t had any claims, so I can’t speak to that yet. It all might be horrifying during a claim, however the savings is nice. YMMV.
 
My State Farm premium took a big jump, too. No accidents or tickets in decades, so I called my agent to see what the premium increase is all about and was told that it's an across the board industry increase because of distracted driver claims. I checked Geico, USAA, and a couple of others, and none of them were competitive with the rates I have with State Farm in spite of the increase, so I'm sticking with them.
 
I've been through them all at one point or another. I've learned to shop rates every other year or so just to make sure everybody's staying honest. Been with AMFAM for about 10 years now as their rates still continue to be unbeatable (vehicles, home, and toys) at least for my zip code. I'll be moving back up to CO here in a couple weeks and will be out in the boonies, so my rates should go down as it's a low risk area, but we'll see what happens.
 
Tarheelpilot said:
I have been screwed over by progressive. Will never use them again. Currently with farmers and have been very satisfied.
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They have a huge advertising budget, how are they paying for that and undercutting everyone?
 
I've always used Progressive except for a short stint with esurance, until they got bought out and quadroupled (really) my premium.
 
azblackbird said:
I've been through them all at one point or another. I've learned to shop rates every other year or so just to make sure everybody's staying honest. Been with AMFAM for about 10 years now as their rates still continue to be unbeatable (vehicles, home, and toys) at least for my zip code. I'll be moving back up to CO here in a couple weeks and will be out in the boonies, so my rates should go down as it's a low risk area, but we'll see what happens.
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Colorado’s rates have skyrocketed. Between drivers who can’t drive in snow, major overcrowding in Metro Denver, and us being near the top of the list in uninsured motorist states, rates have doubled in the last five years.

Rural areas aren’t being spared if they’re in commuting distance of any Front Range city.

Be ready for some sticker shock.

And the back of the vehicle registrations looks like a smorgasbord of crazy taxes now. They barely all fit on the back printed in tiny lettering.

When we enacted TABOR, our “Taxpayers Bill of Rights” via the new laws a while back that allow Citizens to place laws on the ballot directly via petition, to do things politicians would never vote for, TABOR... at that point in time, limited government to no new taxes without voter approval. None. The politicians and lawyers HATED it. Still do. But...

They figured out that “fees” weren’t “taxes” and just slathered them on to everything, including vehicle registrations and various other things, to get around the law. They love this little trick, and it doesn’t look like anyone is ever going to take them to the Colorado Supreme Court to put a stop to it.

You’ll see it soon enough. Just check out the back side of any vehicle registrations. You’ll find all sorts of hilarious stuff that has absolutely nothing to go with operating a motor vehicle. Cancer stuff, training funds for Colorado law enforcement, you name it, it’s on there.

Because you know, apparently only car owners are supposed to pay for such things. And if you have multiple cars, you pay double or triple for all of those things.

It’s. Lovely. You’ll enjoy it. LOL.
 
The only way to choose a car insurance company that I've found reliable is to survey as many as possible of your local collision shops. Just show up, find the owner, tell them you're thinking about changing insurance companies, and ask them (off the record, of course) who their favorite companies are. Tabulate the answers, and negotiate the best deal with one of the top three companies.

Where I live, USAA, Erie, Farmers, Amica Mutual, and a few others that slip my mind at the moment all got high grades from all the body shops. USAA and Erie were the top two. When I asked about Geico or Progressive, they usually cussed and spit on the ground. The biggest complaints were disagreements about whether particular parts needed to be replaced at all, and insistence on using junkyard parts if they did.

Be aware that to some extent this is a regional thing because the adjusters have a lot to do with how easy a company is to deal with in any given area. If a company's local adjuster is a dip****, that could make even a generally good company a bad choice. But the bad companies will be bad regardless.

Rich
 
We've been with State Farm for over 40 years. A couple of years ago I decided to see if I could do better. Always heard that USAA was good so I got quotes from them. There were not competitive. I called to see if that was their best price and why it was more and the guy told me that if I'd been with my current company for a long time they could not beat them. My insurance just went up also, not nearly as much as yours.
 
I used Progressive for decades, always for my motorcycles. I had one claim and I cannot complain about how they handled it. I had to drop them when I started riding sport bikes and switched to State Farm, of which I have no complaints.
 
Auto Insurance Co's recently used Hurricane Harvey as an excuse to raise rates in Texas. Even for Liability only customers, who cannot file a claim when their vehicles are flooded out. I don't think they understand how insurance is supposed to work.

I switched to Progressive about 2 months ago. Premiums were half of what I was paying with Safeco.
 
I found Progressive to be about the same as St Farm, who I've used for well over 40 years. Finally shopped around a few years ago and there are savings out there, you have to research @FastEddieB . Right now I get the insurance through Costco, forget the company, but a lot cheaper than St Farm. Before Costco I went through ARRP and also had a good rate, but the Costco insurance beat them so I stayed with them for another year. Cars, Umbrella, and home.
 
Have had Erie for the last 16 years or so, house, multi-auto, umbrella (more recently); a couple claims on the auto, never an issue.
 
I’ve always used progressive. Currently have policies on some motorcycles, a truck, a few cars, a boat, and a RV with them. I’ve been using them since I was 16 years old and I’ve never made a claim so I can’t speak to that process.

No insurance company, and I’ve tried many times, can beat progressive across my portfolio of different vehicle types. Someone may be able to win slightly (by a buck or two) on my truck policy but then they are miles off on my boat and motorcycle.

I did have a vehicle insured on Farm Bureau (they held my home policy) for a few years. I asked them for a quote on a new vehicle I bought last year and they were double the Progressive quote. I told them no thanks I’m putting the truck on Progressive. They told me that if I did not insure every item I owned with them they would yank a discount and raise my home policy. The agent was attempting to claim exclusive rights to my insurance choices. I always had more things insured with Progressive they just didn’t know and now that they knew, rate hike time... I promptly told him to go **** himself and cancelled on the spot.

Another big thing with progressive for me..I don’t have to call an agent to do things. I can buy a vehicle at 10pm on a Sunday night and add it to my policy from my phone in two or three minutes. I despise having to wait until normal business hours, call or email an agent, and wait hours for a response if any. Online self serve is the only thing I have patience for.
 
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Jumpmaster said:
I use them for my motorcycle and used them for one of my boats. USAA no longer writes for boats or motorcycles and they have some sort of relationship with Progressive which allegedly provides me with a discount. Never had a claim so I have no idea whether they are good or bad. I do know they have perhaps the most obnoxious ads on tv.
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I actually have USAA insurance for my motorcycle, but I've been told that they only do this in a couple states (maybe just California) and that they contract with Progressive for some other states.

I got screwed by State Farm in a claim. Guy rear ended me on the freeway, and State Farm said he claimed I cut him off. There wasn't enough money involved to go after him directly, but State Farm is on my **it list.
 
While insured with progressive I was driving on a 6 lane inner city blvd and a truck that was stopped at an intersection of a cross street pulled out in front of me and stopped. I was traveling below the speed limit and started braking as soon as the truck started rolling out from the stop sign. I just happened to be looking at him when he started moving. Progressive did not have anyone physically show up for anything. They looked at pictures submitted by me and the other driver and took statements over the phone to determine who was at fault. They held me at fault for the accident and paid to fix the guys truck. I was liability only coverage. Then they hiked my rates up substantially. Progressive can go **** themselves.
 
I rear ended a soccer mom in an SUV. Completely my fault. Not only did Progressive fix the woman's car, but reduced my rates as well. I of course effected repair on the Motorcycle.
 
We've had Geico for years, and I finally had a claim last year, a young lady clobbered me on I-75 after I had stopped when traffic had come to a standstill. She was at fault, but in Florida the statutory minimum liability coverage is $10,000, and she got two of us, so there was nowhere near enough to fix both vehicles. I had to pay my deductible, and they took care of the rest. Geico uses a fairly limited number of body shops, the one that fixed my car did an excellent job on a difficult repair.

Every time I switch homeowners insurance whomever I go with wants to quote car insurance. None of them ever get close to what Geico charges, they're usually at least $400 per year higher.
 
Tarheelpilot said:
While insured with progressive I was driving on a 6 lane inner city blvd and a truck that was stopped at an intersection of a cross street pulled out in front of me and stopped. I was traveling below the speed limit and started braking as soon as the truck started rolling out from the stop sign. I just happened to be looking at him when he started moving. Progressive did not have anyone physically show up for anything. They looked at pictures submitted by me and the other driver and took statements over the phone to determine who was at fault. They held me at fault for the accident and paid to fix the guys truck. I was liability only coverage. Then they hiked my rates up substantially. Progressive can go **** themselves.
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That's a good argument for a dashcam. Some accidents you just can't avoid because of the other party's manifest stupidity. My dashcam records both forward and rearward so I can catch idiots both in front of and behind me. Fortunately, idiot drivers are mainly a seasonal nuisance where I live now; but when they arrive, it definitely changes the driving experience.

I also know a guy who successfully got paid when two kids on a sled slid into the road in front of him and he had to put the car in the ditch to avoid them. He sued their parents for failure to supervise. The evidence was right there on his dashcam. I forget whether it was their homeowners' or car insurance company that picked up the tab, but it never got to court.

Rich
 
denverpilot said:
Rural areas aren’t being spared if they’re in commuting distance of any Front Range city. Be ready for some sticker shock.
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I'll be in Washington County. The rates I was quoted aren't all that bad. Apparently I'm far enough out in the boonies that I'm not factored in with all the front range loonies. I'll still be sticking with AMFAM as I get a ton of discounts (military, senior driver, safe driver, etc.) for being a long time customer with no claims.
 
Tarheelpilot said:
While insured with progressive I was driving on a 6 lane inner city blvd and a truck that was stopped at an intersection of a cross street pulled out in front of me and stopped. I was traveling below the speed limit and started braking as soon as the truck started rolling out from the stop sign. I just happened to be looking at him when he started moving. Progressive did not have anyone physically show up for anything. They looked at pictures submitted by me and the other driver and took statements over the phone to determine who was at fault. They held me at fault for the accident and paid to fix the guys truck. I was liability only coverage. Then they hiked my rates up substantially. Progressive can go **** themselves.
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Body repairs are too expensive to not carry collision/comp. Unless you're driving a real heap.
 
I have been with AAA (Auto Club) for the past 20 years.... Home, Auto, Boat, Umbrella... Yes I am probably paying a little more, but the few times I have to filed a claim, there has been no BS, they get on it and get it taken care of... Most recently one of our friends lost their home in the Thomas Fire here in Ventura...and had AAA... their agent reviewed the policy a year ago and made some recommendations for additional coverage... and they are glad they did it.. as our friends say... there has been not one issue with a getting a check to cover the losses or any other expenses.... they have even set up a direct pay with the landlord for the rental they are living while their home is getting rebuilt.....

There a things in life where money is well spent, IMPO insurance is one of them... not a place to go cheap...
 
RJM62 said:
That's a good argument for a dashcam. Some accidents you just can't avoid because of the other party's manifest stupidity. My dashcam records both forward and rearward so I can catch idiots both in front of and behind me. Fortunately, idiot drivers are mainly a seasonal nuisance where I live now; but when they arrive, it definitely changes the driving experience.

I also know a guy who successfully got paid when two kids on a sled slid into the road in front of him and he had to put the car in the ditch to avoid them. He sued their parents for failure to supervise. The evidence was right there on his dashcam. I forget whether it was their homeowners' or car insurance company that picked up the tab, but it never got to court.

Rich
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What brand of dash cam do you have.??
 
paflyer said:
Body repairs are too expensive to not carry collision/comp. Unless you're driving a real heap.
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Even with driving a heap I'd still I'd carry C/C with a high deductible. Worst case scenario you're paying to keep your insurance company lawyers on retainer should you ever be involved in a bad accident. Let them fight the other guy's insurance rather than you having to hire a lawyer to fight both. ;)
 
azblackbird said:
Even with driving a heap I'd still I'd carry C/C with a high deductible. Worst case scenario you're paying to keep your insurance company lawyers on retainer should you ever be involved in a bad accident. Let them fight the other guy's insurance rather than you having to hire a lawyer to fight both. ;)
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Doesn't your liability coverage pay for the lawyers not your comp/collision coverage?
 
ColoPilot said:
Doesn't your liability coverage pay for the lawyers not your comp/collision coverage?
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If you have liability and somebody hits you, you're screwed. You have to hire an attorney to prove the other guy was at fault. At least here in AZ that's the way it's set up. If you had C/C then your insurance company lawyers would go to bat for you against the other guys insurance to keep from paying out a claim.

If I remember CO is a no-fault state. So if somebody hits you, your insurance company pays you rather than the other guys company. Then your insurance co. may subrogate against the other guys company, or just eat it on their own depending on how much was at stake.
 
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Tarheelpilot said:
It was a real heap. Not that it’s relevant to the discussion.
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That was a general "you're." But, in your incident how much did you take out of your pocket to fix your car or have to eat because it was totaled??
 
paflyer said:
That was a general "you're." But, in your incident how much did you take out of your pocket to fix your car or have to eat because it was totaled??
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I paid less than $500 for the car. I was in my 4th year of ownership at the time of the accident. It cost me fifty dollars in junk yard parts and some quality time with a hammer to get back on the road. The car wasn’t “fixed” when I put it back on the road but it was drivable.
 
azblackbird said:
I'll be in Washington County. The rates I was quoted aren't all that bad. Apparently I'm far enough out in the boonies that I'm not factored in with all the front range loonies. I'll still be sticking with AMFAM as I get a ton of discounts (military, senior driver, safe driver, etc.) for being a long time customer with no claims.
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Decided against the living in a motorhome thing?
 
Zeldman said:
What brand of dash cam do you have.??
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This one. It's somewhat obsolete by today's standards, but it gets the job done. Here's my full review on Amazon.

Here it is mounted:

dash-cam-mount-1.jpg


dash-cam-mount-2.jpg


And two videos, one day and one night:
Newer cameras will provide better resolution, but this one works fine for me and has been a real workhorse. It's on its second or third car.

The only caution is that it hates UHS SD cards. It needs a Class 6 - 10, non-UHS MicroSD card, < 32GB. The el-cheapos at the checkout at Micro Center work great.

The GPS is optional and might be better omitted if you like to exceed the speed limit on a regular basis. (The speedometer in the dashcam won't work without the GPS antenna.)

Rich

EDIT: The mount in the pictures is not the included one. It was a separate purchase at Amazon. I think it was ~ $10.00.
 
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azblackbird said:
If you have liability and somebody hits you, you're screwed. You have to hire an attorney to prove the other guy was at fault. At least here in AZ that's the way it's set up. If you had C/C then your insurance company lawyers would go to bat for you against the other guys insurance to keep from paying out a claim.

If I remember CO is a no-fault state. So if somebody hits you, your insurance company pays you rather than the other guys company. Then your insurance co. may subrogate against the other guys company, or just eat it on their own depending on how much was at stake.
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That makes sense, I guess I was thinking of a situation where I hit a bus load of orphan kids again. Then liability insurance would cover the lawyer, hopefully.

Colorado went away from no fault about ten years ago so we'd all save money on insurance premiums... I'm still waiting for my savings.
 
Just pulled the trigger.

For 6 months coverage on our 2011 Ford Flex:

State Farm last year: $388
State Farm renewal this year: $496
Progressive.com: $331

I stopped by the State Farm office to make sure their new premium wasn't a mistake and the coverage was comparable. They seemed understanding with the switch considering the premium difference.

We have another car, a pickup and a handful of motorcycles with State Farm. As the bills come in, I guess I'll compare rates and switch on a case-by-case basis.

Thanks for the input - the horror stories seemed pretty balanced overall.
 
Bill Jennings said:
Decided against the living in a motorhome thing?
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Nope, just haven't found what I'm looking for yet. Had a bead on one that was realistically priced and missed it by a day. Called the guy up to set an inspection time, and it was raining the next day and didn't want him to pull it out of his garage and get all wet and muddy road testing it and all, so I postpone a couple days later when the weather was clear. Go to head to his house the day of inspection and give him a call before I leave and he'd already sold it the day prior. That's my luck. :(
 
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