Progressive vs. Allstate: Compare insurance companies in 2024

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Our recommendation: Progressive vs. Allstate: Which is better?

If you are looking for cheaper rates, you’ll usually find more affordable car insurance coverage through Progressive. In addition to low rates, a large percentage of customers choose to renew with Progressive each year, which bodes well for a positive experience. 

Although Allstate tends to have higher rates than Progressive, it does have a reputation for a streamlined claims handling process. Of course, no one wants to have to file a claim. But if you need to, you can count on a smooth process with Allstate. 

Rating comparison for Progressive vs. Allstate car insurance

Progressive stands out by offering relatively low rates, which might be one reason why many customers choose to renew with the company. Additionally, a solid financial stability score from AM Best means you can rest easy working with the company. 

In contrast, Allstate is known for offering a smooth claims-handling experience. But most drivers pay higher rates with Allstate. 

The table below offers more insight into how these two insurance companies stack up against each other. Note that numerical ratings are on a scale of 0-5 with 5 being the highest possible score.

Progressive vs. Allstate: Pros and cons

Every insurance company has advantages and disadvantages. Below is a closer look at the pros and cons to consider with Allstate and Progressive. 

Progressive vs. Allstate: Which provides the cheapest car insurance rates?

Progressive generally offers cheaper rates than Allstate. For example, the average annual cost of a full-coverage policy with Progressive is $1,998. With Allstate, the average cost is $2,509. 

The table below highlights the average costs of different policy levels for each company. Liability-only indicates higher than state minimum coverage limits of 50/100/50.

Progressive vs. Allstate: Car insurance rates by age and gender

Progressive tends to offer lower rates for most drivers. On average, teen female drivers pay an annual rate of $7,105 with Allstate. But with Progressive, teen females pay an average rate of $6,870. For teen males, Progressive’s annual rate is $7,480 and Allstate’s is $7,766.

In general, women tend to enjoy lower car insurance rates than men across all age groups. But the gap shrinks as you age. The table below illustrates how different age groups can expect different rates across both companies. 

Progressive vs. Allstate: Rates by credit score

Drivers with good credit scores often pay less for insurance than drivers with poor credit scores. That trend holds true with both Allstate and Progressive. 

Progressive offers cheaper rates for drivers with all types of credit scores. For example, poor credit drivers with Progressive can expect to pay an average of $3,372 annually. But Allstate drivers with poor credit pay an average of $4,177. 

The table below highlights how average rates vary by credit score at Geico and Progressive. 

Progressive vs. Allstate: Rates for different violations

When it comes to getting a good car insurance rate, maintaining a clean driving record is critical. If you receive a moving violation, that tends to increase your car insurance costs. Allstate’s rates are higher than Progressive’s for most driving violations.

“High-risk behaviors such as speeding, driving under the influence (DUI/DWI), and at-fault accidents typically lead to higher premiums,” says John Crist, founder of Prestizia Insurance. 

The table below shows how a violation can push average rates higher at each insurer. But the impact of a violation varies based on the insurer. 

Progressive vs. Allstate: Customer satisfaction comparison

When it comes to customer satisfaction, Allstate and Progressive earned similar customer satisfaction scores from the 1,750 insurance consumers surveyed in the fall of 2023. 

Allstate scored a 75% satisfaction rate – a bit above Progressive’s survey score of 70%. 

Progressive vs. Allstate: Car insurance discount availability comparison

As major insurance companies, both Allstate and Progressive each offer a suite of discount opportunities to their customers. When looking for a car insurance policy, it never hurts to see if you qualify for a discount. 

The table below highlights the different discounts you can expect to find with each company. 

Progressive vs. Allstate: Additional insurance availability comparison

In addition to car insurance, both Allstate and Progressive offer a wide range of other insurance products. For example, you can find homeowners insurance, renters insurance and umbrella liability insurance through both Progressive and Allstate. 

You can find a breakdown of which other policy types this company offers in the table below. 

Resources & Methodology

Methodology

Insure.com in the fall of 2023 surveyed more than 1,750 insurance consumers (1,459 people with auto insurance). Online market research company Slice MR conducted the survey. Respondents were asked to name their auto insurer and then grade it in the following categories – customer satisfaction, ease of service and policy offerings. The percentage of respondents who said they were satisfied or very satisfied with their insurer is presented in the results.

Respondents were then asked to pick their insurer’s top three attributes out of more than a dozen presented – trustworthiness, claims satisfaction, digital experience, discounts and best for auto/home bundling. The responses for each attribute were totaled and then divided by the number of each company’s customers who responded to that survey question to create a percentage. 

Respondents were then asked if they would recommend their auto insurer to someone else and whether they would renew with their company. The percentage who said yes is presented in the results.

Finally, respondents were given the statement “I trust my insurance company” and asked if they strongly agreed, agreed, disagreed or strongly disagreed with the statement. The percentage of those who said they agreed or strongly agreed is presented in the results.

The editors compiled the survey results and then selected – based on the number of survey responses – the top companies for further evaluation. 

They then collected AM Best data, which measures financial strength, and National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ complaint data, which ranks a company by the number of customer complaints it receives. The Insure.com team identified the NAIC company code or codes that were the primary underwriting companies for each carrier and line of business using total annual premiums. The associated NAIC complaint index score was used in the calculations. If more than one underwriting company was identified for a line, the editors used a weighted average of the NAIC complaint index scores.

In addition, we also created star rankings for each company. Respondents were asked to pick their insurer’s top three attributes out of the more than the dozen presented, again including customer satisfaction and policy offerings. The number of responses for each attribute was totaled and then divided by the number of each company’s customers who responded to that survey question to create the star ranking. 

The editors also collected insurance rate data from Quadrant Information Services.

With the help of Prof. David Marlett, Ph.D., Managing Director of the Brantley Risk and Insurance Center at Appalachian State University, the editors created a rating system to determine which insurance companies were best in each sector. For auto insurers, we took the following and gave each a weight.

• Survey: 40% of the total score (10% customer satisfaction, 10% recommended, 10% renewal rate and 10% claims handling)
• Annual premium: 20% of the total score
• AM Best: 25% of the total score
• NAIC: 15% of the total score

Each insurer was awarded from half a star to 5 stars. No insurer in our star ranking received less than half a star and 5 stars was the most any insurer could receive.

Sarah Sharkey

Contributing Researcher

 

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Sarah Sharkey is a personal finance writer with a master’s degree in management from the Hough School of Business at the University of Florida. She enjoys helping readers find money solutions that work. She has written for numerous personal-finance publications including Money Under 30 and The College Investor.