Progressive vs. State Farm: Which should you choose for home insurance in 2024?

Progressive and State Farm customers were surveyed as part of the Insure.com Best Insurance Companies 2024 ranking. Along with the survey, we used rate data and third-party ratings to rank each company, and we’ve presented the results for Progressive and State Farm here.

Progressive ranked at No.10 for 2024. It received 3.4 out of a possible 5 overall stars and comes highly recommended by its customers – 93% say they’d recommend it to others. Progressive has a superior AM Best score of A+ which indicates financial stability. Progressive’s annual rates of $3,193 are higher than the national average.

State Farm scored 4.3 out of 5 stars and ranked No. 4. State Farm has cheaper rates, with annual premiums of $2,169. 88% of State Farm customers would recommend it to others. State Farm has a superior AM Best score of A++, which is the highest possible score.

Insure.com compares Progressive vs. State Farm: Which is better for you?

We analyzed all of our data on Progressive and State Farm to help you compare these two companies side by side. Based on a survey of insurance customers as well as third-party rating agencies such as AM Best and the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), you can see how Progressive and State Farm stack up to help you choose the right company.

For a combination of cheap rates and customer satisfaction, State Farm comes out on top. However, at the poor credit tier, Progressive offers cheaper rates, which might make it the better choice for you. State Farm is also a top pick for those looking to bundle home and auto, with a much larger discount.

Insure.com comparison of Progressive vs. State Farm

The table below summarizes Progressive and State Farm so you can compare them at a glance. Note that the Insure.com overall rating and customer satisfaction rating points are awarded on a scale of 1 – 5. 

State Farm received a higher overall Insure.com rating. Progressive and State Farm both have superior AM Best scores indicating financial solvency and ability to meet their financial obligations such as paying out claims. Both companies have relatively high complaint scores with the NAIC, where numbers below one indicate a below-average number of complaints. State Farm has a much lower score which means fewer complaints.

State Farm came in third out of all carriers surveyed for pricing, with annual rates of $2,169 on average for a home insurance policy. Progressive placed eighth for rates, with an annual average premium of $3,193.

*State Farm is not currently writing new home insurance policies in California.

Progressive vs. State Farm: Home insurance overview

The table below shows how each carrier scored in all major categories. 

The two companies are very similar when it comes to discounts, claims handling and policy offerings. State Farm scored better for pricing and overall customer satisfaction, however.

Progressive vs. State Farm: Pros and cons

Every company has pros and cons; we’ve summarized the pros and cons for Progressive and State Farm based on our survey of customers and analysis of the data on each company.

Progressive vs. State Farm: Which has the cheapest home insurance rates?

The table below shows the rates for different coverage levels for Progressive and State Farm. State Farm is less expensive at all coverage levels, even as you get up to $1M in coverage.

Progressive vs. State Farm: Rates by coverage level

Progressive vs. State Farm: Rates by credit history

Insurance companies can use credit as one of the factors affecting your rates in most states. Insure.com compiled rates for different credit scores in the table below.

State Farm is significantly cheaper for all credit scores except poor credit. For people with a poor credit score, Progressive is the cheaper option.

Progressive vs. State Farm: Customer satisfaction

In the survey, 85% of State Farm customers reported being satisfied, compared to 79% of Progressive customers.

Progressive vs. State Farm: Discounts

The table below shows that Progressive offers more overall discounts to its customers. Because discounts vary by company and not all of them will apply to you, it’s important to look through the options and see which company has more discounts that will apply to you and save you money.

Which has a bigger auto and home discount?

One of the most common types of discounts that insurance companies offer is auto and home bundling, also called the multi-polocy discount. You’ll see from the table below that State Farm gives a significant discount of 24% for auto and home bundling. This is one of its only major discounts.

Progressive vs. State Farm: Claims processing

78% of State Farm customers surveyed say they were satisfied with how their claims were handled. State Farm has a slight edge over Progressive in this area.

The bottom line: Progressive vs. State Farm

State Farm received higher overall scores for customer satisfaction and has cheap annual average rates, but doesn’t offer as many discounts.

Progressive customers highly recommend it to others, but the company has much higher rates on average than State Farm and many other competitors.

Both companies have superior AM Best ratings, which indicates financial strength and solvency.

If you’re renewing your policy, making any changes to your coverage, moving or simply looking for better rates, it’s a great idea to compare carriers and shop around to compare quotes.

Methodology

Insure.com in the fall of 2023 surveyed more than 1,750 insurance consumers (1,151 people with home insurance). The survey was conducted by online market research company Slice MR.

Respondents were asked to name their home insurer and then grade it in the following categories: customer satisfaction, ease of service, claims satisfaction 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 – including digital experience, discounts best for auto/home bundling and best for discounts. The number of responses for each attribute were totaled before dividing 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 home insurer to someone else and if they planned to renew their policies. 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.

They 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 home 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)

• AM Best: 25% of total score
• Annual premium: 20% of total score
• NAIC: 15% of total score

Each insurer was awarded between half a star and 5 stars. No company in the ranking received less than half a star in any category, and 5 stars was the most any insurer could receive.

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