Allstate vs. Progressive: Car Insurance Comparison (2024)

Shopping for car insurance? There’s probably a good chance you’ll check rates from Allstate or Progressive. Maybe both. The fact is, these are two of the country’s largest car insurance companies. Progressive currently stands in second place behind only State Farm. Allstate stands firmly in fourth. One out of every four dollars spent on car insurance in the U.S. goes to these two companies.

From a marketing standpoint, neither really needs an introduction. If you watch television, scroll social media, glance at highway billboards, attend a sporting event or just look up in the sky, chances are you’ll see one or both of these brands.

But beyond the size of their businesses and the noise of their advertising, what do these companies offer you as a customer? Let’s find out in this head-to-head comparison.

The verdict: Progressive

Progressive took most of our categories, and it notably has lower rates. But this is not the drubbing it might appear to be at first glance. The two companies are close in many categories, including claims service, customer service and discounts.

Nevertheless, Progressive combines low rates with several discounts, a wide selection of optional coverages and great ease of doing business. Progressive has long worked to promote itself as a company that makes it easy to buy and own insurance. This point-by-point review is evidence that it is, in fact, just such a company.

Progressive pros and cons

Allstate pros and cons

Allstate vs. Progressive: Which is better?

Claims service: Allstate

Allstate gets the slight edge when it comes to claims service.

The company earned 882 points in the J.D. Power 2023 U.S. Auto Insurance Claims Satisfaction Study. That placed the company above the national average and eight out of the 24 companies in the study. Progressive earned 870 points, coming in 18th overall.

Neither Progressive nor Allstate earned a spot on the Crash Network honor roll (nor did any of the other top 10 largest auto insurers). Crash Network gave Progressive a C (503 points) and Allstate a D+ (306 points). Grades reflect how well these companies work to ensure quality repairs and provide customer service.

Finally, both companies have superior financial stability, according to AM Best. Best gives Allstate and Progressive A+ ratings, which reflects the companies’ financial health and ability to pay claims.

Customer service: Progressive

Progressive edges out Allstate for customer service.

* Allstate NAIC Code 19232, Progressive NAIC code 24260

Progressive’s 38% Net Promoter Score beats out Allstate’s 34%. But both scores are below the industry average of 44%, according to clearsurance.com. NPS measures customers' likelihood of referring a company to friends, family or colleagues. It uses this as a measure of overall customer satisfaction — people recommend the companies they like. A score over 50% is considered excellent.

‌Progressive edges out Allstate according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) complaint index. A score below 1.0 means the NAIC receives fewer complaints than average about a particular company. Allstate’s 3.06 score means the insurance firm has more than three times as many complaints as average. Progressive’s NAIC index of 1.98, while still above average, is lower than Allstate’s.

Neither company has much to boast about when it comes to consumer Trustpilot ratings. Progressive’s rating is 1.2 out of 5.0 stars, while Allstate has 1.4 out of 5.0 stars.

Optional coverages: Progressive

Both Allstate and Progressive offer the coverages you need to drive legally and protect your investment in your car. These include bodily injury and property damage liability, personal injury protection, uninsured motorist, comprehensive and collision.

But there’s a clear separation between these insurers when it comes to optional coverages — coverages you can add to a policy to customize it to your needs. Progressive comes out ahead with coverages such as accident forgiveness, custom equipment and a deductible savings bank (which lowers your comprehensive and collision deductible for every claim-free policy term). It’s also the only company we’ve seen that offers coverage for pets injured in an accident.

Note: The exact names of these coverage options may vary by company. Availability may vary by state.

Discounts: Progressive

This was a close call, but we give Progressive the nod in our discounts category.

Note: This is a list of common auto insurance discounts. The exact names of these discounts may vary by company. Availability may vary by state.

Progressive simply has more discounts than Allstate. These include a few “layups,” such as sign online and automatic payment, that Allstate does not offer. We do like that Allstate offers a couple of vehicle discounts, such as discounts for having anti-lock braking systems or anti-theft devices, both discounts that Progressive lacks.

The good news for shoppers is that both companies offer a variety of ways to save. But Progressive’s selection is wider.

Ease of doing business: Progressive

Progressive beats Allstate for ease of doing business. This includes tasks such as buying a policy, making a payment or filing a claim.

Progressive’s digital experience ranks sixth (out of 23 companies) for shopping and third for service (out of 18 companies) in the J.D. Power 2023 U.S. Insurance Digital Experience Study. Allstate lands farther down those lists, at 18th and 9th, respectively.

We also note that both companies offer extensive agent networks for those who prefer to buy car insurance in person rather than online. Allstate is represented by more than 10,000 agents who sell and service its products across every state. Progressive is sold through a larger network of more than 40,000 agents, all of whom are independent.

Which is cheaper: Progressive

‌Progressive sweeps Allstate in all pricing categories except those for teens. Progressive is significantly lower in some categories, including DUI (40% lower) and age 60 (35% lower). Note, however, that both companies are more expensive than the national average in most categories.

Note: These are annual costs. Source: USNews.com.

Methodology

We compared Allstate and Progressive across multiple areas, including policy coverages and discounts, customer purchase/service options and pricing. We relied solely on company websites to gather policy and service information. Our review does not account for discounts, policy features, or service options that a company does not actively promote through its website. Policy pricing information is from a recent study by U.S. News & World Report.We also looked at third-party rankings and reviews. These included expert insurance-industry ratings by J.D. Power, A.M. Best and Crash Network. We also checked consumer reviews posted to Trustpilot and each company's NPS score as tallied by Clearsurance.Web sources were accessed on Dec. 12-13, 2023.

We judged which company was better across a series of criteria and awarded points to each winner as follows:

Finally, we tallied the points to determine which company was better overall.

A note on pricing: We gathered policy pricing information from publicly available online sources, and shared it here for informational purposes only. Your policy price from these companies may vary dramatically from what is shown here.

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

Can I buy Allstate and Progressive online?

Yes, both Allstate and Progressive sell car insurance policies on their websites, along with their networks of local agents.

Do Allstate and Progressive offer discounts for bundling insurance?

Yes, both Allstate and Progressive offer a multi-policy discount for bundling car insurance with a homeowners or other insurance policy.

How do Allstate and Progressive compare to other auto insurance companies?

Allstate and Progressive are among the largest car insurance companies in the U.S. Both companies offer multiple coverage options and discounts, as you might expect from major insurers. Both also have high ratings from AM Best.