USAA vs. Progressive Review: Cost and Coverage (2024) (2024)

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Based on our methodology, our team has USAA rated higher overall than Progressive. USAA scores 9.2 out of 10.0 while Progressive scores 9.0 out of 10.0. Both companies score very well in the coverage, cost and customer experience categories, with USAA having an edge in all three.

However, even though it scored lower overall, Progressive is more accessible. USAA is only available for military members and their immediate families, while Progressive is available to all.

Progressive and USAA are two large players in the car insurance industry, and they have strong reputations because of that. Both companies have great financial strength scores from AM Best, with USAA receiving a perfect A++ and Progressive receiving an A+. Progressive scores an A from the Better Business Bureau (BBB), but USAA is currently not rated by the organization.

In the J.D. Power 2023 U.S. Auto Claims Satisfaction Study℠, even though USAA wasn’t counted because it didn’t meet certain criteria, it still scored in the top five insurers for its claims service. The same cannot be said for Progressive, which scored far below the industry average — underneath 15 other insurers.

Our review team reached out to USAA and Progressive for a comment on their scores but did not receive a response.

Compare Progressive and USAA Insurance

Below you’ll find a quick side-by-side comparison on customer and industry reputations for both USAA and Progressive.

Progressive: Highlights

Here are a few quick highlights for Progressive car insurance:

• Wide selection of coverage options and opportunities to save on premiums
• Highly rated mobile app on the App Store and Google Play
• A+ financial strength rating from AM Best
• Name Your Price Tool^® allows you to find the right coverage for your budget

Read more in our Progressive insurance review.

USAA: Highlights

Here are some quick highlights for USAA car insurance:

• Excellent customer service scores on J.D. Power surveys and consumer studies
• Low rates for military members and their families
• A++ financial strength rating from AM Best
• Usage-based insurance program (USAA SafePilot^®)

Read more in our USAA insurance review.

Source: Automoblog

If you need full coverage, USAA or Progressive can help with that. Both companies score impressively in our coverage section, each offering the six standard types of car insurance:

• Liability car insurance: Liability insurance is required in most states and covers the bodily injuries and property damages to other parties from an accident that you’re found at fault for. This coverage doesn’t apply to your injuries or car damages.
• Collision insurance: Collision coverage takes care of repair costs for your vehicle after a car accident, regardless of who’s at fault.
• Comprehensive insurance: Comprehensive pays for vehicle damages that aren’t related to car accidents, such as from animals, falling objects, fire, floods or other natural disasters. This also pays to replace a stolen or vandalized vehicle.
• Medical payments coverage (MedPay): MedPay will cover the medical expenses of you and your passengers after a crash, but it won’t cover lost wages.
• Personal injury protection (PIP): PIP pays for medical expenses for yourself and your passengers, but will also cover lost wages. This type of insurance isn’t required in all states.
• Underinsured/uninsured motorist coverage (UIM/UM): UIM/UM covers you if you get into an accident with a driver who has little or no car insurance.

We recommend that every driver gets a full-coverage insurance policy to protect themselves, their vehicle and others on the road. However, many drivers only carry the minimum coverage required by their state.

In our 2022 survey that polled 1,000 car insurance customers, we found that about 23% of drivers carry minimum coverage and about 67% carry full coverage. Of those who have full-coverage policies, about 46% have high limits and 55% have low limits.

Additional Car Insurance Coverage Options: USAA and Progressive

On top of the standard car coverage options, USAA and Progressive offer alternative coverages that can be added onto your plan. You can find these add-on insurance products in the table below.

*Both USAA and Progressive offer classic car coverage through separate companies: American Collectors Insurance (USAA) and Hagerty (Progressive).

USAA and Progressive: Usage-Based Insurance Comparison

When you look for car insurance coverage, telematics insurance can be a great way to save money on your premiums. Both Progressive and USAA have usage-based insurance that utilize telematics to give you a safe-driving score. High scores can get you discounts on premiums. In the table below, you can compare each program and see if it’s right for you.

Both USAA SafePilot and Progressive Snapshot can be huge perks if you’re a safe driver or if you don’t drive often. Each program tracks similar driving behaviors, but they don’t take into account your overall driving history — only your driving habits during the tracking period.

However, both SafePilot and Snapshot have their drawbacks. If you do drive unsafely, Progressive can raise your rates through Snapshot. Some customers have also complained that SafePilot is not the most user-friendly experience, especially when it comes to tracking phone use.

USAA has the lowest average full-coverage rates of the major auto insurance companies at $1,512 per year, but this provider isn’t available to everyone. Both Progressive and USAA are below the national average of $2,008 when it comes to annual car insurance premiums.

USAA vs. Progressive: Auto Insurance Quote Averages

In the table below, you can compare the annual and monthly averages for full coverage from USAA and Progressive.

Your premium will vary based on several factors, including your:

• Driving history: If your driving record has multiple speeding tickets, any DUIs or other serious traffic violations on it, your rates will be significantly higher.
• Age: If you’re under the age of 25, you’ll get higher rates from insurers because you have less experience behind the wheel and a higher chance of getting into a car accident.
• Marital status: If you’re married, you’ll pay lower rates than a single driver.
• Location: If you live in a densely-populated area with high rates of theft or car accidents, you’ll pay higher rates.
• Vehicle: Luxury vehicles, sports cars and vehicles that would cost more to repair get higher insurance rates.
• Credit score: If you have a poor credit history, expect to pay higher rates in some states.

USAA vs. Progressive: Discounts

Both USAA and Progressive offer a wide variety of opportunities to get discounts on your car insurance rates, which may make Progressive a more affordable option for some. In the table below, you’ll find a summary of the car insurance discounts that each company offers.

Progressive has some additional money-saving features on top of the discounts above. These include a deductible savings bank where you can get $50 subtracted from your collision and comprehensive deductibles for every policy period without an accident or violation. However, this requires an additional fee to opt-in.

Progressive also offers small accident forgiveness and large accident forgiveness for at-fault accidents. With small accident forgiveness, the company won’t raise your rates after the first claim if it’s at or below $500. If you have a Progressive policy for five years and stay accident-free for three, your rates will not increase with large accident forgiveness, even if the claim exceeds $500.

USAA vs. Progressive: Bundling Options

Bundling home and auto insurance policies is another way to save money with both USAA and Progressive, on top of the other discounts each company offers. When you bundle with USAA or Progressive, you can combine homeowners or renters insurance with your auto insurance to save money.

Bundling your insurance coverage saves you money, helps eliminate the hassle of you paying separate policies and gives you flexibility when your insurance needs changes.

While Progressive has good mobile app ratings and J.D. Power scores, it has a higher number of BBB complaints with over 4,900 in the last three years compared to USAA’s over 3,700. But according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), Progressive is the third largest insurance company, with over $35 billion in car insurance premiums written in 2021.

Our review team reached out to Progressive for a comment on their BBB complaints but did not receive a response.

USAA is the fifth largest car insurance company, with just over $15 billion in premiums written in 2021. The difference in size could be one reason why Progressive’s complaint total is so much higher.

Progressive vs. USAA: Consumer Surveys

On top of the available customer experience information, our team did its own research to gauge customer satisfaction for car insurance. We surveyed about 7,000 policyholders in 2022, and overall, USAA scored a bit higher, but Progressive was within 0.2 points in every category.

In the table below, you can see how both companies scored out of 5.0 points each across categories in our survey.

When asked how likely they would be willing to recommend their insurance provider, customers gave Progressive a 7.5 out of 10.0, while USAA scored a 7.8.

Our team chooses USAA auto insurance as an overall better choice than Progressive. However, USAA is only available if you’re active military, a veteran or the spouse or child of one. If you do qualify, the company is an affordable option with great coverage and customer service.

Progressive is also a company that is worth looking into for a car insurance policy, especially if you can’t qualify for USAA. In fact, if you’re a teen driver, a driver over 50 or someone with a DUI on their record, Progressive may even be cheaper than USAA. We recommend getting a quote from each company to find the best insurance coverage for you.

USAA and Progressive: Top Alternative Picks for Car Insurance

Both USAA and Progressive are great options for car insurance coverage, but it’s always a smart choice to take a look at multiple companies to get the best price and coverage that fits your insurance needs. We recommend State Farm and Nationwide as two additional companies to take a look at.

State Farm: Best Customer Experience

State Farm has some of the best rates for young drivers. It also features a strong selection of car insurance coverages that fit your insurance needs. On top of great discount opportunities for students and young drivers, State Farm has a usage-based insurance plan called ™ to help you save on premiums.

Read more: State Farm insurance review

Nationwide: Best for Usage-Based Insurance

Nationwide offers some of the most affordable rates on average for most drivers alongside multiple discounts to save money, including a usage-based program calledSmartRide^®. Drivers can save up to 40% with Nationwide for maintaining safe driving habits.

Keep reading:Nationwide insurance review

Because consumers rely on us to provide objective and accurate information, we created a comprehensive rating system to formulate our rankings of the best car insurance companies. We collected data on dozens of auto insurance providers to grade the companies on a wide range of ranking factors. The end result was an overall rating for each provider, with the insurers that scored the most points topping the list.

Here are the factors our ratings take into account:

• Cost: Auto insurance rate estimates generated by Quadrant Information Services and discount opportunities were both taken into consideration.
• Coverage: Companies that offer a variety of choices for insurance coverage are more likely to meet consumer needs.
• Reputation and experience: Our research team considered market share, ratings from industry experts and years in business when giving this score.
• Availability: Auto insurance companies with greater state availability and few eligibility requirements scored highest in this category.
• Customer experience: This score is based on volume of complaints reported by the NAIC and customer satisfaction ratings reported by J.D. Power. We also considered the responsiveness, friendliness and helpfulness of each insurance company’s customer service team based on our own shopper analysis.

Our credentials:

• 800 hours researched
• 45 companies reviewed
• 8,500+ consumers surveyed

*Data accurate at time of publication.