GEICO vs. Progressive Auto Insurance

Many factors contribute to the average cost of auto insurance, such as your financial history, vehicle age and accident history. Overall, GEICO’s average prices are cheaper than Progressive’s, with starting rates as low as $667 per year.

Both GEICO and Progressive have strong third-party ratings in customer service and financial strength, although GEICO beats Progressive with slightly higher ratings except for its National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) Complaint Index score.

Both GEICO and Progressive are widely accessible and available in all 50 states. GEICO has more than 300 agent locations, with an average of six locations in every state. Florida and Texas have the highest number of locations at 36 and 37, respectively. Progressive has over 35,000 independent agents and insurance brokers across the country, which means you’ll be able to find a representative in your area to navigate the policy search and buying process.

As two of the largest providers in the industry, both GEICO and Progressive offer full coverage auto insurance policies. Even if your state doesn’t require many coverages, it’s still a good idea to invest in coverages beyond your state’s minimum coverage requirements. Therefore, we appreciate the wide range of optional yet protective policies that both companies offer.

Both Progressive and GEICO’s average annual costs are slightly higher than the average auto insurance cost of $1,070. GEICO offers cheaper rates overall, however, with an average price of $1,194, which breaks down to about $99 a month. In comparison, a plan with Progressive will cost you about $1,508 a year, or $125 monthly. However, both companies provide generous discounts that cater to many different situations.

Discounts

GEICO is known for its discount opportunities for military members and federal employees while Progressive does not offer savings for these groups. However, both companies offer a wide variety of discounts that may apply to you.

GEICO and Progressive both have mobile apps that allow customers to access policy information, digital ID cards, claim filing and roadside assistance on the go. Here’s a breakdown of each app:

DriveEasy is a telematics-based program that you can access through GEICO’s mobile app. It uses your phone’s GPS location to track your driving data and calculate your “driving score” based on your safe habits behind the wheel. The higher your score, the more money you’ll save on your car insurance. Your driving score is based on safe driving behaviors like how you accelerate and brake and on distracted driving behaviors, including handheld phone calls and phone use while driving over six miles per hour.¹

Progressive also offers a telematics-based driving program, Snapshot. Unlike another usage-based insurance program that measures mileage only, Snapshot allows customers to save on their insurance by driving safer. With Snapshot, you can use either the Snapshot mobile app or a plug-in device that tracks your mileage and certain driving behaviors. Such behaviors include:

Since GEICO and Progressive offer other types of insurance in addition to auto, you can bundle different policies to earn extra savings. Explore the available insurance services that each company offers below to see if adding any other policies would help you save in the long run.

We refer to various trusted third-party organizations to compare GEICO and Progressive. Specifically, the BBB and JD Power provide ratings on customer service and satisfaction, whereas AM Best, Standards & Poor’s (S&P) and the NAIC are financial strength organizations.

GEICO and Progressive each have very low BBB customer ratings, which is unfortunately typical for most insurance companies and indicates a high number of unresolved complaints. However, both providers have a 100 percent response rate to complaints.

GEICO rates slightly higher than Progressive in both customer satisfaction and financial strength as a company. However, GEICO’s NAIC Complaint Index score of 1.7 is higher than both the average of 1 and Progressive’s score of .06. This means that GEICO receives a higher number of complaints than other companies in the industry.

We aim to provide the most accurate and up-to-date information about insurance providers to help you choose the company and policy that’s right for you. We do this by examining three main areas:

• Proprietary data: For over 20 years, we have collected extensive data on insurance providers and which customers they want to cover. We find the companies that work the best with certain groups, like military veterans or college students.
• Company information: We conduct research about each auto insurance provider and its products and services. This includes details surrounding what insurance plans and coverages each provider offers, along with average pricing information and available discounts. We also refer to trusted third-party ratings like AM Best, the BBB and J.D. Power to determine the financial strength and customer satisfaction of each company.
• Institutional knowledge: Our experience covering the auto insurance industry has provided us with abundant information about the strengths and weaknesses of each company. We use our knowledge, along with the knowledge of experts in the industry like our parent company’s president of insurance, Paul Ford, to match customers with the best policies.