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Progressive vs. Geico Car Insurance: Which Is Better for You?

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Geico vs. Progressive car insurance breakdown

Geico

  • Cheaper liability-only rates
  • Cheaper for teen drivers
  • More discounts
  • Better customer ratings

Progressive

  • Cheaper full coverage rates
  • Cheaper rates after a ticket, accident or DUI
  • Cheaper for drivers with poor credit
  • More add-on coverage options

Progressive vs. Geico: Which is better for car insurance?

Geico and Progressive are both established car insurance companies that offer many different types of policies nationwide.

  • Geico is the better company for most drivers because of its generally low rates and higher potential savings with discounts. Geico also scores slightly better with customers than Progressive does, based on their ratings from J.D. Power and the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC).
  • Progressive, meanwhile, may be the better car insurance company for you if you’ve been in an accident or have a DUI (driving under the influence) conviction. It’s also better for people who want to customize their policies with add-on coverages.
Geico LendingTree score: 3.5Progressive LendingTree score: 4
Cost: 3
Customer service: 4
Coverage: 3
Discounts: 5
Financial strength: 5
Usability: 5
Cost: 3
Customer service: 4
Coverage: 5
Discounts: 5
Financial strength: 4
Usability: 5

Is Geico cheaper than Progressive?

Geico is cheaper than Progressive for good adult drivers who only want liability coverage. It’s also cheaper for teens. But Progressive is cheaper than Geico for drivers with bad credit or incidents on their records.

Cheapest liability and full coverage car insurance quotes: Tie

Geico is cheaper than Progressive for liability car insurance, but Progressive is cheaper than Geico for full coverage insurance.

Geico’s average rate for liability car insurance is $65 a month. This is 6% less than Progressive’s average rate of $69 a month.

For full coverage car insurance, Progressive’s average rate is $160 a month. This is 8% less than Geico’s rate of $173 a month.

Geico vs. Progressive: Liability and full coverage car insurance

CompanyLiability monthly rateFull coverage monthly rate
Geico$65 $173
Progressive$69 $160
U.S. average$68 $177

Cheapest quotes for a bad driving record: Progressive

Progressive also has cheaper car insurance than Geico for drivers with a ticket, accident or DUI on their records.

Progressive vs. Geico: Car insurance with tickets, accidents or DUIs

CompanyTicket monthly rateAccident monthly rateDUI monthly rate
Progressive$213 $238 $208
Geico$233 $296 $404
U.S. average$219 $263 $329

Cheapest quotes for drivers with bad credit: Progressive

Most drivers with bad credit get slightly cheaper auto insurance quotes from Progressive than from Geico.

Progressive’s rates for drivers with bad credit average $271 a month for full coverage. This is 4% less than Geico’s rate of $282 a month for bad credit car insurance.

Considering how close the two companies are in cost, Geico could be cheaper for you if you can get a few of its many discounts.

Geico vs. Progressive: Car insurance with bad credit

CompanyBad credit monthly rate
Progressive$271
Geico$282
U.S. average$345

Cheapest quotes for teens: Geico

If you’re looking for the most affordable teen car insurance, get a quote from Geico before trying Progressive.

Geico is much cheaper than Progressive for teen drivers. For example, Geico charges the average 18-year-old $181 a month for liability insurance. This is 25% less than Progressive’s rate of $241 a month.

For full coverage, Geico’s average rate for 18-year-olds is 26% less than Progressive’s.

Progressive vs. Geico: Teen car insurance

CompanyLiability monthly rateFull coverage monthly rate
Geico$181$444
Progressive$241$601
U.S. average$208$497

A great way to get the cheapest teen car insurance possible is to look for discounts. Both Geico and Progressive offer these common teen car insurance discounts:

  • Good student
  • Distant student/student away at school

Geico also has a discount for young drivers who complete a driver’s education course, while Progressive may give you a discount for simply adding a teen driver to your policy.

Geico vs. Progressive: Ratings and reviews

Geico scores slightly better with customers than Progressive does, based on ratings from J.D. Power and the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC).

Geico beats the industry average for overall customer satisfaction , and it’s just below average for claims satisfaction . Progressive’s J.D. Power scores are worse in both areas.

The NAIC rates companies based on confirmed customer complaints, which are complaints that lead to a finding of fault. Although Progressive’s NAIC rating is better than Geico’s, both companies have fewer confirmed complaints than expected for their size.

Geico vs. Progressive: Customer ratings

RatingGeicoProgressiveIndustry average
Overall satisfaction 645621640
Claims satisfaction 697673700
Complaint rating 0.750.611.0

Progressive vs. Geico: Best car insurance coverage

Progressive has a variety of optional coverages, some of which are uncommon. Progressive’s custom parts and equipment value coverage helps to repair or replace custom parts and equipment, usually up to $5,000.

Progressive also offers vehicle protection coverage, which protects a newer car’s major systems if damaged during a nonaccident incident. This coverage also covers minor dents, as well as lost, stolen or damaged keys.

While Geico offers all the standard car insurance coverages you would expect, it only has a few optional coverages. Roadside assistance and mechanical breakdown insurance are two examples.

Car insurance coverage offered by Geico and Progressive

Coverage typeGeicoProgressive
Custom parts and equipment
Loan/lease payoff
Mechanical breakdown
Pet injury
Rental car reimbursement
Rideshare
Roadside assistance
Trip interruption
Vehicle protection

Geico vs. Progressive: Best car insurance discounts

Geico offers quite a few more discounts than Progressive. Many are easy to get, too, such as discounts for how you shop and pay for your policy. Geico also has several discounts for vehicle safety features and systems.

Progressive offers some of these same car insurance discounts, as well as a few Geico doesn’t have. This includes discounts for signing documents online and for being continuously insured by another company before you switched to Progressive.

Car insurance discounts offered by Geico and Progressive

DiscountGeicoProgressive
Anti-lock brakes
Anti-theft system
Automatic payment
Away at school
Clean driving record
Continuous insurance
Daytime running lights
Defensive driving
Driver training
Early shopper
Federal employee
Good/safe driver
Good student
Homeowner
Membership and employee
Military
Multi-policy
Multi-vehicle
New car
Online quote
Paperless
Pay in full
Restraint device
Sign online
Teen driver

Methodology

LendingTree uses insurance rate data from Quadrant Information Services using publicly sourced insurance company filings. Rates are based on an analysis of hundreds of thousands of car insurance quotes for a typical driver. Prices are shown for comparative purposes only. Your own rates may be different.

Driver profile

Unless noted otherwise, quotes are for a full-coverage policy for a 30-year-old man with good credit and a clean driving record who drives a 2018 Honda CR-V EX.

Coverage limits

Minimum-liability policies provide liability coverage with the state’s required minimum limits.

Full-coverage policies include collision, comprehensive and liability coverage:

  • Bodily injury liability: $50,000 per person, $100,000 per accident
  • Property damage liability: $50,000
  • Uninsured / underinsured motorist bodily injury: $50,000 per person and $100,000 per accident
  • Uninsured / underinsured motorist property damage: $10,000 ($150 deductible)
  • Collision: $500 deductible
  • Comprehensive: $500 deductible

How we evaluated car insurance companies

Our team of insurance experts rated insurance companies based on several categories. These categories include average rates, discounts, coverage options, third-party customer service ratings and app/website experience. We weighted these categories based on what customers value in an insurance company.

For third-party customer service ratings, we included Complaint Index scores from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) and financial strength ratings from A.M. Best. NAIC Complaint Index scores are used to determine how satisfied customers are with their claims, while financial strength ratings from A.M. Best reflect the ability to pay out claims.