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

Bottom line: Progressive is a better choice for people who have recent car accidents on their driving record. Allstate is a better choice if you want to try pay-per-mile car insurance.

Progressive generally offers cheaper car insurance premiums than Allstate, especially for drivers with an accident history. Unless you choose a unique coverage option like Allstate's Milewise® pay-per-mile insurance (which Progressive doesn't offer), Allstate is not likely to be the lower-cost choice for most car insurance customers.

Progressive and Allstate both offer a wide range of auto insurance policies and coverage types. Here are the types of auto insurance that you can buy with Progressive vs. Allstate -- both car insurance companies provide policies for a wide range of vehicles, lifestyles, and situations:

Whether you want basic liability insurance or comprehensive coverage for the worst-case scenarios of owning a car, Progressive and Allstate both can cover your auto insurance needs. Here are a few types of auto insurance coverages you can choose from with Progressive vs. Allstate:

Both Allstate and Progressive offer the standard coverages that you'd expect from any of the best insurance companies. But Progressive offers two unique types of auto insurance coverages that Allstate doesn't have:

• Pet injury coverage of up to $1,000 for your pet's veterinary bills in case your pet is injured in a car crash
• Custom value parts and equipment coverage for special modifications you've made to your vehicle (up to $5,000)

Most car insurance companies offer a standard set of optional discounts, such as bundling home and auto, or safe driver discounts. But Progressive and Allstate have some unique discounts that not every insurance company will provide.

Let's look at the auto insurance discounts available from Progressive vs. Allstate.

Deciding between Progressive vs. Allstate gets more interesting when you look at each company's special discounts. These car insurance companies have some creative options for how to save money on auto insurance premiums. A few highlights:

• Allstate offers pay-per-mile car insurance, while Progressive does not.
• Allstate offers new car discounts and bonus discounts for cars with advanced safety features like anti-lock brakes and anti-theft devices; Progressive does not.
• Progressive offers long-term loyalty discounts and discounts for homeowners (even if you don't have your homeowners insurance through Progressive).
• Both Progressive and Allstate have "telematics insurance" where you can earn rewards for safer driving by agreeing to share your driving data. But neither ranks on our list of car insurance companies with the best discounts for safe drivers.
• Progressive offers a "name your price" tool where you can decide how much you want to pay, and then find auto insurance that fits your budget.

Getting into car crashes is stressful and expensive, but having the help of the best car insurance companies can make the process easier. Progressive and Allstate did not rank among the top five car insurance companies in the 2023 J.D. Power U.S. Auto Claims Satisfaction Study. Allstate ranked 8th, and Progressive ranked 19th.

This doesn't mean that either company is not "good" at managing auto insurance claims. But if it's important to you to get the highest level of support and efficient processing of your car repairs and claims, you might want to carefully read customer reviews or consider other car insurance companies.

Progressive and Allstate both offer several options to buy car insurance and get customer support. Both companies let you get car insurance price quotes online or by phone, or you can work with local agents near you.

Allstate has its own national network of insurance agents that sell Allstate car insurance and other Allstate insurance policies, while Progressive works with 40,000 independent insurance agents and brokers nationwide.

Unfortunately, neither Allstate or Progressive is ranked highly for customer satisfaction. According to the 2023 J.D. Power U.S. Auto Insurance Study, these two car insurance companies did not rank as the best company for customer satisfaction in any region of the U.S. -- although Allstate got 2nd place in Florida and 4th place in New England. However, Progressive's Snapshot telematics insurance tied for first place for the best "usage based insurance", along with Geico and State Farm.

If you're choosing between Progressive vs. Allstate car insurance, based on The Motley Fool Ascent's research, Progressive is likely to offer lower-cost premiums for most drivers. But depending on the special circumstances of your vehicle and your overall lifestyle as a driver, Allstate could offer some discounts that are worth a look.

For example, if you're a homeowner who recently had a car accident, Progressive's insurance rates might be lower for you than what Allstate would offer. But if you have a new vehicle with an anti-theft device, and you don't drive many miles per month, Allstate's pay-per-mile insurance might give you a better package of discounts.