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

Bottom line: Progressive is a better choice for people who want cheap car insurance premiums. Liberty Mutual is a better choice if you're a teacher, a member of the military, or if you want to get creative about customizing your car insurance policy.

Based on The Motley Fool Ascent's research data for several common driver ages and situations, Progressive generally offers cheaper car insurance premiums than Liberty Mutual. Although Liberty Mutual is competitively priced for drivers with an accident history, Progressive is likely to be the lower-cost car insurance option for most people.

Progressive and Liberty Mutual offer a similar variety of standard auto insurance policies and coverages. If you're trying to choose between Progressive vs. Liberty Mutual, either car insurance company is likely to have the policy that you need:

These insurance companies have a few unique differences in the policies they offer. Liberty Mutual has a special auto insurance policy designed for teachers, while Progressive sells rideshare insurance directly to customers who need extra insurance coverage while working side hustles as food delivery or rideshare drivers.

Like most insurance companies, Progressive and Liberty Mutual both offer a full range of standard auto insurance coverages, from low-cost liability to higher levels of collision and comprehensive protection. Each company has a few special, creative coverage options you can choose, too.

Here's a quick head-to-head breakdown of Progressive vs. Liberty Mutual to see which auto insurance coverages you can get with each company:

Most car insurance companies offer typical coverages like liability, collision, and comprehensive. But choosing between Progressive vs. Liberty Mutual is a bit more interesting, because these companies offer a few unique coverages:

• If your pet is injured in a car crash, Progressive offers pet injury coverage of up to $1,000 for veterinary bills.
• Do you have a restored, remodeled, or souped-up vehicle with special parts or modifications? Progressive offers custom value parts and equipment coverage for up to $5,000.
• If your car gets totaled, Liberty Mutual will replace it with a better car, or a brand-new car (depending on the age/mileage of your totaled vehicle).

There are a few common strategies for getting discounts on car insurance, such as bundling home and auto insurance, or getting discounts for being a safe driver. But Progressive and Liberty Mutual raise the game on discounts by getting creative.

Here's a quick comparison of auto insurance discounts from Progressive vs. Liberty Mutual:

The choice of Progressive vs. Liberty Mutual might come down to which coverages and discounts are most helpful for your personal finances and driving style. Both car insurance companies get creative in helping you customize your auto insurance policy with discounts:

• Liberty Mutual offers discounts for military service members (active, reserve, and retired), and for people who sign up early for a new Liberty Mutual policy (before your current policy expires).
• Progressive gives special discounts to long-time loyal customers.
• Both Progressive and Liberty Mutual reward safer driving with usage-based insurance (UBI), a.k.a. "telematics" insurance. Sign up to share your driving data, and you can earn discounts based on your driving skills and decision-making at the wheel.
• Progressive offers a "name your price" tool where you start by naming your preferred premium price, and then see how much insurance coverage will fit within that budget.
• Liberty Mutual has a Coverage Customizer tool where you can get personalized recommendations to get just the right auto insurance policy with all the best discounts you deserve.

Getting discounts on car insurance feels good, and funny car insurance TV ad mascots can be endearing, but what most people really want from their car insurance company is reliable help in the moments when they need it most. Unfortunately, Progressive and Liberty Mutual do not rank highly for customer satisfaction when filing claims.

According to the 2023 J.D. Power U.S. Auto Claims Satisfaction Study, Progressive ranked 19th, and Liberty Mutual ranked 20th (out of 25 insurance companies). This doesn't mean you shouldn't consider buying car insurance from Progressive or Liberty Mutual. But be aware that other companies have scored significantly higher for how happy their customers feel about the claims experience.

Progressive and Liberty Mutual both offer flexible, convenient ways to buy auto insurance and get customer service. Both companies offer car insurance price quotes online or by phone, or you can work with local agents near you.

Progressive insurance can be purchased through 40,000 independent insurance agents and brokers nationwide, or directly from Progressive by phone or via the Progressive website. Liberty Mutual offers quotes online or by phone, and also sells its auto insurance through its company-owned network of Comparison Insurance agencies. Both Progressive and Liberty Mutual offer discounts for buying car insurance online.

Unfortunately, Progressive and Liberty Mutual do not get top marks for customer satisfaction. The 2023 J.D. Power U.S. Auto Insurance Study found that, out of all the regions of the U.S., Liberty Mutual and Progressive did not get top rankings in any region. In fact, the two companies usually scored below the regional averages. Clearly there is room for improvement here.

One bright spot for customer satisfaction from the J.D. Power U.S. Auto Insurance Study, is that Progressive and Liberty Mutual customers seem pretty happy with their telematics insurance programs that reward safer driving for customers who agree to share driving data. Progressive's Snapshot telematics insurance won a three-way tie for first place with Geico and State Farm for best "usage-based insurance" (UBI). Liberty Mutual got second place for its RightTrack telematics insurance.

Based on The Motley Fool Ascent's data for average premiums, Progressive is likely to be a cheaper car insurance option than Liberty Mutual for most drivers. But Liberty Mutual has competitive pricing, especially if you find the right discounts or customize your policy for the right levels of coverage.

If you're willing to share some driving data with your car insurance company, Progressive and Liberty Mutual got high marks from J.D. Power for their Snapshot and RightTrack programs that reward safer drivers.