Coverage, Rates, Availability, and More

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Since its founding in 1936 by a pair of Cleveland lawyers selling car insurance, Progressive has exploded into a Fortune 500 company turned leading consumer brand. Operating primarily online, Progressive offers 24/7 customer service, instant quotes, and the option to purchase policies from the comfort of your home.

While it’s arguably best known for auto insurance, Progressive Homeowners Insurance started offering homeowners insurance through ASI (American Strategic Insurance) in 2014. In addition, the online giant recently moved towards working more closely with insurance agents to fill a perceived hole.

In short, some customers want the support of an agent when choosing the best homeowners insurance companies to meet their needs. Brokers who work with Progressive can quote auto, home, and other policies with bundling and other discounts.

Types of Homeowners Insurance Plans from Progressive

Disasters can occur at any time. From household accidents to extreme weather, ensuring full coverage and generous liability limits is crucial. Progressive offers the policies you might expect for single-family residences and condos. It also sells renters and other residential insurance policies. Progressive provides standard coverage based on your property’s estimated replacement cost.

You might see the following coverage types on your Progressive homeowners insurance quote:

Dwelling

Every homeowner’s insurance policy includes dwelling coverage (Coverage A). It covers your physical home, attached garage, and other structures integral to the dwelling, from chimneys and decks to kitchen countertops and built-in cabinets and/or vanities.

Generally speaking, a policy’s dwelling coverage will pay for the costs associated with repairing, rebuilding, or replacing your home in the event of a loss due to covered perils from fires and falling objects to theft, vandalism, and some weather-related incidents. However, if you’re buying a condo policy, you’ll need a copy of your condo association’s master policy.

Some policies cover “walls-in” with improvements, meaning you don’t need a condo policy unless you want other coverages. If it has “walls-in as originally built,” coverage A could be $20,000 to fulfill conventional mortgage lender requirements. Dwelling coverage is based on the estimated cost of rebuilding your home after a total loss.

NOTE: Standard policies typically do not protect against floods, earthquakes, or other specific natural disasters. Mortgage holders may be required to carry other regional coverages.

Other Structures

True to its name, this coverage applies to any free-standing structure, from garages and gazebos to patios and pergolas, standing separate from your primary dwelling. For example, this coverage will kick in if a tree falls and crushes your gardening shed. Generally speaking, other structures coverage (Coverage B) is typically set at 10{a652ac39cb023ff8fd1cc85f4393f5b1bb70bf2f880b7bee35f712e4bd8633f7} of Coverage A, dwelling coverage.

Again, this would not be included in condo policies as a condo would not have additional structures.

Personal Property

Often called contents coverage, this provision (Coverage C) helps cover the cost of replacing personal property, from clothing and furniture to electronics and appliances, in the event of damage, destruction, theft, or other covered events.

Personal property coverage comes with two types of settlement: replacement cost value (the cost of replacing stolen or damaged items) or actual cash value cost (the cost to replace your damaged items minus depreciation). Items of worth, like jewelry, fine art, or other collectibles, must be covered under a separate “schedule” or additional rider.

Don’t underestimate the value of your personal property. You might not have designer jewelry or other high-value items (which would require additional coverage via riders). But everything from your couches to your clothes and kitchen appliances adds up quicker than you may realize.

Loss of Use

If your home is not inhabitable following a covered loss, loss of use coverage (Coverage D) pays for living expenses. This could include hotel rooms, restaurant meals, laundry services, parking, and storage units, to name a few things.

Coverage is based upon a percentage of your dwelling coverage, designed to help you find other accommodations as you still have to pay your original mortgage.

Personal Liability

This coverage, often called personal liability insurance (Coverage E), provides financial protection if someone is injured at your home. It is a standard inclusion on a homeowners policy. When choosing your limits, you must disclose liabilities, including swimming pools and trampolines.

Many insurance companies also ask about dogs, particularly those with a history of aggression. Progressive’s marketing team has written about dog liability, but the pages we read did not specify Progressive’s policy on certain breeds.

A licensed insurance agent can advise you on how much liability coverage you want. However, you should consider higher limits if you run a business or have other regular traffic outside your family.

Note: Disclosure is critical when it comes to liability. For example, if a Progressive agent asks you if you have a trampoline or pool and you say no, it could lead the company to deny any claim associated with the non-disclosure.

Additional Coverage Options

Flood Insurance

For homeowners in areas at high risk of floods, flood insurance provides additional protection (plus peace of mind) should rising waters damage your home and/or property. Flood insurance covers damage to your dwelling and foundation as well as attached and detached structures, personal property, and debris removal.

Generally, an insurance agent can check your flood zone to determine if you need it. It’s issued by the NFIP, primarily for natural disasters. All policies are underwritten and backed by the NFIP (National Flood Insurance Program). So Progressive will service claims, but the prices should be identical to any other carrier for the same property.

Water Backup

Damage from unnatural water sources, like a backup or overflow from a sewer line or sump pump, can be costly and inconvenient. This additional option provides coverage if your home’s physical structure and/or personal belongings are damaged or destroyed by a plumbing issue. This should not be confused with flood insurance, which generally costs a small amount per renewal period.

Personal Injury

This additional coverage pays for legal fees and damages stemming from extreme and uncommon (often legal) situations like a lawsuit, malicious prosecution, wrongful eviction/entry, or false arrest, to name just a few.

Scheduled Items

Special possessions with a high value may not be fully covered under your personal property coverage. Typical examples include jewelry, artwork, and other high-value collectibles. Therefore, an appraisal may be required for some items. In general, this is an affordable option based on the value of the specific item and the cost to replace it.

Computer Coverage

Like scheduled items coverage, computer coverage offers additional specialized coverage for computers and related equipment like monitors, docking stations, etc. This rider is ideal for remote workers, serious gamers, and others with specialized computer equipment.

How Much Does Progressive Homeowners Insurance Cost?

Progressive Homeowners Insurance offers competitive rates for homeowners insurance. Cost depends on a handful of factors, including location, the age and condition of your home, coverage limits, and claims history. Progressive is a flexible carrier, offering coverage for various homes. However, it won’t cover high-risk properties like beachfront properties, homes in certain fire zones, etc. If your home is older, you should also be prepared to document any recent roof and plumbing upgrades.

According to its website, the average cost of a 12-month policy with Progressive for $350,000 in dwelling coverage ranges from $999-$1655, a figure that works out to between $83-$138 per month on average (depending on where you live).

Progressive’s formula breaks your home’s location into low, medium, and high-cost states. In Massachusetts, for instance, the average monthly price for homeowners insurance is $101 (or $1213 per year). So as a medium-cost state, a homeowners policy in Massachusetts would be close to the mean cost across the country.

Homeowners insurance from Progressive or its partner ASI is available in all 50 states. However, the average costs vary by state. States like Florida may face more significant risks of loss. Average rates reflect this risk.

Progressive continues to lead the way in affordable homeowners insurance. In 2017, the company launched HomeQuote ExplorerⓇ, a platform boasting side-by-side comparison of home insurance rates and coverage in fewer than two minutes from multiple companies.

In addition, Progressive has made calculating coverage limits for homeowners insurance quick and easy. Remember, insurance quotes are based on the specifics of your home. Bottom line: the goal is to estimate how much it would cost to rebuild your home in case of a complete or partial loss. This price, calculated by a “replacement cost estimator,” is not the same as your home’s fair market value (used when buying or selling an existing structure).

How to File A Claim

If your home is damaged, you must initiate the claims process immediately. The sooner you file a claim, the sooner you can get paid. More importantly, homeowners insurance does not cover negligence. So, for example, if you experienced a loss due to water backup, waiting could lead to the buildup of mold, which is one of the most common signs of neglect used by insurance companies.

After locating your policy number, call Progressive directly at 1-800-776-4737. A customer service representative will connect you with an expert who can explain the details of your coverage and how a deductible will apply.

Be prepared to take photos, collect receipts (for damaged personal belongings), and schedule a home inspection with a certified insurance adjuster. All of this information will allow your insurer to complete an estimate of anticipated repair costs and your out-of-pocket expenses.

Once you receive a check for the covered portion of your loss, you can start repairs using your chosen experts. Companies in your area may be willing to start working on repairs while your claim is being processed. However, if more damage is discovered during the repair process, contact your insurer immediately, as you may be entitled to additional compensation.

Throughout the claims process, remain in close contact with your claims representative (who will be appointed by the insurer), who will remain available to answer your questions when they arise.

Progressive Homeowners Insurance FAQs

Methodology: How We Reviewed Progressive Homeowners Insurance

We consider JD Power and AM Best rankings, customer reviews, policies offered, average premiums, claims process, and more. All of this is detailed in our insurance rating methodology.

Customer experiences after claims receive careful attention. Each company’s financial stability points to how well it manages the difference between premium costs coming in and claims paid out. More importantly, it indicates if the company can fulfill future financial obligations, like paying your claims.

Compare Progressive vs. Liberty Mutual

Liberty Mutual Homeowners Insurance maintains reasonable customer satisfaction despite JD Power’s Home Insurance Study assigning below-average ratings. In addition, it offers a variety of discounts for homeowners, including price breaks for new homes and online bill pay. More importantly, Liberty Mutual customers can file and monitor claims online for its many insurance products.

Unsurprisingly, Liberty Mutual customers like Namusisi of Tomkins Cove, New York, called the claims process “very streamlined” on ConsumerAffairs.

Liberty Mutual and Progressive offer online and insurance agent-based quoting (and the associated customer service and support. However, Progressive may offer lower prices. Liberty Mutual sells through both in-house and independent agents. So if you quote with a Liberty Mutual agent, they may offer discounts exclusive to in-house agents.

Compare Progressive vs. Safeco

Safeco Homeowners Insurance offers a distinct homeowners insurance benefit: choose your own deductible. While it’s widely understood lower deductibles go hand-in-hand with higher premiums (and vice versa), customers keen on options will love its flexibility. That said, Safeco plays it safe regarding standard limits of coverage, which tend to be far lower than its competitors. This, coupled with lower-than-average customer satisfaction, makes Progressive a more reliable alternative. As a result, you’re more likely to find affordable coverage with Progressive.

Reviews on ConsumerAffairs applauded Safeco’s competitive rates and courteous customer service representatives. Janiece of Washougal, WA, wrote on Consumer Affairs: “[Safeco was] amazing to work with. Even though the repairs were over $100,000, they fixed everything and put me up in an apartment for six months while repairs were being made and paid to move me there. I would highly recommend them to anyone.”

Progressive policies can be quoted online or through independent insurance agents. It offers affordable premiums, flexible coverage, and more. Compared to Safeco, Progressive offers all options except a “choose your own deductible” feature.

Compare Progressive vs. CSAA Insurance Group

An affiliated group of AAA that began in Northern California, CSAA Homeowners Insurance (AAA) enjoys the benefit of AAA’s reputation for auto insurance and comprehensive roadside service. That said, its insurance products are for members only. Customers have the added convenience of phone or in-person support at one of more than 1,000 AAA branch office locations. However, CSAA is only available in a few states.

Because the company is not publicly traded like the Fortune 500 Progressive, CSAA answers to members, not stockholders. As a result, JD Power’s rankings for CSAA are less than impressive, and premiums may not be as competitive as online giant Progressive, factoring in membership costs, even if you’re in one of its covered states. Progressive offers homeowners insurance via its brand name or ASI in all 50 states.

The most considerable appeal of CSAA is its AAA roadside service network. Many members prefer bundling their coverage in one place for easy management. Otherwise, Progressive is a clear winner between the two.