Originally Posted by Duffyjr
I was with Columbia for years and years then they just dropped this area but they had good rates. I was surprised my independent agent came up with Progressive as the least expensive but with better coverage, every thing went from 100,000 to 300,000 but the deductible stayed the same along with the premiums.
As mentioned it's best to find an independent agent.
Couple of comments about Progressive:
1) They seem to treat their own customers okay but if you have a claim against them, i.e. their customer is at-fault, they can be, uhhhh, "difficult".
2) Do NOT do their online quote system and get excited about how inexpensive they are and run with them. Look at their coverage limits and you'll quickly see why they're the cheapest.
In the case of the person I'm quoting, their independent agent appears to do the same as ours - they have a minimum coverage amount that they require of their clients. Yes, it costs me more and [censored], the agent might make a little more commission, but you're protected so much more. If you want lower limits, find a different agent or go direct with the carrier.
I do have a grudge against Progressive - I won't deny that. Both of my points above are personal experience. A driver hit my wife and it was a Friday afternoon. Tried contacting them to 'check in' and was ignored. They do nothing until their client reports the claim. In our case, the driver was borrowing a friend's car and the vehicle owner had Progressive. Our minivan had severe damage and wasn't driveable (later totaled) and my wife was in bed on heavy painkillers and a neck brace and Monday morning, before they offered a rental car or anything, their junior claims agent asked if he could stop by our house because they "were ready to settle" and he had a check for $2500 in his hand to give me !! Another one - junior wanted to "interview" our 5 and 3 year old kids who were in the car with my wife to ask them what happened.
