Progressive vs. USAA Car Insurance

In our most recent ranking of the best overall car insurance providers, we named USAA the best insurer for the military and Progressive best for rideshare coverage. If you’re eligible for USAA, it will likely offer you the lowest rates, but get quotes from both companies to verify.

Progressive Is Better For:

• Non-military drivers seeking the cheapest premiums
• Food delivery or rideshare drivers
• Drivers with DUIs

USAA Is Better For:

• Most military drivers due to its low average rates
• Drivers planning to finance a vehicle (competitive auto loan rates)
• People who prioritize customer service

USAA has cheaper rates on average than Progressive for various driver profiles, with the exception of drivers with a DUI. Since Progressive offers military and other discounts, military members should see if the rate that Progressive offers them is competitive with USAA’s.

Drivers will find standard coverage options from both Progressive and USAA, including liability, comprehensive and collision, medical payments, personal injury protection and uninsured/underinsured motorists.

Both companies also offer optional coverages you can add to your policy. Coverage options vary by state, so confirm what’s available by checking your quote or asking your agent.

*USAA offers car replacement assistance, which pays 20 percent more than your car’s actual cash value if it’s totaled or stolen. You can use this for loan payoff or purchasing a new vehicle.

Progressive and USAA offer many auto insurance discounts that eligible policyholders can take advantage of. However, some discounts are only offered by one company or the other.

Being eligible for more discounts from a certain company may mean you get the lowest rate from it. Since available discounts vary by state, confirm what’s available where you live.

USAA Membership Eligibility

To buy a policy from USAA, you must be a member. Creating a member account is free and open to U.S. military members, including:

• Active duty, guard or reserve forces
• Veterans with an honorable or general under honorable conditions discharge
• Precommissioned officers, including contracted cadets or midshipmen and officer or warrant officer candidates
• Spouses, former spouses (under certain conditions) and children

Progressive vs. USAA Telematics Programs

Both Progressive and USAA offer telematics programs. You use the companies’ respective mobile apps to track your driving habits and then receive a discount at your next policy renewal.

Progressive’s program is called Snapshot, while USAA offers both SafePilot and SafePilot Miles. SafePilot tracks driving habits to calculate a potential discount, while SafePilot Miles is a usage-based insurance program that gives you a discount for driving under 8,000 miles in a year, in addition to a safe driving discount at renewal.

Snapshot and SafePilot are available in most states, but not California. SafePilot Miles is available in all states except California, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania.

Progressive’s telematics program ranked lower than USAA’s in J.D. Power’s 2025 U.S. Auto Insurance Study, with a score of 628 to USAA’s 679. The study’s average score was 643.¹

Overall, customers are more satisfied with USAA’s customer service than Progressive’s. Here’s how the companies compare in various customer experience areas:

Claims Satisfaction

In the J.D. Power 2025 U.S. Auto Claims Satisfaction Study, USAA scored 741 out of 1,000, well above the average of 700.³ The company is not officially ranked because it “does not meet study award criteria,” but its score is worth noting. Meanwhile, Progressive tails behind with a below-average score of 673 out of 1,000.

Progressive and USAA scored similarly in the 2026 CRASH Network Report Card, which tracks auto shops’ experiences dealing with insurers. Both insurers received a C- grade, and neither score is very high. It’s worth noting that none of the 10 largest insurers scored higher than a C+.⁴

Customer Service

In J.D. Power’s 2025 U.S. Auto Insurance Study, which tracks overall customer satisfaction with insurers, USAA scored far higher than Progressive in every region. Again, it isn’t officially ranked, but its scores are well above average, comparable to those of top-ranked competitors.

Here is a breakdown of each company’s score (out of 1,000) by region:

The NAIC Complaint Index measures the number of complaints made to a company. The higher the number, the higher the number of complaints; a score of 1 is considered average. Progressive’s score of 2.65⁵ is better than USAA’s score of 3.01⁶, which indicates that Progressive receives slightly fewer complaints.

Shopping

Customers tend to be more satisfied with USAA’s process when it comes to shopping for and purchasing a policy, according to J.D. Power’s 2025 U.S. Insurance Shopping Study.⁷ Both companies allow customers to get quotes and purchase policies online or by phone.

The J.D. Power study evaluates factors beyond the quote process, including policy offerings, price and distribution channel, so this may indicate that customers are satisfied with aspects of USAA like its cost and availability of agents.

Progressive and USAA both have robust online platforms and mobile apps through which policyholders can file claims, access policy information, get roadside assistance and more. Here’s a breakdown of each app:

J.D. Power’s 2025 U.S. Insurance Digital Experience Study indicates that customers are most satisfied overall with USAA’s digital tools over Progressive’s. It received a score of 732 out of 1,000 in the service category, while Progressive received a score of 715. Both scores are above the segment average.⁸

In the shopping category, Progressive came out ahead with a score of 552 out of 1,000 compared to USAA’s 513.

USAA and Progressive are both popular auto insurers, but only members of the military can apply for a USAA policy. Since USAA’s policies are designed for the military community, members may find its military-centric coverage beneficial beyond cost and coverage types. You can get a quote from both companies to verify which of the two offers you a better rate.

If you’re non-military, Progressive is the only insurer of the two for which you’d qualify for a policy. It does have lower customer service ratings than USAA, sometimes by a large margin, but its rates are cheaper than the national average (even though they are pricier than USAA’s).

Both companies have great financial strength ratings from AM Best and high ratings from the BBB, so they are trustworthy and able to pay out claims. They also both have usage-based telematics programs that offer significant savings if you drive safely.

At AutoInsurance.com, we use four key factors to evaluate auto insurers:

• Price (40%): We analyze average premiums for both full and minimum coverage for a standard driving profile of a good driver with good credit. We also looked at rates for other driver profiles, including those with violations or low credit. We also consider available discounts. Full coverage averages use the following limits:
  • Bodily injury liability: $100,000 per person/$300,000 per accident
  • Property damage liability: $50,000 per accident
  • Uninsured and underinsured motorist bodily injury: $100,000 per person/$300,000 per accident
  • Comprehensive and collision: $500 deductible
• Claims handling (25%): An auto insurer’s claims handling process should be quick, transparent and efficient, with clear communication, fair evaluation of damages and timely payment or resolution. We assess claims practices using sources like the CRASH Network Insurer Report Card and J.D. Power’s Claims Satisfaction Report and financial strength from sources like AM Best and S&P Ratings. We also include real-life customer experiences when possible.
• Customer experience (25%): We evaluate the ease of the customer journey, from getting a quote and purchasing a policy to making changes or accessing documents. We consider the availability and quality of both online and agent interactions, as well as the functionality of the company’s website and mobile app. Our sources include J.D. Power studies, the NAIC complaint index, BBB ratings and app store reviews.
• Coverage options (10%): We review each company’s coverage offerings and prioritize providers with options beyond the state-required minimums, such as accident forgiveness, gap coverage, rideshare coverage and more.

Read more about our ratings and methodology.