Progressive vs. Safeco Car Insurance: Which Is Right for You?

Choosing between Progressive vs. Safeco car insurance isn't necessarily an easy task. If you've been asking, "Who is better: Progressive or Safeco?" you've come to the right place to compare your options. Both carriers have a considerable amount of experience in the insurance industry, with Progressive having been founded in 1937 and Safeco in 1923. 

But there are many other factors to consider when comparing Safeco vs. Progressive auto insurance, such as each provider's rates, official ratings, coverage perks, customer satisfaction scores, and more.

The coverage that works best for one customer won't be right for another. Luckily, a local independent insurance agent can help you shop and compare car insurance policies and quotes to determine whether Safeco or Progressive is right for you. They can also weigh these carriers against others that offer car insurance in your area. 

Until then, here's our guide to Progressive vs. Safeco auto insurance to help you decide which carrier is right for you.

Progressive vs. Safeco Telematics and Roadside Assistance

Both Progressive and Safeco offer telematics programs to help customers save money on car insurance for safe driving practices. Progressive uses Snapshot, which tracks driving behaviors like speeding, hard braking, etc. Snapshot allows customers to save an average of $145 annually on their car insurance premiums. 

Safeco's telematics program is called RightTrack, which monitors customers' driving behaviors for 90 days. Though savings aren't guaranteed, the program allows customers to save between 5% and 30% on their premiums. In terms of telematics, we think Progressive has the edge.

Both carriers also offer roadside assistance coverage and services for auto insurance customers. This coverage is optional from both carriers and comes with an additional cost to add to your policy. Here's a breakdown of the specific roadside assistance services offered by Progressive and Safeco.

Progressive's roadside assistance coverage offers a few perks over Safeco's, including battery recharging services for electronic vehicles, on-scene labor, and winching services.

Safeco vs. Progressive Car Insurance Rates

When comparing rates for Progressive insurance vs. Safeco, Progressive tends to be more affordable in almost every category. Still, it's worth comparing rates across different categories for each carrier. Here's how average premium rates stack up for Safeco insurance vs. Progressive.

Progressive vs. Safeco Car Insurance Rates by Age

Though Safeco's car insurance rates for teenage drivers are noticeably cheaper than Progressive's, Safeco's average annual premiums are more expensive than Progressive's across every other age range.

Progressive vs. Safeco Car Insurance Rates by Credit Score

While not all states allow car insurance companies to factor credit scores into car insurance premium rates, most do. As such, we've included a price comparison breakdown for both Progressive and Safeco car insurance rates by credit score.

Progressive's average annual auto insurance premiums are considerably cheaper than Safeco's across every credit score range.

Progressive vs. Safeco Car Insurance Rates for Poor Driving Records

Drivers with at least one violation or citation on their records can experience much higher auto insurance rates. Being involved in just one at-fault accident or receiving a speeding ticket can cause your premium to skyrocket. 

If you're a driver who doesn't have a squeaky-clean driving record, it may be helpful to compare average annual auto insurance premiums for drivers with various violations from both Safeco and Progressive.

Safeco has cheaper rates for drivers with an at-fault accident on their records, but Progressive's average annual rates were cheaper across every other citation category.

Safeco vs. Progressive Car Insurance Discounts

While Progressive has cheaper rates on average, when it comes to discounts, Safeco takes the win. Safeco offers a few additional discounts that Progressive doesn't, including anti-lock brakes discounts, anti-theft system discounts, defensive driver discounts, and annual mileage discounts. 

Both carriers offer standard discounts you'd expect such as bundling discounts, multi-car discounts, and good student discounts. However, neither carrier offers discounts for insuring new vehicles or signing up for a policy early. 

Progressive vs. Safeco Car Insurance Customer Experience

As a car insurance policyholder, you want to make sure managing and accessing your policy, filing claims, tracking claims, and paying your premiums are all user-friendly, smooth experiences. Both Progressive and Safeco offer online claims filing and tracking, as well as 24/7 phone customer service. Customers can get online quotes and coverage from either carrier as well. 

However, Progressive's online quotes experience is better than Safeco's, due to the insurer's Name Your Price tool, which gives policyholders the ability to search for coverage options based on their budget. This tool allows customers to browse policies by price range, instead of waiting until they've assembled a sample policy to get a quote. 

Safeco has a nice perk of 24/7 roadside assistance, however, which may be enticing for many customers.

Progressive vs. Safeco Car Insurance Official Ratings

When determining which car insurance company is right for you, it can also be helpful to review official ratings by various organizations for financial strength, customer satisfaction, claims satisfaction, customer complaints, and more. Here's how Progressive compares against Safeco in terms of official ratings.

Progressive beats Safeco in the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) customer complaint index category and in terms of financial strength, but Safeco won the J.D. Power customer satisfaction and claims satisfaction scores. 

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Safeco vs. Progressive Car Insurance: The Bottom Line

There are benefits and drawbacks to the car insurance offered by both Safeco and Progressive. Progressive has a better telematics program and more roadside assistance services than Safeco. 

While Safeco offers cheaper car insurance for teenage drivers, Progressive's average rates are considerably cheaper for drivers in every other age range. Progressive also offers much cheaper rates for drivers based on credit score. 

Safeco may be more affordable for drivers with an at-fault accident on their records, but Progressive's rates for drivers with speeding tickets, DUIs, and reckless driving violations are cheaper. However, Safeco has a few additional car insurance discounts that Progressive doesn't offer, which may lead to overall lower rates for qualifying customers after savings are applied. 

Both carriers are pretty much even in terms of customer experience and official ratings, so it may ultimately come down to personal preference.

To help make your decision easier, it's always a good idea to consider working with a local independent insurance agent. Your agent can help you shop and compare car insurance policies and quotes from Safeco and Progressive, along with any other carrier you may be interested in. And down the road, your agent can also help you file car insurance claims and update your coverage as necessary.