Progressive Snapshot (2024 Review) (2024)

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Snapshot is Progressive’s entry into the world of telematics insurance. This usage-based insurance product uses GPS-enabled technology to monitor your driving habits. Good drivers are rewarded with savings on their insurance premiums for practicing safe driving behaviors.

You can use Snapshot through a mobile app or a plug-in device. Progressive offers a participation discount just for signing up, which you’ll receive for the first policy term that you use the Snapshot program. At your first renewal after using the program, this participation discount is replaced by your new personalized rate.

Throughout your time using the Snapshot telematics program, you’ll get regular email updates telling you how you’re doing. When your first policy renewal after using Snapshot comes around, you’ll get a final email with your Snapshot results and a personalized renewal rate.

What Does Snapshot Track?

Progressive Snapshot tracks the following driving behaviors, which the company then uses to personalize insurance rates:

• The time of day you typically drive
• How much you drive
• Hard braking
• Rapid acceleration
• Your location, for underwriting purposes
• Mobile phone usage for drivers using the app

The main drawback of using Snapshot is that it can also raise your rates if you exhibit risky driving behaviors. Although Snapshot’s terms vary by state, there’s a good chance your rates will go up if you’re a high-risk driver.

Other Snapshot Features

The Snapshot mobile app includes a dashboard view with the following features:

• Trip log: Snapshot shows all the trips you log where you’re the driver.
• Trip details: This feature includes detailed information about trips where the app monitored hard braking, fast acceleration or phone use. There’s even a map that highlights exactly where these behaviors occurred.
• Driving tips: Based on your driving habits, the Snapshot app gives pro tips to boost your score and potentially increase the discount you earn.

Using Progressive Snapshot With Multiple Vehicles or Drivers

It’s easy to use the Snapshot app across multiple vehicles and drivers, although the process varies a bit from state to state. In some states, each driver chooses the vehicle they drive most often during registration. From there, each driver’s smartphone will be associated with a specific vehicle. In other states, Progressive averages the driving data from all smartphones and all vehicles on the policy.

If two drivers from the same household are in a car together, the Snapshot app can typically tell who’s driving and collect data for that person only. In the event that the app registers data for both people, you can correct that in the app.

You can earn a Snapshot discount when you renew your Progressive auto insurance policy, usually after six months of using the program. According to the Progressive website, drivers who qualify for a Snapshot discount save an average of $156 per year.

The sign-up discount for Snapshot is only for new Progressive customers and isn’t available in Hawaii or New York. Progressive reports an average sign-up discount of $47. This discount expires when you renew your coverage and is replaced by your personalized, driving behavior-based rate.

Can Your Rates Increase by Using Progressive Snapshot?

Risky driving behaviors such as speeding, hard braking, taking corners too fast and using your phone while behind the wheel can lead to higher rates when using Snapshot. However, Progressive notes that only about two out of 10 drivers who use the program actually see increases in their insurance premiums.

Using Progressive Snapshot can be a great way to unlock discounts and even become a safer driver. However, available discounts vary by state, and using the program can lead to higher insurance rates if you engage in too many risky driving behaviors. If you plan to sign up for Snapshot, make sure you’re ready to be extra careful behind the wheel.

Progressive Snapshot Alternatives

Just as you would compare car insurance quotes to find the best rates, it’s also a good idea to compare a few different usage-based programs. State Farm and Geico are two of our highest-rated insurance providers, and each offers its own Snapshot alternative.

State Farm: Best Customer Experience

Drive Safe & Save™ is State Farm’s usage-based program. The company says good driving habits can save customers as much as 30% on their premiums. There’s a 10% discount just for signing up for Drive Safe & Save. You can use the program through a dedicated app or with a Bluetooth beacon that can be affixed to your dashboard to collect driving information.

Keep reading: State Farm insurance review

Geico: Best for Budget-Conscious Drivers

Known for affordable rates, Geico offers drivers the chance to save money through its DriveEasy program. DriveEasy logs trips and gives you advice on how to improve your driving based on the behaviors you exhibit while on the road. Like Snapshot, riskier driving habits may result in higher rates through DriveEasy depending on where you live.

Keep reading: Geico insurance review

Because consumers rely on us to provide objective and accurate information, we created a comprehensive rating system to formulate our rankings of the best car insurance companies. We collected data on dozens of auto insurance providers to grade the companies on a wide range of ranking factors. The end result was an overall rating for each provider, with the insurers that scored the most points topping the list.

Here are the factors our ratings take into account:

• Cost: Auto insurance rate estimates generated by Quadrant Information Services and discount opportunities were both taken into consideration.
• Coverage: Companies that offer a variety of choices for insurance coverage are more likely to meet consumer needs.
• Reputation and experience: Our research team considered market share, ratings from industry experts and years in business when giving this score.
• Availability: Auto insurance companies with greater state availability and few eligibility requirements scored highest in this category.
• Customer experience: This score is based on volume of complaints reported by the NAIC and customer satisfaction ratings reported by J.D. Power. We also considered the responsiveness, friendliness and helpfulness of each insurance company’s customer service team based on our own shopper analysis.

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• 800 hours researched
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*Data accurate at time of publication.