General information, not legal advice. Insurance policies and state laws differ. Check your own policy, and for a legal question ask a licensed attorney or your state insurance department.
A Progressive claim starts with a report and soon reaches a fork: a Progressive rep asks whether you want the car repaired or would rather receive payment for the damage. You report it on Progressive's claims line, 1-800-776-4737, in the Progressive app, or online at progressive.com, where people without a Progressive policy can continue as a guest. Progressive then sizes up the damage from photos and video you send or from an estimator's inspection. Repairs can go to one of Progressive's network repair shops or, in Progressive's own words, any shop you'd like.
Fast Life Collisions is not affiliated with Progressive. This guide is independent and draws only on Progressive's public claims pages.
How do you report a claim to Progressive?
Progressive's claims page tells you to call right away at 1-800-776-4737 or log in to the app to report the accident. You can also file by logging in to your Progressive account online.
You do not need to be a Progressive customer to start. If a Progressive driver hit you, or you are a customer without an account login, the claims page lets you report the claim as a guest. Whether to claim through your own insurer or theirs is a choice of its own, covered in your insurance or theirs.
Keep the claim number Progressive gives you somewhere you can find it. For what to gather before the call, see how to file a car insurance claim.
Repair or payment: the first question Progressive asks
Progressive describes this as an early step: a rep asks whether you want to get repairs completed or receive payment. If you are not sure, Progressive says you can get an estimate first to see how much repairs cost or what your payment would be.
Getting the estimate first gives you a number to compare with a body shop's estimate before you commit to either path.
How does Progressive estimate the damage?
Progressive offers two routes.
Photo Estimate. If your claim qualifies, Progressive provides an invitation code after you file, and how you filed decides where you find it; if you filed with a rep by phone or online, it comes by text message. In the Progressive app you take photos and a video of the damage and upload them. Progressive's claims page says its team reviews the photos and video and then sends you an estimate, so you skip the in-person inspection.
An estimator's inspection. Progressive says your rep can schedule an estimator to inspect the car at your shop of choice, or at a Progressive drive-in location where one is available. Progressive adds that if you choose a shop yourself, it can typically work with that shop to get an estimate.
Either way, the first number reflects what can be seen from outside. Progressive puts the next part plainly: "Sometimes additional damage is found during repairs — this is normal." In that case, it says it works with the repair shop on an updated estimate. That updated figure is what shops call a supplement; insurance vs. shop estimates shows how it works.
Progressive's network shops, and your right to go elsewhere
Progressive keeps a network of repair shops around the country, which its photo estimate page also calls the approved Progressive Network. At a network shop, Progressive says it manages the repair, pays the shop directly and guarantees the covered repair for as long as you own or lease the vehicle.
Progressive's guarantee page sets out the terms:
- Progressive arranges to correct a covered repair that fails to meet generally accepted repair industry standards, at no cost to you.
- It does not cover normal wear and tear, damage from improper maintenance, neglect, abuse, a later accident or a manufacturer defect.
- It cannot be transferred and ends if you sell or transfer the car.
- Work on the covered repair by anyone outside Progressive's network voids it.
So the guarantee lives inside the network. Progressive also says you can use any shop you'd like, and suggests checking whether that shop will guarantee your repairs. Ask any shop for its warranty in writing; body shop repair warranties explains what to compare.
For the details, read your right to choose a body shop and direct repair programs. Our insurance claims page compares the networks of several insurers.
Does Progressive pay for a rental car?
Progressive describes rental car reimbursement as optional coverage that is not required by law in any state. With it, Progressive says you can get a rental after a covered accident damages or totals your car and submit your receipts to Progressive, up to the limits of your policy.
If another driver was at fault, Progressive notes that their liability insurance can also pay for your rental, though working out fault can take time. Your declarations page shows whether you have the coverage and its limits. See rental car coverage after an accident.
Who gets the money on a Progressive claim?
That depends on the route you took:
- Paid to you. Progressive says you can opt to receive direct payment for the estimate amount, minus your deductible. A Photo Estimate claim pays the same way.
- Paid to a network shop. Progressive pays the network shop directly.
Either way, Progressive says you are responsible for your collision or comprehensive deductible. If you take the payment and then hire a shop of your own, any paperwork that sends money to that shop is worth reading slowly; what you sign at the body shop lists what to check.
How long can Progressive take?
The deadlines come from New York's claim regulation, which binds Progressive like any insurer licensed in the state.
What if Progressive's estimate is too low?
Start with the updated estimate Progressive already describes. Ask the shop to send the rep its teardown findings with photos, and ask Progressive to answer each line in writing.
If the two sides still disagree on the amount, check your Progressive policy for an appraisal clause, a process many auto policies include where each side hires an appraiser and an umpire breaks a tie. The appraisal clause explains costs and timing. When a claim is denied rather than underpaid, see claim denied or lowballed.
If you think Progressive is not treating the claim fairly, you can file a complaint with the state.
Progressive claim dos and don'ts
Do
- Ask for an estimate before you choose between repair and payment.
- Upload clear photos and the video Progressive asks for, in good light.
- Tell your rep which shop you picked so Progressive can work with it on the estimate.
- Ask your lender whether it requires repairs before you take a payment.
- Keep rental receipts if you plan to submit them for reimbursement.
Don’t
- Don't let anyone tell you a network shop is required. Progressive says it is not.
- Don't let a non-network shop rework a network repair if you want to keep Progressive's guarantee.
- Don't treat the first photo estimate as final when the shop has not taken the car apart yet.
- Don't forget the deductible comes off the payment.
The repair itself runs the same way at any shop; collision repair walks through it.
Quick answers
Does Progressive have authorized repair shops?
In its guarantee terms, Progressive defines an authorized repair facility as a shop in Progressive's repair shop network. Using one is your choice. Progressive says you can use any shop you'd like.
Can I keep the Progressive payment and not fix the car?
Progressive says that after you receive a photo estimate, the decision to repair is yours and it is OK not to repair. If you finance or lease the car, though, your lender may require the repairs.
Will Progressive put my lender's name on the payment?
When a Progressive network shop does the repair, Progressive says it pays the shop directly and there is no need to include a lienholder on the payment. Otherwise, Progressive says any payment issued may include both you and your lienholder as payees, and if you choose not to repair, it says to contact your lienholder to find out how to receive payment.
Who do I call if a Progressive network repair fails later?
Progressive's guarantee page lists 1-800-274-4641 for service under the repair guarantee. For a new claim or an open one, it lists 1-800-776-4737.
Need collision repair?
Call the shop to set up a free estimate, or stop by. We'll look at the car in person, tell you what it needs and help you through the claim.
Sources
- Progressive, Claims: report a new claim or view the status of an existing claim, read October 7, 2026.
- Progressive, Auto claims process, read October 7, 2026.
- Progressive, Claims process: inspection and repair options, read October 7, 2026.
- Progressive, How does a car repair estimate work?, read October 7, 2026.
- Progressive, Photo Estimate FAQ, read October 7, 2026.
- Progressive, Repair guarantee at network shops, read October 7, 2026.
- Progressive, Rental Car Reimbursement Coverage, read October 7, 2026.
- New York State Senate, N.Y. Insurance Law § 2610, read October 8, 2026.
- New York State Department of Financial Services, Filing Claims Under Your Own Policy, read October 8, 2026.
- New York State Department of Financial Services, File a Complaint, read October 8, 2026.