Progressive vs State Farm motorcycle insurance

Progressive is the better motorcycle insurer for most riders here. It includes custom-parts coverage in the base policy, carries the wider optional menu, and runs a more developed online quote-and-buy flow. State Farm wins for one rider type: the buyer who wants a dedicated local agent managing motorcycle, home, and auto together. The two carriers now hold the same A+ AM Best rating after AM Best lowered State Farm's group rating from A++ in November 2025. This is a service-model choice — Progressive's policy and portal against State Farm's agent and continuity.

Verdict

motoinsure scores Progressive 4.6 out of 5 and State Farm 4.1 — a clear gap driven by coverage and customization. Both scores break into the same five sub-scores — coverage, pricing, claims, customer service, and financial strength — each traceable to our published methodology. Progressive leads on coverage (4.8 to 4.0); State Farm's strongest sub-score is service (4.3), the axis its agent network is built to win.

The two carriers are not separated by financial strength. AM Best lowered State Farm's group rating to A+ from A++ in November 2025 ^{[AM Best, 2025]}, putting it level with Progressive's A+. Both ratings still sit in the "Superior" range. The real divide is the service model. Progressive sells and services motorcycle policies online and by phone with no agent in the loop; State Farm runs the largest agent network in the country, and that network is the entire reason a rider would choose it.

Side-by-side comparison

| | Progressive | State Farm | |---|---|---| | motoinsure score | 4.6 / 5 | 4.1 / 5 | | AM Best rating | A+ ^{[AM Best, 2025]} | A+ ^{[AM Best, 2025]} | | Custom-parts coverage | Standard in base policy ^{[Progressive Corporation, 2026]} | Optional add-on | | Uninsured-motorist coverage | Optional | Standard ^{[State Farm, 2026]} | | States available | All 50 | All 50 | | Service model | Online and phone, no agent | Local agent network |

Progressive Casualty Insurance Company underwrites the Progressive policy. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company underwrites State Farm's — a mutual carrier, owned by its policyholders rather than shareholders. Both are large and financially sound.

Pricing

Progressive usually quotes lower for the same bike and rider. The structural reason: Progressive runs a dedicated standalone motorcycle book priced on its own loss data, while State Farm prices motorcycle through an agent-driven model with the cost of that distribution built in. An agent network is a genuine service, but it is not free, and the rider pays for it in the premium.

State Farm's competitive path runs through bundling and continuity. Its multi-policy discount, paired with a good-driving-record discount and the loyalty an agent relationship rewards over time, can narrow the gap for a rider consolidating motorcycle, home, and auto with one office. Quote both — Progressive direct against a State Farm quote with the full bundle applied. Premiums vary by state, bike, and rider history, so treat any single figure as a sample, not a promise.

Coverage

Progressive's coverage lead is built on what is standard in the base policy. Progressive includes custom-parts and equipment coverage as standard ^{[Progressive Corporation, 2026]}; State Farm treats it as an optional endorsement. Custom-parts coverage pays for aftermarket exhaust, bags, and paint after a total loss — without it, a built bike collects only its stock value. For a show or custom bike that is the deciding number. Built-in coverage still carries a cap, so a rider with high aftermarket value should confirm the limit and schedule parts above it.

State Farm answers with one structural advantage: it includes uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage as standard ^{[State Farm, 2026]}, where Progressive sells it as an option. UM/UIM pays the rider's own injury and damage costs when an at-fault driver carries no insurance or too little — a real protection on a motorcycle, where a rider hit by an uninsured driver is exposed and vulnerable. State Farm also covers protective gear and accessories up to a set limit and offers a lay-up option that keeps comprehensive coverage in place while a bike is stored for winter ^{[State Farm, 2026]}, so a rider who needs storage or gear coverage is served on either side of this matchup.

The standard-versus-optional split on UM/UIM is worth weighing carefully, because it is coverage a rider is most likely to skip and most likely to need. A motorcyclist hit by a driver carrying no insurance, or carrying a state-minimum liability limit far below what a serious motorcycle injury costs, is left to absorb the gap. With Progressive, that protection only exists if the rider deliberately adds it; with State Farm, it is in the policy by default. A rider quoting Progressive against State Farm should make sure UM/UIM is on both quotes before comparing the price — leaving it off the Progressive side makes that quote look cheaper than it is for equivalent protection.

Claims and service

This is where State Farm closes ground. Progressive runs claims through an online portal and a 24/7 phone line, fast and direct for a digitally comfortable rider but impersonal by design. State Farm routes claims through a local agent who knows the rider and the policy — a structural advantage for anyone who wants a named person, not a portal, walking them through a total loss. State Farm's 4.3 service sub-score reflects exactly that.

A note on complaint data: the NAIC folds motorcycle complaints into the broader private-passenger-auto line rather than reporting them separately. Any review quoting a precise "motorcycle complaint score" is extrapolating from auto data. motoinsure's claims sub-scores draw on each carrier's overall auto-line record and claims-process structure, not a motorcycle-specific figure that does not exist.

Who wins for each rider

For a rider with a customized or non-standard bike, Progressive wins — standard custom-parts coverage and the broader optional menu protect the build, and the online tools make quoting fast. A rider who wants the deepest standalone motorcycle coverage without assembling it from endorsements should start and likely end at Progressive.

For a rider who wants a personal agent, State Farm wins. A buyer who values one local office handling motorcycle, home, and auto, and who would rather call a named person than a claims line, gets a genuinely better experience from State Farm — and its standard UM/UIM coverage is a real safety margin for any rider. That is the honest split: Progressive's policy and portal, or State Farm's agent and continuity.

Choose on coverage breadth and online convenience and the answer is Progressive. Choose on agent service and bundling continuity and it is State Farm. See the Progressive review and State Farm review, or browse every head-to-head in motoinsure's comparison hub.