Progressive vs The General motorcycle insurance

Progressive and The General are not built for the same rider, and recognizing that settles most of the comparison. Progressive is a standard-market carrier with the widest coverage menu motoinsure tracks and competitive pricing for a clean-record rider. The General is a non-standard specialist for high-risk drivers and riders standard carriers decline — and several of its motorcycle coverage options are unconfirmed. A clean-record rider should choose Progressive without hesitation. A rider who has been turned down elsewhere, or who needs an SR-22 filing, should choose The General and confirm exactly what the motorcycle policy covers.

Verdict

motoinsure scores Progressive 4.6 out of 5 and The General 3.7 — the widest gap in this comparison set. 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 3.5), and the gap reflects both broader coverage and clearer coverage documentation.

The score gap is real but it should be read correctly. It does not mean a high-risk rider should hold out for Progressive — Progressive may decline that rider's application outright or surcharge it past affordability. For a rider whose record forces the choice, the comparison is not Progressive versus The General; it is The General versus no policy. The General's value is acceptance. Progressive's value is everything else, for the rider Progressive will write.

Side-by-side comparison

| | Progressive | The General | |---|---|---| | motoinsure score | 4.6 / 5 | 3.7 / 5 | | AM Best rating | A+ ^{[AM Best, 2025]} | A+ ^{[AM Best, 2025]} | | Custom-parts coverage | Standard in base policy ^{[Progressive Corporation, 2026]} | Unconfirmed | | High-risk / SR-22 acceptance | Not a specialty | Built for high-risk drivers and riders ^{[The General, 2026]} | | Built for | Standard-market riders | Non-standard, high-risk riders | | States available | All 50 | Narrower footprint |

Progressive Casualty Insurance Company underwrites the Progressive policy. The General is underwritten by Permanent General Assurance Corporation, a Sentry Insurance Group company after Sentry acquired The General in January 2025 ^{[The General, 2026]}. Both carry an A+ AM Best rating, so financial strength is not the divide — the rider's record is.

Coverage

Progressive's coverage menu is the widest motoinsure tracks. Custom-parts and equipment coverage is standard in the base policy ^{[Progressive Corporation, 2026]} — the protection that pays for aftermarket exhaust, bags, and paint after a total loss — and the optional menu runs deep: medical payments, uninsured-motorist, roadside, total-loss replacement, a lay-up storage option, and more. For a standard rider, that breadth is the reason to choose Progressive.

The General's motorcycle coverage is harder to pin down. It is a non-standard auto carrier that also writes motorcycles, underwritten by Permanent General Assurance Corporation, a Sentry Insurance Group company since Sentry acquired The General in January 2025 ^{[The General, 2026]}. Its published materials confirm custom-accessory and safety-apparel coverage — up to $2,000 at no extra cost, with higher limits available ^{[The General, 2026]} — but other options a rider might expect, such as a lay-up storage endorsement, new-bike total-loss replacement, and trip-interruption coverage, are not clearly documented. Comprehensive and collision are optional rather than standard. A rider considering The General should treat those undocumented options as something to confirm line by line with the carrier when requesting a quote, not assume.

That documentation gap is itself a decision factor. Progressive publishes a clear, itemized motorcycle coverage menu; The General does not, which leaves a rider relying on what a quote turns up rather than a stated product. For a clean-record rider with a choice, that opacity is one more reason to start at Progressive. For a high-risk rider who needs The General regardless, it raises the stakes on getting every coverage line confirmed in writing before the policy binds — a rider who assumes comprehensive and collision are included may find the policy issues as liability-only, which fails a lender's requirement on a financed bike.

Pricing

For a clean-record rider, Progressive prices better. It runs a dedicated standalone motorcycle book on its own loss data, and a preferred-risk rider gets preferred-market rates. The General prices non-standard risk, so a clean-record rider who quotes The General is paying into a risk pool they do not belong in.

For a high-risk rider, the comparison inverts — not because The General is cheap, but because Progressive may not write the policy at all. A rider with an SR-22 requirement, a DUI, or a recent lapse may find Progressive declines the application or quotes a surcharge that prices them out. The General writes that rider and prices the risk it sees. The premium will be high, but it reflects the underwriting risk The General is taking on rather than a surcharge added for its own sake. Premiums vary by state, bike, and record, and as a non-standard carrier The General's motorcycle availability varies by state, so confirm it writes in your state and quote your own profile.

One pricing detail a high-risk rider should plan for: an SR-22 is not a one-time cost. A state typically requires the filing to stay in force for a set period — often three years from the triggering violation — and a lapse during that window can restart the clock or trigger a license suspension. The General is set up to maintain that filing continuously, which matters more for a non-standard rider than a marginally lower first-year quote. Progressive, where it writes a high-risk rider at all, can also file an SR-22, but the surcharge it attaches to the underlying policy often makes the total cost less competitive than The General's for a rider deep in non-standard territory.

Claims and service

Progressive runs claims through an online portal and a 24/7 phone line, fast and self-service for a digitally comfortable rider. The General handles claims for a non-standard book, where a higher share of policies see a claim than in the preferred market — its process is built for volume and accessibility rather than a high-touch experience. Neither carrier is known as a standout or a problem on motorcycle claims specifically.

A note on complaint data: the NAIC folds motorcycle complaints into the broader private-passenger-auto line rather than reporting them separately ^{[NAIC, 2026]}. 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 standard rider with a clean record, Progressive wins outright — broader coverage, clearer coverage documentation, better preferred-market pricing, and an all-50-state footprint. There is no scenario where a clean-record rider is better served by a non-standard specialist.

For a high-risk rider needing an SR-22, recently non-renewed, or carrying a record standard carriers decline, The General is the realistic option — not because it beats Progressive on any feature, but because Progressive may not write the policy. A rider in that situation should choose The General, confirm exactly what the motorcycle coverage includes given the unconfirmed options, and treat it as a bridge: as the record ages and violations fall off, requalifying with a standard carrier like Progressive should be the goal.

The honest test is your record. Clean record: Progressive. SR-22 or a recent serious violation: The General, with the coverage confirmed in writing. See the Progressive review and The General review, or browse every head-to-head in motoinsure's comparison hub.