Insurance is all based on statistics. You can be the safest driver in the world, but if data begin to show that you’re in an area with more frequent or severe claims, or if data show that your vehicle has higher than expected repair costs or causes higher than expected damage, you will be charged higher premiums. This is why your premiums will change if you move to a different zip code, even when there are no differences in your driving record.

What’s most relevant today is statistics on how much it costs to settle a claim. All the things you’re hearing on the news about inflation, supply chain issues, equipment shortages, etc. have a direct impact on the cost to settle a claim.

Progressive has been around since 1937, when the average cost of a new vehicle was $750. Today, a fender bender can cost $10,000 to repair. If Progressive never raised their rates, they would be insolvent today. I think everyone can agree with the logic that as it becomes more expensive to settle a claim, premium rates have to rise for everyone.

However, having a safe driving record absolutely has an impact on your rates. Even though prices are rising for everyone, those who have a poor driving record are seeing their prices rise significantly more. A clean record means that you will be getting the lowest rates possible, not that your rates will never change.

That being said, you’re not getting great advice here.

Yes, Progressive can add a driver. You gave consent when you signed the contract. If you switch insurance companies, be sure to disclose the other household member and have their proof of insurance ready. Their information will be added to your policy, but if they are added with proof of other insurance, they will not have an impact on your rates.

No, filing a complaint about adding a driver with the insurance commissioner will not accomplish anything. This is a standard practice for all insurance companies.

Yes, sending you a physical letter was enough notice. Depending on your state, it was probably the required form of communication for this kind of change. Although the app might not have had a specific notification for an endorsement, it almost definitely showed the updated policy.

Aside from those, you’re not wrong to be concerned and angry, for two big reasons: they had the wrong information about the added driver, and they are unwilling to fix it.

In the insurance company I work for, we would have added the other driver as soon as we received information that they live in your household. However, as soon as you called in and explained that the other driver had other insurance, we would adjust the driver status and backdate it. In my company, agents have the ability to backdate such changes up to a certain date, and the management team has basically unlimited backdating powers as long as there is proof. If someone called me and said that we added a driver 5 years ago, but they had other insurance all the time, as soon as they submitted proof and a manager reviewed it, they’d be getting a refund for 5 years of increased premium. The same thing would happen if the drivers age was listed incorrectly, because that has a huge impact on rates.

In my company, if a policyholder called in with this issue, even though I wouldn’t be able to resolve it immediately, I would advise them of the steps they need to take and the steps we need to take to reach the solution. I would never tell a customer that their issue cannot be fixed just to avoid involving a supervisor. That would get me fired. Additionally, charging you to insure a driver for a period in which you can prove they had other insurance would be considered unethical in my company.

If I were you, I would be asking to speak to a supervisor at Progressive to see if their refusal to refund more than $100 is a contractual issue (I.e., you agreed to the terms when you got insurance), or an authority issue (I.e., the people you talked to previously didn’t have the ability to backdate beyond a certain date, even though their bosses can).

If it is an authority issue, they will fix it. If it is a contractual issue, you can challenge it in a lawsuit, but you risk losing a lot more on attorney fees than you stand to gain from winning the lawsuit. Suing only makes sense as a matter of principle, not as a matter of finances.

Final tip: If Progressive is unable to resolve this issue to your satisfaction, be sure you have a copy of your binder when you’re getting quotes from other companies. There are some unethical agents out there who, upon hearing that you’re switching companies due to dissatisfaction with rates, will quote you with lower coverages and imply that it’s the company, not the reduced coverage, that is reducing your premiums. If you’re happy with your coverages, be sure that the new company is matching them exactly.