Progressive SR-22 insurance
Progressive runs about $169/month for SR-22 minimum coverage — 5th of the carriers MoneyGeek ranked, and cheapest in none of the three 2026 studies we checked. Progressive does take drivers other carriers drop. The risk worth planning around isn't approval; it's filings that don't transmit.
Progressive's reputation is that it takes the drivers nobody else will. The rate data is less flattering than that reputation suggests, and the failure mode people actually report isn't being turned away — it's a filing that quietly doesn't reach the state.
Does Progressive file SR-22s?
Almost certainly yes — but we're not going to pretend we verified it from Progressive.
Progressive's SR-22 pages sit behind a block that returns "Access Denied" to every method we tried, so no claim on this page is sourced to Progressive's own site. That matters, because the widely-published "Progressive charges $15–$25 to file" traces to a source that's now unreachable too. What can be sourced is the industry norm: about $25 typically, ranging $15–$50, per Insure.com.
If a page quotes Progressive's exact filing fee with confidence, ask where it came from.
What Progressive SR-22 insurance costs
MoneyGeek's 2026 study (529,578 quotes, 67 insurers, data as of July 1, 2026) puts Progressive at $169/month for SR-22 minimum coverage and $345/month for full — ranking it 5th, roughly 48% above Erie's $114.
One quirk worth flagging: MoneyGeek shows Progressive's SR-22-with-DUI minimum at $153/month, below its generic SR-22 rate of $169. Don't read that as a DUI discount; it's an artifact of different rating profiles.
The honest headline is what the table below shows: three reputable studies, three different answers, spanning $729 a year. None of them ranks Progressive cheapest.
Two claims we removed from this page
An earlier version of this page told you two things we couldn't stand behind, so they're gone.
"Progressive rarely declines SR-22 drivers." Nobody sourced that, and it's undercut by a 2026 driver with a reckless-driving charge and an at-fault crash who was quoted $350 — then told "they have to do a review and verification," with denial explicitly on the table. Quoted is not bound. Progressive runs a review step on high-risk profiles.
"Progressive will file before your license is reinstated when others won't." This is the catch-22 workaround repeated across the SR-22 web, and we can't verify it. The decisive evidence is an absence: the canonical thread where a driver was boxed out completely — needing an SR-22 to get his license, needing a license to get insured — never mentions Progressive. If Progressive were the known escape hatch, it would be in that thread. It resolved with Bristol West instead. A separate 2026 driver reported Progressive's online quote refusing to finalize, which they attributed to their suspended license.
One driver did say they "went with progressive... so I can have the DMV give me my license back." That's a single account naming no carrier that refused first. It isn't enough to build advice on.
The real risk: the filing pipeline
Here's what Progressive customers actually report going wrong, and it's administrative rather than underwriting.
A cancellation notice sent to the state on a policy that was paid. A Washington driver paid before their policy cancelled — and Progressive notified the state anyway. Their license was suspended despite insurance that, in their words, "was never canceled." The lesson is precise and actionable: pay before the notice date, not the cancellation date. Once that notice fires, you're arguing with a DMV, not an insurer.
A filing that silently never transmitted. A driver who moved states found out at a traffic stop that Progressive "never sent information about my SR-22" — after two years of paying for it. Moving is the moment to verify with your new DMV yourself. See what happens if your SR-22 lapses.
Neither failure is exotic, and both stay invisible until a police officer or a suspension letter tells you. Set a reminder to confirm your filing's status with the DMV directly.
It's worth being clear about why this happens rather than blaming any one carrier. The SR-22 and its cancellation notice, the SR-26, are automated messages between an insurer's system and a state's. When they misfire, nobody gets an alert — you find out from the consequence. That's an argument for verifying the filing yourself no matter who writes your policy.
Where Progressive actually fits
The pattern across real accounts is consistent: Progressive is the catch, not the bargain. One California driver was dropped by GEICO after a decade with no claims and landed at Progressive. Another, quoted through a broker in March 2026, was offered a six-month Progressive policy at $893.44 down plus five payments of $537.64 — two drivers, three vehicles, 30/60/15 limits, "along with your SR22." Dairyland quoted the same driver $767.57 down plus eleven payments of $572.78.
That's a real, dated quote with actual limits attached, which is more useful than any national average.
Meanwhile, DUI attorneys advising clients on where to shop tend to name The General, Dairyland, Gainsco, Anchor General, and Infinity — not Progressive. Progressive occupies a middle tier: more willing than GEICO or State Farm after a serious violation, pricier than the non-standard specialists that exist for exactly this situation.
If Progressive declines or prices you out
Get quotes from at least three carriers before you commit — the spread in the table above is the whole argument for shopping. Dairyland files SR-22s free in most states and writes drivers mid-suspension. The General also writes pre-reinstatement, though it isn't cheap. Our cheapest SR-22 guide and company comparison cover the full field, and the SR-22 cost calculator estimates your own figure.
One question to ask any carrier before you buy: when will the filing reach the state, and how will I know it did? On this evidence, that matters more than the fee.
| Study (data as of) | Progressive, DUI + SR-22 | Cheapest carrier in that study |
|---|---|---|
| Insure.com (May 11, 2026) | $2,981/yr | USAA, Travelers, Nationwide |
| Insurance.com (May 6, 2026) | $3,486/yr | Travelers — $2,933/yr |
| MoneyGeek (Jul 1, 2026) | $3,710/yr ($309/mo) | Erie — Progressive ranks 5th |
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