The Progressive Corporation is an American insurance company. Progressive is currently the #2 auto insurer in the United States behind State Farm.[2] The company was co-founded in 1937 by Jack Green and Joseph M. Lewis, and is headquartered in Mayfield, Ohio.[3] The company insures passenger vehicles, motorcycles, recreational vehicles (RVs), trailers, boats, personal water craft (PWC), and commercial vehicles. Progressive also provides home, life, pet, and other types of insurance through select companies.
The company ranked #62 on the 2024 Fortune 500 list of the top American corporations.[4]
History
Progressive was formed in 1937 by Joseph Lewis and Jack Green as Progressive Mutual Insurance Company.[5] In 1956, the company found a niche by insuring more risky drivers. In 1965, Peter B. Lewis, son of Joseph Lewis, and his mother borrowed $2.5 million, pledging their majority stake as collateral, and completed a leveraged buyout of Progressive.[6] In 1971, Progressive conducted an initial public offering (IPO) and became a publicly-traded company.[7] In 1987, the sum of the company's written premiums surpassed $1 billion, and by 2016 that number reached $20 billion.[8][9] Progressive also claims being the first auto insurance company to allow customers to purchase insurance policies over the phone in 1993, and to have a website in 1995, and have policies available for purchase online in 1997. Later, Progressive enabled customers to use mobile browsers and smartphone apps for rating and managing policies.[10] It also reports to be the first to offer 24/7 claims reporting.[11] On December 13, 2006, the company said earnings rose 58 percent in November as the company retained more of the premiums it collected because of comparisons to a month affected by Hurricane Katrina claims.[13]
Segments
The company operates in three segments: personal lines, commercial auto, and other indemnity.[14]
- The personal lines segment writes insurance for private passenger automobiles, motorcycles, boats, and recreational vehicles through both an independent agency channel and a direct channel.
- The commercial auto segment writes primary liability and physical damage insurance for automobiles and trucks owned by businesses primarily through an independent agency channel.
- The other-indemnity segment provides professional liability insurance to community banks, principally directors, and officers liability insurance. It also provides insurance-related services, primarily providing policy issuance and claims adjusting services in 25 states for Commercial Auto Insurance Procedures/Plans.
Industry information
Progressive is the second-largest auto insurer in the United States as of the 2023 fiscal year, with 15.2% of the market, behind State Farm's share of 18.3%.[15] Progressive primarily offers its services through the internet, by telephone or through independent insurance agents.[16] Progressive’s agency business sells insurance through more than 30,000 independent insurance agents[16] and progressiveagent.com where customers can quote their own policies and then contact an agent to complete the sale.
In December 2009, Progressive announced it was selling car insurance in Australia.[17] Initially called Progressive Direct, it rebranded as Progressive in 2011, and later rebranded as PD Insurance in 2019.[18]
Crash response
In September 2007, Progressive began to offer pet injury coverage, which provides coverage for dogs and cats that are injured in a crash and is included at no additional cost with collision coverage.[19] Immediate response vehicles used by Progressive are specially modified Ford Explorers and Ford Escapes.[20]
Advertising
Progressive's marketing campaign is known for offering quotes of its competitors along with its own quote.[21]
Since 2008, many of Progressive's television advertisements have featured a character named Flo, played by actress Stephanie Courtney,[22] who explains the benefits of Progressive Insurance.[23] In December 2010, the company introduced the "Messenger", as a complementary campaign. He was played by John Jenkinson.[24] The Flo universe also includes Jamie (Jim Cashman), an awkward fellow Progressive employee; and Bill and Tom, rival insurance salesmen from the figurative straw man "A. Nother Insurance Company." Bill and Tom were largely discontinued after Allstate filed a claim with the Better Business Bureau
Products
According to a February 2011 Wall Street Journal article, Progressive has a leg up on its rivals in Pay As You Drive insurance, a form of vehicle insurance also generically known as usage-based insurance.[31] Progressive has seven U.S. patents covering usage-based insurance methods and systems, with more patents pending. Progressive began working on the concept in the mid-1990s and continues to refine the concept and bring it to the mass market.
Snapshot is Progressive's Pay As You Drive, or usage-based insurance program. Snapshot is a voluntary discount program where drivers can save money on their car insurance by sharing their driving habits with Progressive. According to Progressive, Snapshot is best for people who drive less, in safer ways and during safer times of day.[32] Snapshot customers can make changes to their driving habits that will lead to bigger discounts by checking their driving data and projected discount on progressive.com over the course of their initial policy period.[33]
Drivers plug a device the size of a garage door opener into the on-board diagnostic (OBD) port of their car. The device records and sends the driving data to Progressive, and Progressive uses that information to calculate the rate. After 30 days, customers find out if they're eligible for a discount based on that 30-day "snapshot" of their driving habits.
Corporate sponsorship
Naming rights
In 1999, Progressive Auto Insurance was the title sponsor of the Super Bowl XXXIII halftime show.[34]
In January 2008, Jacobs Field in Cleveland, Ohio, home of the Cleveland Guardians, was renamed Progressive Field. Progressive signed a 16-year contract for the naming rights, as well as sponsorship rights to become the Official Auto Insurer of the Cleveland Guardians. The agreement costs around $3.6 million per year.[35] (Mayfield Village, Ohio, where the company is based, is a suburb of Cleveland.) Naming rights for Progressive were extended on April 3, 2024 for an additional 12 years until at least 2036, with an option to extend by 5 years to 2041 if the current lease on the ballpark was extended.[36]
In March 2008, Progressive announced its title sponsorship of the Progressive Insurance Automotive X PRIZE
Controversies
In 2002, the company settled with the State of Georgia in a class action lawsuit over diminished value claims brought by policyholders.[43] Five years later, the company apologized after it was revealed they hired private investigators to infiltrate a church group and pose as congregation members to collect information on litigants seeking redress from the company. Another lawsuit was filed by the litigants over the affair against the company for invasion of privacy and fraud.[44]
In 2009, Progressive was sued for allegedly deceiving policyholders by employing illegally operated, unlicensed body shops to make repairs on vehicles for their clients in order to save money.[45] The court ruled in the company's favor on two of the counts and the other four were dropped, pending appeal.[46]
In 2012, the company was widely criticized online for how it handled the claims filed by the family of Kaitlynn Fisher.
Index memberships
- S&P 500
- S&P 1500 Super Comp
See also
- List of United States insurance companies
External links
References
- Progressive Financial Statements 2009-2024 2025-02-14^
- Property and Casualty Insurance Industry 2023 Top 25 Groups and Companies By Countrywide Premium - Total Private Passenger Auto / Total Commercial Auto National Association of Insurance Commissioners, March 18, 2024, retrieved February 14, 2025^
- Suzanne Rivard. Information Technology and Organizational Transformation: Solving the Management Puzzle