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 Progressive Corporate Headquarters - Mayfield Village, Ohio - March 2025 | |
| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| Industry | Insurance |
| Founded | March 10, 1937; 88 years ago (1937-03-10) |
| Headquarters | Mayfield, Ohio, U.S. |
Key people | Lawton W. Fitt (Chairperson) Tricia Griffith (President andCEO) |
| Revenue | US$75.37 billion (2024)[1] |
| US$11.467 billion (2024)[1] | |
| US$8.463 billion (2024)[1] | |
| Total assets | US$105.203 billion (2024)[1] |
| Total equity | US$27.159 billion (2024)[1] |
Number of employees | 61,400 (2023)[1] |
| Website | www |
TheProgressive Corporation is an Americaninsurance company. Progressive is currently the #2 auto insurer in the United States behindState Farm.[2] The company was co-founded in 1937 by Jack Green and Joseph M. Lewis, and is headquartered inMayfield, Ohio.[3] The company insures passenger vehicles, motorcycles,recreational vehicles (RVs), trailers, boats,personal water craft (PWC), and commercial vehicles. Progressive also provideshome,life,pet, and other types of insurance through select companies.
The company ranked #62 on the 2024Fortune 500 list of the top American corporations.[4]
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 aleveraged buyout of Progressive.[6] In 1971, Progressive conducted aninitial public offering (IPO) and became apublicly-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 offer24/7 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 byHurricane Katrina claims.[12]
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The company operates in three segments: personal lines, commercial auto, and otherindemnity.[13]
Progressive is the second-largest auto insurer in the United States as of the 2023 fiscal year, with 15.2% of the market, behindState Farm's share of 18.3%.[14] Progressive primarily offers its services through the internet, by telephone or through independent insurance agents.[15] Progressive’s agency business sells insurance through more than 30,000 independent insurance agents[15] andprogressiveagent.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 inAustralia.[16] Initially called Progressive Direct, it rebranded as Progressive in 2011, and later rebranded as PD Insurance in 2019.[17]
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.[18] Immediate response vehicles used by Progressive are specially modifiedFord Explorers andFord Escapes.[19]
Progressive's marketing campaign is known for offering quotes of its competitors along with its own quote.[20]
Since 2008, many of Progressive'stelevision advertisements have featured a character namedFlo, played by actressStephanie Courtney,[21] who explains the benefits of Progressive Insurance.[22] In December 2010, the company introduced the "Messenger", as a complementary campaign. He was played by John Jenkinson.[23] The Flo universe also includes Jamie (Jim Cashman), an awkward fellow Progressive employee; and Bill and Tom, rival insurance salesmen from the figurativestraw man "A. Nother Insurance Company." Bill and Tom were largely discontinued afterAllstate filed a claim with theBetter Business Bureau alleging that Progressive was making a false claim that they offered discounts that Allstate and other insurance providers did not.[24]
In 2012, Progressive introduced another character, a personified box, voiced byChris Parnell, representing the company's products. It is portrayed as having an entourage (including a personal trainer).[25] Progressive later added more characters like Flobot, Mara (Natalie Palamides),Dr. Rick, and Motaur to its advertising series. In 2019, Progressive began theAt Home withBaker Mayfield ad campaign during theNational Football League season. The campaign featured theCleveland Browns quarterback living with his wife inFirstEnergy Stadium.[26] After he was traded to theCarolina Panthers in the 2022 offseason, Mayfield stated that the advertisements will end, calling it a "missed opportunity."[27][28]
In 2022,Jon Hamm appeared in several TV commercials, as himself, unsuccessfully pursuing a romantic relationship with spokesperson Flo.[29]
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According to a February 2011Wall 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.[30] Progressive has seven U.S. patents covering usage-based insurance methods and systems, with more patents pending.[citation needed][needs update] 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'sPay As You Drive, orusage-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.[31] 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.[32]
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. At the end of a six-month policy period, Progressive calculates the customer's renewal discount and customers return the device to Progressive. The company doesn't take into account how fast the car goes although it does take into account how fast and frequently the vehicle operator brakes. Snapshot is voluntary and customers can opt out at any time. The customer is charged up to $50.00 if they do not return the snapshot device to Progressive should they decide not to engage in the program after receiving it.[32]
Snapshot is currently available in 45 states plus the District of Columbia. Because insurance is regulated at the state level, Snapshot is currently not available in Alaska, California, Hawaii, and North Carolina.[31]
In 1999, Progressive Auto Insurance was the title sponsor of theSuper Bowl XXXIII halftime show.[33]
In January 2008,Jacobs Field inCleveland, Ohio, home of theCleveland Guardians, was renamedProgressive 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.[34] (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.[35]
In March 2008, Progressive announced its title sponsorship of the Progressive InsuranceAutomotive X PRIZE and their funding of the $10 million prize purse. The Progressive Automotive X PRIZE is an international competition designed to inspire a new generation of viable, super fuel-efficient vehicles. The competition is open to teams from around the world that can design, build, and bring to market 100MPGe (miles per gallon energy equivalent) vehicles.[36]
On December 14, 2010, the Gator Bowl Association announced that Progressive Insurance would become the title sponsor for the2011 Gator Bowl[37] college football bowl game.
On September 24, 2019, Progressive became the official sponsor ofFriday Night SmackDown broadcast on Fox.[38] it will later serve as presenting sponsor for NXT on The CW.
Starting in 2021, Progressive sponsoredSesame Street onPBS Kids replacing Blue Lizard Australian Sunscreen.
In 2025, Progressive sponsored the ‘’Rocket League Championship Series’’ to hold the naming rights for the RLCS 2025 season events, such as the Birmingham Major, Raleigh Major and the World Championship in Lyon-Decines.
In 2020, Progressive sponsoredRoush Fenway Racing's No. 6 car forRyan Newman at races atAtlanta andPocono. In 2025, Progressive signed a deal to sponsorJoe Gibbs Racing's No. 11 car forDenny Hamlin for 18 races, replacing FedEx.[39]
Progressive has been the Title Sponsor of the National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA) boat shows since 2012, and will maintain title sponsorship through at least 2022.[41]
In 2002, the company settled with the State of Georgia in aclass action lawsuit over diminished value claims brought by policyholders.[42] 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 onlitigants seekingredress from the company. Another lawsuit was filed by the litigants over the affair against the company forinvasion of privacy andfraud.[43]
In 2009, Progressive was sued for allegedly deceivingpolicyholders by employing illegally operated, unlicensed body shops to make repairs on vehicles for their clients in order to save money.[44] The court ruled in the company's favor on two of the counts and the other four were dropped, pendingappeal.[45]
In 2012, the company was widely criticized online for how it handled the claims filed by the family of Kaitlynn Fisher. The 24-year-old died when the car she was driving was hit by another that had run ared light inBaltimore. Progressive fought to avoid paying out the claim to Fisher's estate. Fisher's insurance policy with Progressive included coverage in the event of an accident with anunderinsured driver. Theunderinsured driver was found to benegligent in a jury trial brought by the Fisher family, in which the Fisher family contended that Progressive provided legal assistance to the defense.[46][47][48] In two followup statements, Progressive explained that they did not "serve as the attorney for the defendant in this case"[49] and then clarified that "[a]s a defendant in this case, Progressive participated in the trial procedures on our own behalf."[50] The company's position was that fault for the accident had not been clearly established, since three witnesses (the driver of the other car, that car's passenger, and Ms. Fisher's passenger) believed that Fisher had run a red light, and filed amotion to intervene to assert that she had been at fault, and therefore was notliable to pay the underinsured motorist claim. The lawyer for the Fisher family countered by noting that two of the three witnesses were not independent, saying "I have an issue with how they examined the evidence to abandon their insured" and introduced the idea the stateinsurance commissioner could find Progressive had acted in bad faith. As noted, Progressive lost the case and was ordered to pay the underinsured motorist claim in addition to a separate settlement with the Fisher family "to avoid a hearing before the state insurance commissioner."[51]
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