Progressive CorporationPGR

Morningstar Rating

Stock Research and Analysis

by Drew Woodbury

Progressive has evolved from its origins as a provider of nonstandard auto insurance to one of the largest auto insurers in the nation. The firm has differentiated itself from competitors by its underwriting prowess and its culture of innovation. These Read more

Bulls Say

Progressive is the market leader in segmenting risks. This allows it to allocate premium pricing to the riskiest customers.

Progressive's TV advertising awareness has been increasing. Brand awareness is a key component to success in delivering policies through direct channels.

New concepts such as Concierge Claims Service and MyRate will help the company manage costs and while delivering a superior experience to policyholders.

By law, motorists are required to have auto insurance in all but a few states. This mandate should help Progressive maintain customers in a difficult economy. Read more

Bears Say

Progressive operates in an industry which competes almost entirely on price. Some competitors, such as GEICO, have more capital than Progressive.

State Farm, a mutual company, is the largest auto insurer. Mutual companies are not driven by the same profit motives as public companies and can undercut Progressive on price.

Progressive may alienate some independent agents by offering its policies directly to consumers. Read more

Strategy

Progressive seeks to be a low-cost provider of automobile insurance. It markets its policies both directly to consumers through the Internet and phone and through independent agents. In order to provide Read more

Management

Stewardship is excellent at Progressive, in our opinion. The firm is led by CEO Glenn Renwick and chairman (and former CEO) Peter Lewis. We like that these two roles are separate, as we feel it encourages board independence. Lewis is the second-largest Read more

Profile

Progressive underwrites private and commercial auto insurance and specialty lines; it has more than 10 million policies in force and is the fourth-largest auto insurer in Read more

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