Progressive Corporation has overtaken State Farm to become the largest motor insurer in the US. The company’s growth was largely driven by its expanding for-hire transportation business, as well as higher advertising campaigns and its affiliation with a larger number of insurance agencies, says GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

GlobalData’s Insurance Database reveals that Progressive’s market share in the US motor insurance market has increased from 13.1% in 2020 to 14.0% in 2021. On the other hand, State Farm’s market share declined from 15.9% in 2017 to 13.9% in 2021. With this change, Progressive has become the leading motor insurer in the US as well as globally and GlobalData expects the trend to continue in 2023.

Progressive’s motor insurance direct written premiums (DWP) grew by 14.1% in 2021 compared to against 3.5% growth of State Farm, largely supported by growth in its commercial motor insurance business. The growth of Progressive’s motor insurance business was driven by its commercial motor business, which grew by 50.2% while its personal motor business grew by 8.1%.

Swarup Kumar Sahoo, Senior Insurance Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “Progressive expanded its commercial motor business by acquiring Protective Insurance Corporation in 2021, which helped it to add a larger fleet and additional product lines. In terms of organic growth, the company’s policies in force (PIF) increased 6% in 2021, adding 1.3 million new personal lines policies.”

Progressive is not only the leading motor insurer in the country, but also has better profitability compared to State Farm. Progressive’s motor insurance loss ratio stood at 67.0% in 2021 compared to 72.2% for State Farm.

Sahoo concludes: “Progressive is expected to maintain its leading position in the US motor insurance market, which is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.9% during 2021-26. However, profitability of the industry could be a challenge over the next couple of years due to the high inflation, global automobile chip shortage, and an ongoing recession.”