Revealed - State Farm no longer the US's largest car insurer

Find out which company has taken over at the top...

Revealed - State Farm no longer the US's largest car insurer

Insurance News

By Bethan Moorcraft

State Farm is no longer the largest car insurer in the United States. It has been overtaken by Progressive Corporation, which took a 14% market share in 2021, compared to State Farm’s 13.9%, according to GlobalData’s Insurance Database.

Progressive has been on a steady growth trajectory in motor insurance over the past few years, increasing its market share from 13.1% in 2020 to 14.0% in 2021, thanks partly to the company’s affiliation with a larger number of insurance agencies, as well as its successful advertising campaigns.

Meanwhile, GlobalData found that State Farm’s market share declined from 15.9% in 2017 to 13.9% in 2021.

In 2021, Progressive expanded its commercial motor business by acquiring Protective Insurance Corporation, which gave it a larger fleet and additional product lines. This acquisition helped Progressive record direct written premium (DWP) growth of 14.1% in 2021, compared to State Farm’s 3.5% growth.

Progressive’s DWP momentum was largely driven success in its commercial motor business, which grew by 50.2%, while its personal motor business grew by 8.1%, according to GlobalData. The insurer also saw good organic growth in 2021, increasing its policies in force (PIF) by 6%, adding 1.3 million new personal lines policies.

As the leading motor insurer in the country, Progressive also has better profitability than State Farm, according to GlobalData, with a motor insurance loss ratio of 67.0% in 2021 compared to State Farm’s 72.2%.

GlobalData expects Progressive to continue its positive momentum in 2023.

Swarup Kumar Sahoo, senior insurance analyst at GlobalData, commented: “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.”

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